September 3, 2015
THIS WEEK IN
VO LUM E 28 | IS S U E 41 | FREE
LIFE
LOCAL
A look at what makes a good song for the summer
Page 15
HighlandsRanchHerald.net D O U G L A S C O U N T Y, C O L O R A D O
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Mixed-use project gains approval Shea’s Central Park to include homes, retail, recreation
By Taryn Walker twalker@coloradocommunitymedia.com Douglas County commissioners have approved a mixed-use development that a Shea Properties executive calls the last piece of the jigsaw puzzle in Highlands Ranch. Central Park will be built on nearly 100 acres east of Lucent Boulevard and south of Plaza Drive. The development is projected to host retail; office or medical; recreation, including a park; and single- and multi-family housing. Shea has nicknamed it “the next great place in Highlands Ranch.” Highlands Ranch has seen 35 years of development, and the new project will push the community to its buildout population of 110,000. At present, more than 95,000 people live in the 22,000-acre
planned community. “The idea is, this is a large piece of ground and we need to bring it to life and energize it so that we can develop it in a dense, mixed-use fashion,” said Peter Culshaw, Shea’s executive vice president. “The park itself — obviously there will be much discussion with lots of relevant stakeholders as to what we do with it, but we believe this will be a very rich public amenity that has flexible space, access to restaurants for use and really a special place for the community.” Shea is working with the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office to see if a new communications tower can be implemented into the design plan to improve law enforcement and emergency communications, Culshaw said. Habitat concerns were addressed during the presentation at the county commissioners’ Aug. 25 meeting, as several species of animals reside on the land. Project continues on Page 13
Douglas County Commissioners approved Shea Properties’ Central Park project on Aug. 25 with a 3-0 vote. This view shows a newly posted sign, shot from Barrons Boulevard. Photo by Taryn Walker
Neighbors fighting C-470 noise Coalition presents at CDOT public hearing By Taryn Walker twalker@coloradocommunitymedia.com
Children dance while listening to the Colorado Wind Ensemble at Civic Green Park. Photos by Taryn Walker
Wind Ensemble takes stage Concert part of HRCA’s Culture on the Green Series
By Taryn Walker twalker@colorado communitymedia.com As a part of Highlands Ranch Community Associations’ Culture on the Green series, the Colorado Wind Ensemble performed at Civic Green Park on Aug. 28. Music enthusiasts got cozy on the grass to listen to the contemporary sounds of 45-plus woodwind, brass and percussion members perform on the Case Pavilion stage. The band, under direction of David Kish, played for an hour and a half while the sun set over the park as a close to the sounds of summer. “This park has never looked so gorgeous,” Mimi
Epling of the HRCA said. Some visitors brought their chairs and blankets to take full advantage of the relaxing space at Civic Green. Others stopped by spontaneously. “We just happened to be walking by and heard the music. We didn’t know about it, but the weather is perfect and we love music, so here we are,” said Angela Adam, of Littleton, who enjoyed the free concert with her husband and two kids. The final event of the series will feature Ballet Ariel of Denver on Sept. 25. The concert begins at 6:30 p.m. No dogs or glass containers are allowed at the park. Funding for the events is made possible through the Scientific and Cultural Facilities District. For more information visit hrcaonline. org.
The Colorado Wind Ensemble performs on the Case Pavilion stage at Civic Green Park on Aug. 28.
After the Colorado Department of Transportation’s public hearing about C-470’s expansion, Highlands Ranch Neighborhood Coalition treasurer Byron Daniels said he’s feeling optimistic. The coalition was formed four months ago after several Highlands Ranch residents were unhappy with CDOT’s move to save on costs and not install noisemitigation walls for the project, which will double highway capacity and add an express toll lane between I-25 and Kipling Avenue. The group has grown from one or two to about 50-plus, Daniels said. At the Aug. 26 hearing in Lone Tree, more than 200 Highlands Ranch residents showed up to express their concerns about C-470 noise. “The importance of this coalition is to get the noise barriers that were promised in the original 2006 plan by CDOT,” Daniels said. “We sell our homes, pass away and the next group of people come in to raise their kids, and they have this blasting noise from the roads that affects their health.” In 2006, CDOT released an environmental assessment for concerned citizens that noise-abatement walls would be installed over two miles along the south side of C-470 between South University Boulevard and Quebec Street, Daniels said, and they’re not doing it. The 2015 assessment proposes going without the walls. “We have followed the federal regulations and state guidance for noise mitigation for this project,” said Emily Wilfong, CDOT spokeswoman. “We consistently apply this process to all projects and we’re confident in the noise analysis we’ve done. However, we take every comment we received at the public hearing very seriously and will address each one as a critical component of the process.” The neighborhood coalition is demanding that CDOT and the Federal Highway Administration reinstate the two miles of noise walls. Daniels, who lives in Gleneagles Village, Noise continues on Page 13