March 26, 2015 VOLU M E 1 1 3 | I S S UE 21 | 7 5 ¢
DouglasCountyNewsPress.net D O U G L A S C O U N T Y, C O L O R A D O
A publication of
WHAT’S INSIDE
GROWTH IN CASTLE ROCK
What’s cooking?: Chefs show off on National Agriculture Day. See Page 2
To the rescue: Pat Craig will talk about his passion for rescuing carnivores at event. See Page 18
Ready to run: Castle View has a new football coach, and he believes in the ground game. See Page 21 Craig LeGrotte paid for a view of nature when he bought his home at 3258 Fernleaf Court in 1998. Now, he has a view of Castle View High School and the North Meadows Extension. Photo by Mike DiFerdinando
D E V E LO P I N G CO N C E R N S
Town grapples with identity amid business, population surge By Mike DiFerdinando POSTAL ADDRESS
NEWS-PRESS
(ISSN 1067-425X) (USPS 567-060) OFFICE: 9137 S. Ridgeline Blvd., Suite 210 Highlands Ranch, CO 80129 PHONE: 303-566-4100 A legal newspaper of general circulation in Englewood, Colorado, and the towns of Castle Rock, Parker and Larkspur, the NewsPress is published weekly on Thursday by Colorado Community Media and additional mailing offices. PERIODICALS POSTAGE PAID AT ENGLEWOOD, COLORADO and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address change to: 9137 S. Ridgeline Blvd., Suite 210 Highlands Ranch, CO 80129 DEADLINES: Display: Fri. 11 a.m. Legal: Fri. 11 a.m. | Classified: Mon. 5 p.m. GE T SO CI AL WITH U S
P LE A S E RECYC L E T H I S C OPY
mdiferdinando@colorado communitymedia.com When Craig LeGrotte looks out from the back deck of his Castle Rock home, the view he sees is different than the one he paid for in 1998. What was then open space — an amenity that added a $12,000 premium to his lot — became Castle View High School and, more recently, the western end of the North Meadows Extension that connects to Santa Fe Drive.
$356,000 Median sales price of a home in Castle Rock in 2014, according to the Douglas Elbert Realtor Association
“All this was hillside,” said LeGrotte, standing behind his home at 3258 Fernleaf Court. “The hill probably went up about 10 feet higher than the buildings, and where the school is was all dirt. It was beautiful. There was no street. There was a dirt road. It was field and flowers.” When the school was proposed in 2003, LeGrotte and his neighbors fought hard to protect their views and argued their case to town council and the school board. Then, in the past year, the North Meadows project ate up 5 feet of his
property line. LeGrotte is one of a growing number of residents to voice concern over the rate at which the town is growing. In 1990, Castle Rock was home to 8,612 people — a small town by most standards. By 2000, the population had more than doubled to 20,224. Today, the town’s population is more than 56,000 and estimates show it nearly doubling again to 100,000 by 2030.
100
93
Number of new businesses that open in town each year, according to the Castle Rock Chamber of Commerce
Percentage of residents who said in Castle Rock’s 2030 Vision Survey that parks, open space and trails were important elements of a small-town feel
Growth continues on Page 9
43 Percentage of employed residents who work in town, according to the Castle Rock Economic Development Council
ROOM TO GROW While Castle Rock is growing fast, its population density, or people per square mile, remains much less than many nearby municipalities. Of course, as Castle Rock moves toward the 100,000 mark in population in the coming decades, that will change. Here is how Castle Rock compares to some other communities in south metro Denver: (the number shown is people per square mile) Castle Rock: 1,676 Centennial: 3,695 Highlands Ranch: 3,987 Littleton: 3,411 Parker: 2,304 Source: U.S. Census data
Alberta to relocate remaining prairie dogs Activists drop lawsuit as part of a deal with the developer By Mike DiFerdinando
mdiferdinando@colorado communitymedia.com Alberta Development Partners, the group behind the construction of the new Promenade at Castle Rock, announced March 20 it has agreed to relocate the 75100 prairie dogs still on the site. The colony at the development site, located between Interstate 25 and U.S. Highway 85 near
the Outlets at Castle Rock, had numbered more than 1,000. The majority were removed the week of March 9. Numerous eyewitness reports from residents and activists indicated that poison was used. “About 75 to 100 prairie dogs are in the process of being captured and humanely relocated from the site by wildlife experts operating under a permit from Colorado Parks and Wildlife, to excellent prairie dog habitat on private land owned by a generous conservationist,” Alberta said in a statement. Prairie continues on Page 30
A prairie dog last month ducks under a piece of barbed wire at the construction site of the Promenade at Castle Rock. Photo by Mike DiFerdinando