By Elizabeth Wood West

After three hours of presentations, questions, answers, rebuttals, and public testimony, Castle Pines North City Council members voted five to one to approve the city’s proposed urban renewal plan (URP). The council’s adoption of the URP is the final step in a process that began a few short months ago with the January submission of a petition to form an urban renewal authority (URA).

Nearly 100 people attended the May 27 public hearing. During the public comment portion of the hearing, many Castle Pines North residents expressed frustrations with city staff and officials, citing a lack of adequate and timely information about the URA, about what kind of development it could bring to the community, and about the process being rushed in order to beat House Bill 1107’s June 1 deadline. HB1107 prohibits large undeveloped tracts of agriculturally assessed land from being included in URAs. Specific objection was made to inclusion of The Canyons development in the URP, as it falls into the category of land which will no longer be eligible for inclusion and after June 1, and approval of tax increment financing (TIF) relative to The Canyons could have significant impact on existing public service entities.

Representatives from Castle Rock Fire Protection District, South Metro Fire Rescue Authority, Douglas County, and Douglas County Libraries all expressed concerns about how the URA’s possible implementation of TIF could impact their ability to provide services in the future.

Happy Canyon Homeowners’ Association (HCHOA) President Les Lilly submitted copies of two separate objection letters from the HOA’s attorney. HCHOA and The Canyons’ owners have a pre-existing private agreement with covenants that run with the land. The letters requested the city not approve the plan, and/or defer the approval “pending development of a legal and factual basis satisfying the requirements of the Urban Renewal Law”, and/or exclude The Canyons from the URP.

Former Councilperson Ron Clark spoke in favor of the URP’s approval and read a letter into the public record on behalf of former Councilpersons Chip Coppola, Jennifer Havercroft, Chris Dooley, and Dave Neely. “Fundamentally, we are of the opinion that, as it pertains to the existing commercial development in the city, the establishment of a URA has potentially great benefits,” Clark stated. “And to future development, including the Canyons, it is a tool that we should allow the current and future city leaders to have the benefit of,” he continued.

The Canyons’ legal representative stated that The Canyons owners fully supported the URP, and added, “We have worked with HCHOA in good faith to amend the Agreement, and will continue to work in good faith to amend the Agreement.”

The city is currently negotiating Intergovernmental Agreements (IGAs) with Castle Rock Fire Protection District, South Metro Fire Rescue Authority, and Parker Water and Sanitation District. According to city officials, the IGAs are aimed at ensuring that local service providers will experience little to no impact, financially or otherwise, as a result of the city’s URA. As of press time, there was no word on the status of IGAs with Douglas County or Douglas County Libraries.

When all is said and done, there are still those who will contend this process was expedited and less-than-transparent. However, one thing is clear: The city’s establishment of its URA and subsequent approval of the URP will provide the city with additional tools to effect change now and in the future.