Castle Rock Town Council Meeting - February 4, 2025
Castle Rock Town Council Meeting - February 4, 2025
The Castle Rock Town Council met on February 4, 2025, at 6:00 PM in Town Hall Council Chambers. The meeting covered a wide range of items including proclamations, consent calendar approvals, quasi-judicial hearings for the Brickyard development, public hearings on large vehicle parking and Design Review Board authority, and discussions on a rising star scholarship and AI leak detection technology. All votes were 7-0 unless otherwise noted.
Consent Calendar
- Ordinance 2025-002: Adopted the 2025 Castle Rock Storm Drainage Design and Technical Criteria Manual (Second Reading).
- Ordinance 2025-003: Amended water code to implement drought rates (Second Reading).
- Ordinance 2025-005: Amended liquor licensing roles (Second Reading).
- Ordinance 2025-006: Vacated superseded subdivision plats for Dawson Trails (Second Reading).
- Resolution 2025-007: Approved the 2025 Drought Management Plan.
- Minutes 2025-003: Approved the January 21, 2025 meeting minutes.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Bill Gernert: Thanked council for nonprofit support and presented historical slide viewers from a Rotary grant.
- Brickyard Development:
- Manford Will: Expressed concerns about bike lane access and insufficient parking (estimated 109 spaces short of code requirement of 580 spaces for a 145,000 sq ft facility).
- Clark Hammelman: Supported the project as a senior, citing need for downsizing housing and walkable amenities.
- Chris: Supported the project, noting lack of meeting space for local businesses.
- Norman Smith: Shared parking overlap concerns and mentioned exploring pickleball courts on nearby parcels.
- Calvin Anders: Supported the project for its commercial space and housing options to retain local businesses.
- Large Vehicle Parking Ordinance:
- Lindsay Gray (Westside Towing): Urged exemption for emergency-response tow trucks contracted with police; stressed immediate response times for safety.
- Jason Gray (Westside Towing): Noted response times would increase by 30-40 minutes if on-duty drivers cannot park trucks at home; cited contract requiring "time is of the essence."
- Tom Johanns (former Westside owner): Emphasized 36-year history without incidents; requested exemption for contracted tow trucks.
- Michael Morgan (Westside employee): Parked at home for 10 years without neighborhood complaints.
- Robert Cooper: Asked what response time is acceptable for public safety.
- Design Review Board Authority: Chuck Koper spoke in favor.
- Rising Star Scholarship: No public comment.
- AI Leak Detection: No public comment.
Discussion Items
- Proclamation: February 4, 2025 proclaimed Bill Gernert Day.
- Town Manager Report: Included calendar reminders, legislative update (staff positions affirmed 7-0), Development Services project updates, and undeveloped property inquiries.
- Town Attorney's Report: Presented 2024 annual report – 756 contracts, 37 ordinances, 132 resolutions drafted.
- Brickyard Planned Development (ORD 2025-007) & Development Agreement (ORD 2025-008): Presented together. The project includes a 145,000 sq ft sports center, 540 multifamily units, 43 townhomes, up to 125-room hotel, restaurant/retail space, and public infrastructure improvements. Estimated total private investment ~$400 million. Town financing via COPs ($62 million) offset by impact fees, lodging tax, sales tax sharing (60% to developer for 25 years), and urban renewal authority. Staff and applicant presentations detailed traffic, parking (471 spaces, joint use), trail connectivity, and financial returns (developer IRR ~6%). Both ordinances approved 7-0.
- Large Vehicle Parking Ordinance (ORD 2025-004, Second Reading): Discussion centered on exempting tow trucks contracted with the town. Council debated extending the item to find a compromise. A motion to extend to a future meeting was made and seconded; the minutes record the motion failing 7-0 (all council members voting yes), creating a discrepancy. The ordinance was not approved on this date.
- Design Review Board Authority (ORD 2025-009, First Reading): Amended code to send new construction/additions over 10,000 sq ft to Town Council for final action; smaller projects remain at DRB. Approved 7-0.
- Rising Star Scholarship (DIR 2025-006): Proposed up to two $1,000 scholarships for Castle Rock seniors demonstrating community involvement. Funded initially from Youth Commission budget ($8,000). Approved 7-0.
