Chronicle Parker
Douglas County, Colorado • Volume 11, Issue 3
November 16, 2012
A Colorado Community Media Publication
ourparkernews.com
Density proposal irks residents Developer’s plan to add 150 homes fires up neighbors By Chris Michlewicz
cmichlewicz@ourcoloradonews.com When asked how many were concerned and ready to take action against a proposal to reduce lot sizes for new homes in the Pinery, nearly everyone in the crowd raised their hand. Nearly 200 Pinery homeowners attended a community meeting Nov. 7 at Sagewood
Middle School to discuss a proposal from Ashton Residential, a subsidiary of Great Gulf Group, to add 150 homes to the Timbers. Four longtime residents — David Leonard, Clare Leonard, Lisa Stull and Sara Jo Light — urged neighbors to get involved by learning the facts and making strong verbal arguments once the proposal is up for approval by Douglas County’s leadership. The Leonards ran through a brief history of previous discussions with the developers, who they say are reneging on a “good faith compromise” forged in 1995 after residents came out against a proposal to add 1,300 homes. After the application was withdrawn several times, the development of 771 homes was approved by a 6-1 vote of the Douglas County Board of County Com-
missioners. More than two-thirds of those homes have already been built. The Pinery-Timbers Coalition has created a website and petition at www.protectthepinery.com to gain support among homeowners and hold the developer and Douglas County’s leaders to their original agreement. Clare Leonard said the county commissioners will listen to concerns, but opponents need to speak their language and address the 10 criteria that the developer needs to meet for approval. “Being involved counts,” she said. The 1995 agreement is not legally binding and cannot be challenged in court. Approved sketch plans are typically abandoned after one year of inactivity, and the developers must conduct certain studies before any further development is
approved. Tim Price, who served on the Douglas County Planning Commission for more than 20 years, suggested avoiding arguments about lower property values or reduced quality of life because of how such statements are viewed by decision-makers. Dave Brehm, president of Plan West, said no formal application has been submitted and the company is still determining the potential impacts to schools, roads and water. Hundreds of residents in enclaves like High Prairie Farms and Misty Pines, adjacent to the vacant land, have also come out against the proposal, which could reduce one-acre and 1.5-acre lots to as low as 10,000 square feet. The lots that abut the proposed development measure more than two acres.
School district sees no cuts for 2013-14
TOO GOOD
Announcement breaks five-year string By Jane Reuter
jreuter@ourcoloradonews.com
Lutheran celebrates its Class 2A state championship victory Nov. 10 at the Denver Coliseum. Lutheran defeated Simla to take the title. Find more coverage in Sports, Page 27. Photo by Courtney Kuhlen | ckuhlen@ourcoloradonews.com
Gratitude motivates lengthy run Man aims to help program that offered help to him By Chris Michlewicz
cmichlewicz@ourcoloradonews.com Sean Sweeney did what many guys do when it comes to their health: Put off a routine procedure until something is terribly wrong. He was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis, an inflammatory bowel disease, and had lost 20 pounds by fall 2007. The searing pain finally drove him to Parker Adventist Hospital and a CAT scan revealed 16 holes in his colon. Sweeney was becoming septic and was seriously ill. He underwent emergency surgery to remove his colon.
Sean Sweeney poses with the team of nurses from Parker Adventist Hospital who helped treat him for ulcerative colitis. The hospital’s foundation paid Sweeney’s medical bills after he had to undergo emergency surgery without insurance. Courtesy photo “I’d thought mind over matter would beat this. I was taking a few pills a day, but it got rap-
idly out of control,” he said. To make matters worse — and much of the reason why he
tried new diets, acupuncture and pills before seeing the doctor — the Highlands Ranch resident was transitioning into life as a new business owner, and he did not have insurance coverage for what would eventually add up to $50,000 in medical bills. That’s when the Parker Adventist Hospital Foundation, an extension of the nonprofit medical center, decided to step in. The foundation covered his bills, and the 43-year-old retired Marine Corps captain is feeling better and living an active life. On Nov. 10, to mark the five-year anniversary of the lifesaving surgery, Sweeney started a journey to repay the favor. Sweeney jogged from the new Centura facility in Castle Rock to Heritage Elementary School in Highlands Ranch, Gratitude continues on Page 31
Bolstered by a cheerful state revenue forecast, the Douglas County School District announced it foresees no budget cuts for the 2013-14 academic year. It will mark the first time in five years the district — and most schools statewide — has not had to make do with less. Superintendent Elizabeth Fagen also credited sound fiscal management at the local level for the good news. Instead of pondering cuts, she wrote in a Nov. 5 email to DCSD staff, “I hope your spring budget season is filled with conversations about what to do with the money we hope to add to your schools. What a refreshing change after so many years of incessant budget reductions!” Gov. John Hickenlooper proposed a budget for 2013-14 that would boost K-12 education by $201.6 million. In Douglas County, per-pupil funding likely would grow by almost $176 from this year’s $6,218 to $6,394. That proposal is many months away from approval. But when DCSD officials weighed the proposal against its own budget and possible increased costs, they found cause for celebration. The district last year faced an $18 million shortfall, and met it in part by finding money in over-budgeted line items, as well as making cuts to central administration and the high schools. High schools shifted to a block, or 6-of8 schedule, requiring teachers to teach six out of eight periods instead of five out of seven. The schedule shifted many classes from 45 to 90 minutes, and left many students with long open periods. It’s too soon to say whether the improved funding forecast could allow high schools to switch direction and return to a schedule that some teachers and parents preferred. High schools are free to do so, Fagen wrote, as long as they limit class sizes to no more than 30 students. Cuts continues on Page 31
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