Chronicle Parker
Parker 10-4-2013
Douglas County, Colorado • Volume 11, Issue 50
October 11, 2013
A Colorado Community Media Publication
ourparkernews.com
Council gives nod to project 52 acres rezoned for Stroh Crossing By Chris Michlewicz
cmichlewicz@ourcoloradonews.com
in the street. Compelled to offer any help he could, he stopped and quickly learned that two bystanders didn’t know cardiopulmonary resuscitation. It turned out that Black had been re-certified in CPR the day before, a day that also happened to be Eshbaugh’s 48th birthday. “Who would have thought, 24 hours
Parker Town Council unanimously voted to rezone 52 acres of land to allow for a new neighborhood and a strip of commercial uses along South Parker Road. Council voted 5-0 to approve an amendment to the Stroh Crossing Planned Development Guide Oct. 7 that paves the way for a maximum of 135 single-family homes and 8.4 acres of retail/commercial uses on the northeast corner of South Parker Road and Stroh Road. The land had previously been designated for 300,000 square feet of retail and 80,000 square feet of office uses. The property owner, Service Star Development Company LLC, requested a change to residential development, partly because there are no longer plans for a connection from Stroh Road to Interstate 25 that would have brought more traffic to the site. Commercial “zoning is simply not feasible” at the location or in the current market, and the 75-foot grade change is not conducive to retail development, said Kurt Wolter, who is representing the broker, Trevey Land and Commercial. Two out of the roughly 20 residents who attended the Oct. 7 town council meeting spoke out against the amendment, including Bill Lundell, the HOA president
Life continues on Page 6
Council continues on Page 6
Meeting for the first time, Jeff Eshbaugh, right, shakes hands with Larry Black, the Good Samaritan who saved Eshbaugh’s life after he collapsed while jogging Sept. 22. Photo by Chris Michlewicz
New CPR certification pays off Stricken jogger saved by Good Samaritan By Chris Michlewicz
cmichlewicz@ourcoloradonews.com A Good Samaritan credited with saving a jogger who went into cardiac arrest says it took a “miracle of circumstances” for him to be in the right place at the
right time. Sept. 22 started out as a normal Sunday for both Larry Black and Jeff Eshbaugh. The latter, an athletic, married father of one, went for a run. The former had just left church and called his wife while driving to work. Black’s plans to stop by his house changed when his wife mentioned she had already let the dogs out. He took a different route, and that’s what led him to Eshbaugh, who was lying motionless
Crosses put on empty prairie dog colony Residents, property owner wondering what happened By Chris Michlewicz
cmichlewicz@ourcoloradonews.com The extermination of a prairie dog colony and sudden appearance of white crosses on their empty burrows has Parker residents — and even one of the property owners — wondering what happened. Parkerites driving or walking by the northeast corner of Mainstreet and Twenty Mile Road have observed hundreds of crosses, which are made out of tongue-depressors and have messages of “RIP Prairie Dog” written on them. Residents have also noticed the conspicuous absence of the prairie dog families that scurried around the vacant land as recently as August. Megan Foster, a Parker resident for five years, called town officials after seeing that the prairie dog colony had been “wiped out.” She drives past the site nearly every day while taking her teenage son to Railbender Park up the street. “We’re wondering as a community what happened to that little prairie dog village,” said Foster, who first saw the crosses two weeks ago. “We sit and watch them when we’re at the light. They had babies out there in the spring.” Elise Penington, spokeswoman for the Town of Parker, said the community development department does not regulate the elimination of prairie dogs on private property, and that no violations were committed because the species is not protected.
A Brunswick Zone bowling alley was proposed for land nearby in 2007, but those plans were put on indefinite hold the following year when the economy bottomed out. There are no pending requests or imminent plans for development on the corner, Penington said. Even one of the lot owners, Parker-based McCabe Holdings LLC, is unsure why the prairie dogs vanished. Jerry Sturgess, one of the principals of the holding company, said no one asked their permission to exterminate, and he is unsure who placed the crosses on the land. “We weren’t involved with it and I don’t know why the prairie dogs are gone, but I’m interested in finding out,” he said. Sturgess, who said the crosses will “probably” be removed, confirmed that there are no immediate plans to develop the land, but said there has been talk about possibly putting a few lots up for sale. The company has regular meetings with adjacent property owners to discuss proposals and possible sales. “I would have expected if it was one of them, they would have talked to us,” Sturgess said. “They see us enough that they wouldn’t have an excuse for not talking to us.” Phone numbers for the owners of lots 33, 36 and 37 — identified in public property records as Jacksonville, Fla.-based The Main and 20 Center and Brunswick Zone XL Colorado Springs LLC — were not listed. Foster pointed out that there also are no signs of prairie dogs on the large lot immediately south of the AMC Twenty Mile 10 movie theater.
Hundreds of small white crosses mark the filled-in prairie dog burrows on the northeast corner of Mainstreet and Twenty Mile Road. Photo by Chris Michlewicz “Why were they killed if they haven’t even sold the property?” she said. McCabe Holdings LLC did not learn about the extermination or the crosses until Town of Parker representatives called them last week. Sturgess stopped by to take photos and make sure there were no “baits” or traps. He’s hoping someone can tell him why activities have taken place on the land without consent.
Those with tips about what happened to the colony or the crosses should send an email to cmichlewicz@ourcoloradonews. com.
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