- AI Leak Detection (DIR 2025-007): Presentation on pilot program in Cobblestone Ranch using devices on fire hydrants to detect leaks; $90,000 pilot cost; full scale would be $2.5-3 million with <5-year payback. No vote required; discussion only.
Key Outcomes
- Brickyard Planned Development (ORD 2025-007): Approved 7-0. Sets zoning for mixed-use development including sports center, housing, hotel, and commercial space.
- Brickyard Development Agreement (ORD 2025-008): Approved 7-0. Vests development rights through March 1, 2045; requires road improvements, trail, and financial contributions.
- Large Vehicle Parking (ORD 2025-004): Motion to extend to a future meeting failed (recorded as 7-0 but minutes state failure). Item deferred; council may revisit with amended language for contracted tow trucks.
- Design Review Board Authority (ORD 2025-009): Approved 7-0 on first reading; thresholds set at 10,000 sq ft for new construction/additions.
- Rising Star Scholarship: Approved 7-0; applications open February 10 – March 14, 2025; recipients to be recognized April 15.
- Consent Calendar: All items approved 7-0.
Meeting Transcript
I want to thank everyone for coming first of all online or in person. And second, we're going to start with invocation. Heavenly Father, we ask for your guidance, your wisdom, and your support as we begin this meeting. We gather here today intent on doing good work. We seek to represent fairly and well those who have given us this task. Help us engage in meaningful discussion. Give us clarity and strength to use our best skills and judgment. Please bless this community, the residents, the businesses, and visitors, and help us do help us continue doing good work in your name. Amen. Councilmember Hollingshead. Councilmember Bracken. President. Councilmember Davis. Here. Councilmember Brooks. Present. Councilmember Deeds? Here. Mayor Partem KV. Here. Mayor Gray. Here. All are present. Thank you. Please join me in the presentations. I'll go ahead and start with council comments. I wanted to highlight tomorrow is uh the rock of um Rock of Hope uh Gala for Castle Rock um Adventist. Um it's uh Gala for uh their their cancer ward their cancer wing. Um I've been part of that uh group trying to raise money for the cancer wing for uh a couple years now. It's one of the reasons I'm wearing pink tonight is uh you know people who know my history know that the uh our cancer is hitting hit our family pretty hard and that um you know for a lot of people that who have cancer, which is gonna be half of this room, half a half the people in Castle Rock will get cancer one way or the other. Um had to drive, clear up, you know, Denver, Porter, even Sky Ridge is which is fairly close. Um it is nice that we're gonna have that in that cancer center here in Castle Rock. Um a lot of times I the seven of us will hear a lot of complaints about growth. Um, and I get it, growth's hard, but growth is the reason we had that hospital, and growth is the reason we're gonna have a cancer center. Um you don't have to go north. You can do it here in town. Cancer's hard enough without having to drive an hour um to to get your uh to get your treatments and see your doctors and that kind of stuff. So it's I'm really happy and proud to be part of the the Rock of Hope and um and I hope that uh we can get that uh wing done as soon as possible. With that, Councilmember Hollins said no comment tonight, thanks. Councilmember Bracken. Yeah, thank you, Mayor. I want to thank uh public works for the it was uh it was a street that literally had four inches of ice on it because of the the melting and the and the freezing over time. And uh and and they came out on a Saturday and broke up that ice and scooped it and and and I know the workers were like super sad or whatever that's life, right? But um but I gotta tell you like uh the there was a service person that was showing up to a residence that slipped and felt and hit his head and got a concussion in the middle of the street, and um, you know, like it's a sprawling area throughout town, and we can't get to every street, but when when we identify a spot like that and and there's action taken, that's that's an awesome thing. And um and how quickly that that folks came out, it it made a difference. It it really made a difference to the folks that live there. Um and then I actually followed up and the serviceman he said uh I'm going going to my chiropractor, I do have some headaches, and and um and so like those those things that are really little for seemingly the the department and and the folks that are doing the work are really a big thing for the folks that live there and and the the heating and cooling of that area um you know just it it just made it an ice rink and uh and those things happen and and we can't cover the entire town, you know. Um but when we identify them and they happen that quickly, great job to the department, great job to the folks that went out and did the work and and it it I'm gonna just gonna say how elated that everybody was on that block because I actually drove it and I got out of my car and it was amazing. So good good job, Dan. Keep up the great work.
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