1-Color
January 23, 2014 Douglas County, Colorado | Volume 27, Issue 10 A publication of
highlandsranchherald.net
Fire chief is poised to blaze new trail Armstrong says he’ll be hands-on, inclusive By Jennifer Smith
jsmith@coloradocommunitymedia.com
Graphic by Stephanie Ogren
South suburbs tap into craft beer trend By Jane Reuter
jreuter@coloradocommunitymedia.com National statistics show most Americans now live within 10 miles of a brewery. For those residing along the C-470 corridor, the drive is soon to get a lot shorter than that.
Four new microbreweries will open in south suburban Denver during the first few months of 2014, and at least two others say they have solid plans but still are zeroing in on sites. The biggest of them all — Breckenridge Brewery — plans a spring 2015 opening of its 12-acre Santa Fe Drive complex.
The establishments under construction extend from Highland’s Ranch’s eastern border with Lone Tree to just beyond its western border, all two miles or less from C-470. They join a couple of existing microbreweries already garnering strong Breweries continues on Page 9
As a teenager, Chris Armstrong was so sure about what he wanted to do for the rest of his life that he traded in his senior year of high school for the fire academy and was working by the time his classmates graduated. “My stepdad was a firefighter, so I grew up around firefighters and the fire station,” said the new chief of Littleton Fire Rescue, looking back on when he joined the MiraArmstrong mar Fire Rescue Department in Florida, where he grew up, and spent the entirety of his career — until now. “It was just a natural progression for me,” he said. Along the way, the 48-year-old rose through the ranks from paramedic to deputy chief of operations. He has earned a bachelor’s degree in occupational health and safety and a master’s degree in emergency-services management from Columbia Southern University. He is also a graduate of the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and received the Chief Fire Officer Designation from the Center for Public Safety Excellence. As deputy chief, he was responsible for 155 employees serving a population of almost 125,000. Here, he’ll oversee the 170 employees who provide emergency-response services and life-safety education to the 220,000 citizens of Littleton, the Littleton Fire Protection District and the Highlands Ranch Metropolitan District. “I’m excited to be here, and I’m ready to get to work and meet everyone,” he said Chief continues on Page 7
HOAs may have power to restrict pot use, growth HRCA has ‘no stance on issue’ By Hannah Garcia
hgarcia@coloradocommunitymedia.com Although Amendment 64 allows Coloradans to legally light up, some homeowners associations have questions about their power to regulate the use and growth of marijuana in the home. “It is definitely a hot topic in Colorado,” said HOA attorney David Firmin of Arvada, calling the question a pervasive one. It is ultimately an issue that will probably be decided in court, Firmin said. Lawyers say HOAs across the state have inquired about options to restrict the drug. The state has also fielded similar questions from community associations, according to Gary Kujawski, HOA information office for the Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies. Although he cannot
give legal advice, Kujawski said the inquiries range from condominiums to singlefamily homes. “This is new to them and they want to know what some options are,” Kajawski said. The Highlands Ranch Community Association currently does not have a stance on the issue, but “could potentially see some policy modifications for enforcement on common areas just like we have now for cigarette smoking,” reads a statement issued to the Herald by HRCA spokeswoman Jamie Noebel. As far as the reach of HOAs in general, the question does not have a simple answer. State law precludes any growth of marijuana outside of a confined space. If an HOA like the HRCA wishes to impose restrictions on indoor growth or use, that power is based on existing governing
documents, according to Jerry Orten, HOA legal analyst and spokesman for the Community Associations Institute. Under Colorado state statutes, a declaration amendment requires two-thirds approval from owners, Orten said, which in Highlands Ranch would translate to a twothirds lot vote by the delegate body. “Regulating use in the home should only be pursued with widespread community support,” Orten said. “Home-use regulation should also only be done by an amendment to the declaration, adding that use restriction.” Enforcement of such restrictions will largely fall on the associations themselves. Sgt. Ron Hanavan, a spokesman with the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office, said restrictions imposed by homeowners associations are a civil matter. The lawman compared it to restrictions on RV parking or noise complaints.
“We enforce county ordinances, state and federal law and what is legal and not legal. That’s what we’re doing with this,” Hanavan said. “It would not be a criminal violation. It’s more of a civil issue between an HOA and property owners.” The HRCA and community associations like it can seek enforcement of their own covenants, depending on governing documents, by fines, court orders and suspension from recreational facilities and voting rights, Orten said. HOAs continues on Page 5
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