FIELDS

size, in keeping with the rural setting.

Sharon Wallden, a member of the family that has long owned the land, is pushing for the proposal.

“Our parents bought this land from our grandfather over 75 years ago. ey worked hard to pay for it and build a farming operation,” Wallden told the audience at the April 17 meeting.

But “farming as we know it is no longer an option,” Wallden said at the April 25 meeting. Water has “always been a concern” in an area that has seen many residential developments spring up over the years, Wallden has said.

Even though nearby development has a ected her family’s farming activity, she believes in the right of prop-

Damisch, the assessor, said it’s likely that many districts would.

“I believe, based on historic precedent, unless there is a tremendous amount of political pressure and citizen engagement, that most special erty owners to build on their land, she said.

“We did not object to the properties around us. We ask for the same respect for our property rights,” Wallden said.

Debating density ough the land is vast, most of the homes would be grouped close together in a neighborhood that would appear to have homes somewhat similar in property size to homes in e Pinery area — and similar to properties in some, but not all, other parts of the area. e size of the smaller home lots has been a major sticking point for the residents in the area, who object districts and such will waive the cap,” Damisch said. omas took issue with the timing of the proposal in this year’s state legislative session at the Capitol. She generally found the details of the Democrats’ proposal to fall short of to the density.

County o cials rezoned the property from agricultural to “estate residential” status in March 2022.

Many properties in the immediate area, especially to the east, are larger than the closer-grouped lots would be.

“We understand that development is going to happen in this area,” but residents are asking the commissioners to “decline the high density,” said Audra Labak, one of the residents who opposes the proposal.

Commissioner omas noted the density matches what the proposal is allowed to have under county rules.

Possible change

Laydon argued the density does not re ect the “outcomes and desires of the comprehensive master plan based upon the current location of adjacent communities and their current characteristics.” e county’s comprehensive master plan lays out a broad vision for how and where property development should occur. e concept of “character” also arose as a point of contention in the earlier meeting a solution to how Colorado handles its property tax policy, saying more people should be represented at the table in hammering out a plan.

She favors that “instead of having (talks) in a smoky dark room and popping this on all of the county Planning Commission.

Comprehensive plans and land-use standards can sometimes be di cult to pin down: e county comprehensive plan’s introductory section, the section on urban areas, the section on nonurban areas and the glossary all do not appear to include a de nition of the term “character.” e county zoning rules section that lists de nitions also does not de ne “character.”

Teal, another commissioner, also felt the density went too far.

Jill Repella, with the development team, eventually said the proposal could be changed to increase the home lot sizes “a bit.” e development team is “making the commitment that we can increase half the lot sizes,” said Repella, who is a former Douglas County commissioner.

Laydon said he appreciated of us a week before the session ends,” she said. the concession.

Note: e state legislature’s regular session was set to end in early May, and the Democrats’ proposal could be amended after this story was nalized.

Repella said some nearby residents want the proposed lot size to expand to 1- to 1 1/2-acre lots.

“We’re not going to get to that, but we’re going to” work on a change, she said. omas praised the proposal’s planning as it relates to water resources.

“What it appears to me is that this developer has chosen to ( gure out) how many homes they can put on this parcel (and) cluster them together so they can get a central water and wastewater system, which is gold,” omas said, adding that it “gives the neighborhood a better opportunity to maintain those wells that Ms. Repella talked about.”

Avoiding having new homes “sucking wells out of the aquifer” is a part of the plan that “saves your wells,” omas said.

“I thought that is the genius in this,” she said.