By Terri Wiebold with contributions from Elizabeth Wood West, Happy Canyon HOA resident and board member

The City of Castle Pines North Council voted five to one this week to establish the Castle Pines Urban Redevelopment Authority at its regular city council meeting, which was designated as a public hearing on the matter. The council also voted to designate itself as the Authority.

The Authority

An Urban Renewal Authority (URA) is a statutory body that provides the mechanism for communities such as Castle Pines North (CPN) to spend incremental tax dollars in designated areas through public-private partnerships. Historically, URAs have been put in place to revitalize and redevelop slum or blighted areas of a community.

The Blight Study

Prerequisite to the City of CPN establishing its URA, conditions of “blight” had to be found to exist in the city. City staff hired Leland Consulting Group to conduct a Conditions Survey, which included all CPN commercial/retail property, three Douglas County commercial lots, and The Canyons’ approximately 3,300-acre development east of I-25. During the meeting/public hearing, Anne Ricker of Leland Consulting Group presented the results of the Conditions Survey, which detailed findings of blight within each of the study’s designated areas. (Note: According to Colorado Revised Statutes, a blighted area is loosely defined as an area that, in its present condition and use substantially impairs or arrests the sound growth of a municipality, retards the provision of housing accommodations, or constitutes an economic or social liability, and is a menace to the public health, safety, morals, or welfare…)

Ricker stated that among the 11 qualifying factors identified in the statute, the survey identified the presence of the following seven blight factors in the URA study area, four of which were determined to be “severe.”

Predominance of defective or inadequate street layout;
Faulty lot layout in relation to size, adequacy, accessibility, or usefulness;
Unsanitary or unsafe conditions;
Deterioration of site or other improvements;
Unusual topography or inadequate public improvements or utilities;
Defective or unusual conditions of title rendering the title nonmarketable;
The existence of health, safety, or welfare factors requiring high levels of municipal services or substantial physical underutilizations or vacancy of sites, buildings, or other improvements.”

The Conditions Survey included maps highlighting the blighted areas, designating which conditions were met in which designated areas, with color-coding to differentiate the severity of the blight.

Public Hearing Input

Following Ricker’s presentation, the public was invited to comment. Former council member Chip Coppola spoke in support of the URA, reading aloud a letter he submitted to council for consideration of the URA. “In its last session, the CPN City Council has spent many hours over many months investigating how a URA might be utilized to effectively enhance the development potential and tax revenue for our city. This investigation is continuing. I believe that the city should form a URA and investigate fully its use,” Coppola stated. “In the final analysis, there is no reason that this tool, used by many municipalities in the past, should not be something our city has available to it. It has the potential to provide revenue enhancement and spur economic development – which can have significant positive benefits for the city…” he continued. Read Coppola’s letter in its entirety, as it was also submitted as a letter to the editor.

Also speaking in support of the formation of the URA was The Canyons’ representative Darren Everett. According to Everett, The Canyons is committed to being a long-term partner with the City of CPN, and it understands that the URA would simply be one of many resources that the city would have at its disposal. “We support the city’s effort to maintain planning and financial flexibility by adding this tool to their toolbox,” stated Everett. “If the city were to use this tool, it would be our wish that the city undertakes the appropriate studies on a case by case basis to make sure that all taxing authorities have a seat at the table.”

Some controversy surrounding the city’s establishment of a URA relates to its ability, once established, to potentially condemn a pre-existing private agreement between the Happy Canyon Homeowner’s Association (HOA) and The Canyons’ owners. The agreement limits the commercial and residential density of the future master planned community currently being used for livestock grazing east of I-25. Happy Canyon HOA President Les Lilly stressed to the council that the formation of a URA would constitute a governmental action, according to its agreement with The Canyons, that could be used as a tool to terminate the HOA’s legally-binding agreement. Read Lilly’s comments submitted as a letter to the editor.

Douglas County Commissioner Jill Repella spoke on behalf of the Board of County Commissioners (BOCC), expressing the board’s frustration with city council members’ apparent unavailability to meet to discuss the URA, and shared the BOCC’s concerns about the URA’s tax increment financing (TIF) impacts upon the County, School District, and Sheriff’s department. Read the BOCC’s March 3 letter to the city.

(Note: Tax Increment Financing (TIF) is a statutory authorization that enables a URA to collect the net new property and municipal sales tax revenues generated within a designated urban renewal area to help finance future improvements. When a redevelopment project is planned, the URA analyzes how much additional property and sales taxes may be generated once the redevelopment is completed. The additional property and sales taxes or “tax increment,” can then be used by the URA as revenue for the repayment of bonds or as reimbursement to developers for a portion of their project costs. In either case, the new tax revenue that is created must be used for improvements that have a public benefit and that support the redevelopment effort.)

South Metro Fire Rescue Chief Dan Qualman spoke against establishing the URA, saying that TIF will impact the ability of the fire district to receive normal property tax revenue from development growth and thereby hamper its ability to provide fire and rescue service. “It takes money from public safety and moves it to assist development,” said Qualman. “I believe the URA is being used in a manner it was never intended. As you are aware, HB1107 was approved to ban defining agricultural land as blighted and including it into a URA. Based on these facts, I would ask that you re-evaluate your action on the creation of the URA, make public its impact on all other governments, and solicit public comments from the constituency you serve,” concluded Qualman. Read South Metro Fire Rescue Board’s letter to the editor.

Several residents and local business owners also shared concerns about the establishment of a URA and requested additional opportunities for public input and increased accessibility to information about the city’s plans. Review the Draft Plan on The Castle Pines Connection website.

The Next Step
The next step in the process is for Leland Consulting Group to present the final Urban Renewal Plan to city council during the study session of the May 11 council meeting. A final public hearing is scheduled for May 25 at the CPN community center, at which time the council will vote whether or not to adopt the plan as presented. Additional opportunities for public input may be scheduled. Check the Community Calendar for meeting dates/times.