Developers pull plug on proposed reservoir?
Information provided by Douglas County the developers of Penley Ranch
At the applicant’s request, the Use by Special Review application for 3485 N. State Highway 67- Penley Reservoir was withdrawn from Douglas County in late July.
The proposed non-recreational Penley Reservoir was part of the Penley Ranch project, a 1,215-acre proposed rural residential development with plans for development of not-smaller-than 35-acre lots. The development is located south of C-470 a few miles west of Sedalia and U.S. Highway 85.
According to Penley Water Co., LLC representative Chris Fellows, the application was withdrawn not because of its location, but rather to consider some of the findings that came out during the public hearings and subsequent actions taken by the planning commission and the county commissioners.
“Given the amount of new information which has come forth recently, we decided to take a little more time to evaluate and absorb the data so that it can be properly included in our planning and decision making,” stated Fellows.
He continued, “The information includes comments and testimony made at the planning commission hearing, the impacts and affects of the Sterling Ranch approvals, the legal objections filed by opponents of Sterling Ranch, and the record snowpack and runoff this year.”
While currently involved in evaluating and outlining their future plans, Fellows contends that some things remain unchanged: “These include the fact that, according to county surveys, the number one concern of Douglas County citizens is the need for renewable water; one of the commissioners primary policy goals is renewable water, Douglas County and the front range will need hundreds of thousands of acre feet of additional water storage in the years to come, and Penley is widely known to be a great reservoir site.”
When asked if the plug had been officially pulled on the project, Fellows responded, “The project is definitely not dead, but we are currently reconsidering all our options on how to best proceed.”
For additional information and background about the project, go to www.CastlePinesConnection.com and type “Penley” in the search feature. Additional information is also available at www.douglas.co.us.
