News-Press dccr 10-10-2013
Castle Rock
Douglas County, Colorado • Volume 11, Issue 29
October 10, 2013
Free
A Colorado Community Media Publication
ourcastlerocknews.com
Arbitrator ends deal limiting land use Development coming near Happy Canyon By Virginia Grantier
vgrantier@ourcoloradonews.com
Procopio told Colorado Community Media recently. “No reason to over-extend ourselves. I myself preferred phasing.” So, the slimmed-down Phase 1 of the town’s biggest park-construction project ever — a 237-acre plot west of Interstate 25 off of Plum Creek Parkway and expected to have a regional draw — will result in the building of a 50,000-squarefoot field house that will include a pool,
A high plateau of undeveloped grassland, 3,300 acres just east of Interstate 25 and Castle Pines, is expected to soon start turning into something else — “one of the best master-planned communities not only within the state but within the region,” in the words of Mark Nickless, general manager of The Canyons development. “We’re excited about the possibility of getting this going,” he said of a plan that allows for 250 acres of commercial area and 2,500 homes. “The Alperts (landowners) have been working on this for a number of years.” But his excitement isn’t shared by homeowners nearby who had agreed in 2000 to a much smaller development. Years ago, Douglas County planners designated the area as a “special high plateau,” a place to restrict development and create a visually beautiful northern Douglas County gateway. Real estate developer Lee Alpert ultimately got the OK from Douglas County commissioners to develop the land, but nearby homeowners with
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The Philip S. Miller Regional Park, now under construction in Castle Rock, is visible from Plum Creek Parkway. Photo by Virginia Grantier
Rising costs slow park plan Construction, unstable soil drive up numbers By Virginia Grantier
vgrantier@ourcoloradonews.com Castle Rock’s under-construction Philip S. Miller Regional Park will have an outdoor amphitheater — and a facility with a pond for weddings and meetings — someday. But not in the next several months, as was planned, Castle Rock Town Council
decided recently. The council, faced with unexpected costs because of unstable soil condition and rising construction costs — estimated to total more than $4.4 million in additional costs and rising — decided that was too much to take out of reserve funds. “I think the majority of council actually favors the project but did not favor the immediate increase in authorized expenditures with other funding priorities not yet cast in concrete and preferred phasing,” Councilmember Joe
Do-anything-for-anyone man dies suddenly Rob Boardman’s passing shocks Larkspur residents By Virginia Grantier
vgrantier@ourcoloradonews.com There was this Larkspur resident, Rob Boardman, 47, who always seemed to be there if someone needed him — even though he had fragile, elderly parents to watch over and a auto-body business to run. “He was a wonderful kid, always wanted to help everybody,” said Larkspur Mayor Gerry Been, who has known Boardman since he really was a kid. Boardman, a 1984 Douglas County High School graduate, had a lot of nicknames: “Burn” was one, maybe because he was a volunteer Larkspur firefighter for 24 years. He took care of a lot of people in this town of maybe 200 and he didn’t have to travel far to do it. His family’s auto-body business is in the heart of town. He could reach most of the people and places within a block or two. There was the elderly couple who didn’t
have family around and counted on him. And then even after they died, he still kept up the yard on their vacant house. Post office workers knew he’d always be there if someone had a dead battery. The clerk at the Larkspur Country Store said she knew he’d always be there if she needed help carryBoardman ing something or repairing something. Marvin Cardenas, a local artist, said he thinks the first time he met Rob was because Rob offered to help him clean up the trashy yard of the house Cardenas had just rented. Even a local gray squirrel had become attached to him, and became a pet, after boldly walking into Boardman’s garage one day while Boardman was eating peanuts. He always had a corny joke to tell and was always smiling, several people said.
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Rob Boardman’s service to the community was remembered at an Oct. 7 service at New Covenant Christian Church in Larkspur. Courtesy photo