Jason Bane Interviewed on South Jeffco Development

I was interviewed last night by Channel 7 for a story about a proposed development in the Willowbrook/Willow Springs area of Jefferson County (southwest of HWY 285 and C-470). Here's the story from Channel 7's Website, which also appeared on the Thursday 10:00 p.m. newscast (my quote appears in bold below, or click on the link above to see the video):

For eight years 284.4 acres in Jefferson County has sat empty, but not completely vacant. Nearby residents said when Colorado Christian University closed its Western Bible College campus, its buildings became nuisances and home to criminal mischief.

“The highest and best use of the property was for high quality residential development,” said University President Senator Bill Armstrong during a public hearing Thursday night.

The university wants to re-zone the property so Shea Homes can build 280 houses on the land in a project called “Lyons Ridge Development.”

“Of course we would prefer nothing and we were lucky to have nothing for long time,” said Willow Springs resident Mimi Murphy. “But I don’t think we can make that decision because it is not our property. So we want the best that we can get to keep it the same that it has been.”

Murphy is not alone. Residents from Hogback Conservancy, Willowbrook Home Owners Association, Willow Springs HOA, and residents from other nearby neighborhoods packed three rooms Thursday night at the Jefferson County Courts and Administration building to voice their opposition to a development project they say goes against the south Jefferson County community plan decided upon March 14, 2007.

“If you are going to ask the citizens to come up with a plan as to how the community is developed and then you are going to ignore it, that is like asking someone to bake a cake and then turning it around and smashing it in their face,” said Jefferson County resident Jason Bane.

But some residents acknowledge development is inevitable and some homeowners think this project is the best option.

“It is less dense than the willow springs development,” said Kevin Stafford whose parents live adjacent to the property in question. “And also there is some open space that would be public where the other two developments open space is private,” he said referring to neighboring developments.

So many people showed up to speak Thursday night that County Commissioners continued the public hearing to April 15th at 6pm.

I have attended several public meetings in front of the Jefferson County Planning Commission over the last several months, and I completely oppose this effort to ram through 280 homes in an area that was only planned to allow for about 100 lots.

This proposed development is completely at odds with the South Jefferson County Community Plan (SJCCP) adopted by nearly 200 citizens and 20 government agencies. The SJCCP, which was formally adopted on March 14, 2007, was crafted over the course of 38 meetings in 14 months. While the SJCCP is not a binding document, the county should certainly pay close attention to whatever comes from it; the people who live in these areas are the ones who know what would work best in their communities.

The proposal submitted by the developer, Shea Homes, and its partner Colorado Christian University, virtually ignores the SJCCP. It was for that reason that the staff of the Jeffco Planning Commission recommended DENIAL of the developer's proposal. My comment to Channel 7 above was about the SJCCP and the process that created it; the county government shouldn't seek out community input if they are going to just completely ignore them later.

Despite that denial from the staff, and despite the presence of literally hundreds of Willow Springs/Willowbrook residents at every meeting, the Planning Commission approved a slightly modified version to be sent to the Board of County Commissioners. The developers took that suggestion and, again, ignored it. The Planning Commission suggested a toned down version of 215 homes, instead of 280 (the latter of which is one home per acre), but the developers pushed for the larger number.

To understand why this is such a big deal to people in the community, it helps to get a picture of how this area looks now. I grew up about a mile from here, and I always loved the Willowbrook/Willow Springs area because of the modest homes that sat on large acres of land. Nobody has fences, which allows for migration of all kinds of animals through the area. It really is a beautiful neighborhood - a rural respite in the middle of a suburban area.

To recap, here's what has happened to get us to this point:

1. All 11 homeowners associations in the area have joined together in a group called The Hogback Conservancy Coalition in order to fight this development. In other words, the people who live in the area are adamantly opposed to this large development. They are not opposed to ANY development, because the agreed to a plan for about 100 homes that preserved open space.
   
2. The staff of the Planning Commission recommended DENIAL of the developers' proposal.
3. The Planning Commission board did not deny the proposal, but suggested a slightly weakened version.
4. The developer ignored the Planning Commission and re-submitted their original 280-home rezoning proposal.
5. The Board of County Commissioners is now hearing testimony from both sides of the case and may vote on the proposal on April 15. Most observers feel that Commissioner Kevin McCasky, my opponent in this race, holds the deciding vote. I hope he does the right thing.
   

I am not opposed to growth in Jefferson County, but I think we need to have RESPONSIBLE growth that both preserves open space and protects the property rights of the existing homeowners. McCasky has said repeatedly that he believes in property rights. Well, so do I, but I don't just believe in the property rights of people who want to build on new land. Everyone has property rights, and what one person does affects their neighbor. Just because it is your property, should you be allowed to build a 50-story high-rise building? Of course not.

I will be following this debate closely as it comes to its conclusion in the next couple of weeks. For more background information, check out this letter from the attorney for the Hogback Conservancy to the Planning Commission.