Castle Pines approves flood control project between Lagae Road, I-25

BY ELLIS ARNOLD EARNOLD@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

Most area residents may not notice it, but a small part of a body of water identi ed for its “deteriorating conditions” has long been a priority for local governments to address, and the Castle Pines City Council gave the green light for a project to make drainage and ood control improvements to the area.

On July 11, the council voted to move forward with the e ort to improve the “south fork” of the Spring Tributary between Lagae Road and Interstate 25, stretching not far from the highway.

Lagae Road runs roughly parallel to I-25 between Castle Pines Parkway on the north and Happy Canyon Road on the south. Lagae sits west of I-25. e city approved a deal called an “intergovernmental agreement” with the Mile High Flood District, an entity that helps manage ood risk in the Denver metro area.

A joint planning study between Douglas County, the Town of Parker and Mile High Flood District in 1994 designated the area of the south fork of Spring Tributary between Lagae Road and I-25 as “high priority stabilization status,” a city sta report says.

“ is status was due to deteriorating conditions — i.e., excessive bank erosion — that were negatively impacting downstream resources along the stream corridor,” the sta report says.

e report mentions the need to protect downstream resources such as the nearby Rueter-Hess Reservoir.

at’s a drinking-water storage facility owned and operated by the Parker Water and Sanitation District, the entity that provides drinking water to much of Parker and some nearby areas. Rueter-Hess also serves as a recreation spot.

Spring Tributary has seen signicant development of its immediate watershed — its nearby area — over the last several years.

“ is has brought about a signicant increase in ows, especially during storm events, which have contributed to the further degradation” of the part of the body of water in question, the sta report says. e report underlined the need to improve that area to protect downstream restoration projects, provide ood control improvements and add “environmental enhancement” to the site. e part of the stream is so critical because “it impacts not only the very near future project like North Canyons but all the work that Mile High has already done within the Canyons” area, an o cial said at the July 11 council meeting. at’s an apparent reference to e Canyons, a large housing development. e stretch of the stream in question sits entirely on city-owned property, so Mile High Flood District approached the city to undertake the improvements as a joint project, according to the report. e agreement would split the cost of the design for the project equally between the two parties. e anticipated cost of the design for the project is $100,000 with the city and Mile High Flood District sharing the cost equally — $50,000 each.

“Additionally, North Canyons Development Company is currently entering the same planning and design phase with (Mile High Flood District) for the (part) of Spring Tributary just downstream,” east of I-25, making the start of this city project timely, the report says.

“ is is a signi cant nancial incentive for the city, especially as the project moves forward,” the sta report says.

“If the nal cost of the design comes back higher, MHFD will cover the difference as they view this project as a high priority,” the report says.

While the title of the agreement covers the entire project, the current version presented for the council meeting covers just the design, according to the sta report.

“As the project moves forward, amended (intergovernmental agreements) will be presented to council regarding the other phases and funding of the project,” the report says.

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To join a program, a parent or guardian can submit an application based on the program the child wants to be in. From there, Leuven, or the program director, will speak with the parent or guardian.

With more than 30 adult mentors, each kid is paired with a mentor that best ts their needs. e mentors go through a background check and a certi cation process. e Aspen E ect helps mentor youth in Douglas County but is open to helping others. According to Leuven, they have mentored kids from Lone Tree teen court and the juvenile assessment center in Aurora.

“Leadership for us is knowing how to navigate my life, knowing how to advocate for myself, knowing how to connect with other people in real ways,” said Leuven.

Learn more about the Aspen E ect by visiting the website at https:// theaspene ect.org.

Castle Rock does not regulate shortterm rentals, but all businesses there must obtain a town business license and collect applicable lodging and sales tax.

Public airs opinions

One member of the public, speaking at the meeting, argued that short-term rentals should be allowed based on “the principle, simply, of private property rights.”

“Especially people with acreage, this is a way for us to preserve our land on our own dime,” he told the commissioners.

On the other hand, the Happy Canyon Homeowners Association was among those opposing short-term rentals, arguing they could a ect the housing market.

“We believe the (ordinance) will encourage outside residential investment rms such as Blackstone to purchase more homes in Douglas County, resulting in a depleted inventory for the general public and inadvertently creating rental communities,” wrote Richard West, president of the Happy Canyon HOA, in a letter to the county.

A board member of the Happy Canyon group came to the July 11 meeting and expressed concern about the impact of short-term rentals on the supply of a ordable housing, fearing that investors would take housing units out of the long-term rental market.

Research published in Harvard Business Review in 2019 suggested that Airbnb listings may have a relatively small amount of e ect on housing prices.

As background information, the article argues that if an area has a lot of restaurants and bars, and if awareness of Airbnb increases — measured using the Google search index for the keyword “Airbnb” — then any jump in Airbnb supply in that area is likely driven by an increase in demand for short-term rentals through Airbnb, rather than local economic conditions.

“Under this assumption, we show that a 1% increase in Airbnb listings is causally associated with a 0.018% increase in rental rates and a 0.026% increase in house prices,” the article says. “While these e ects may seem very small, consider that Airbnb’s year-over-year average growth is about 44%.”

But how any e ect could play out in rural areas of Douglas County is unclear.

“Folks, we’re not a tourist mecca,” Teal said.

Many areas of the county, including highly populated spots such as Highlands Ranch and the Pinery area south of Parker, are among the places where short-term rentals would be prohibited under current rules, even under the county’s new law.

‘Capitalize on their properties’ e Happy Canyon board member argued the county should not allow short-term rentals by “non-resident” owners — people who own properties but don’t live in them. ere is not an owner-occupancy requirement in the new law, according to county sta . e law allows for local “agents,” such as an individual or the representative of a property management company, who may be someone other than the property owner, to serve as the management of the short-term rental unit.

( e property owner may appoint themselves as the local agent.)

Despite the concerns, Teal said he’s heard support in the community for short-term rentals, adding that those who run agricultural businesses could bene t.

“I look forward to it because this does, for those in our agricultural areas, in our rural areas, this does give them that (ability) to capitalize on their properties in a new way,” Teal said.

Not a universal allowance e text of the law says a home within a “planned development” shall not be licensed as a short-term rental property “unless such (planned development) speci cally allows such use.” at means short-term rentals would be prohibited in Highlands Ranch and the Pinery area south of Parker, for example, because the planned developments do not speci cally allow them, according to county sta .

Even under the county’s new law, short-term rentals won’t be allowed in many parts of unincorporated Douglas County.

(“Planned development” means land in a special type of zoning that applies to certain areas. Zoning is a local government’s rules for what can be built where.)

Plus, homeowners associations would be able to prohibit short-term rentals under the ordinance, according to county sta .

Commissioner Lora omas rattled o a long list of areas in Douglas County where the rentals would not be allowed in addition to Highlands Ranch and the Pinery area, including

Chat eld Farms, Keene Ranch, Meridian, “which includes Stepping Stone,” the Roxborough Park area, Sterling Ranch and many others.

“ e (rentals) will not be allowed in their neighborhoods unless there is a zoning change,” omas said. e new law passed on a 2-1 vote with omas opposed and Teal and Commissioner Abe Laydon voting in favor.

County will

charge fees for license

But omas supported a companion policy to the new law, a resolution approving the county’s fees associated with regulating short-term rentals.

“I think that if we’re doing this, we need to cover the costs of sta ,” omas said.

Under the resolution, the short‐term rental property license fees are as follows:

• Application review fee for rst licensing year: $500

• Application review fee for subsequent licensing years: $270

• License fee: $130

Teal noted the fees may appear high to some, but “those fees are not meant to ll the co ers of the county.” e commissioners approved the fee resolution unanimously.

Fees were to be set to cover the cost of administering and enforcing the ordinance, a statement from county sta in June said.

Ins and outs of regulations e ordinance includes a long list of rules, such as the following:

• For properties that contain a detached single-family home and an additional residence of any kind — such as a guest house or a caretaker residence — the owner is allowed to use only one residence as a short-term rental property.

• e motor vehicles and trailers of all occupants of the short-term rental property “shall be able to be accommodated on the permitted and approved driveway” of the property. No

SEE RENTALS, P10