Sentinel NORTHGLENN 3.21.13
Northglenn -Thornton
March 21, 2013
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A Colorado Community Media Publication
ournorthglennnews.com, ourthorntonnews.com
Adams County, Colorado • Volume 49, Issue 32
Cities, counties encourage water conservation Renewed reminder comes on heels of hot summer, dry winter By Darin Moriki
dmoriki@ourcoloradonews.com Officials at Broomfield and Adams County water providers are asking residents to monitor their water use after a combined record hot summer last year and dry winter contributed to lower than normal supply levels for this time of year. The joint call, which came from the cit-
ies of Arvada, Federal Heights, Northglenn, Thornton and Westminster, as well as South Adams County Water and Sanitation and the City and County of Broomfield, attributed low reservoir levels to record-breaking temperatures last summer and lack of snow this past winter. Thornton Water Conservation Administrator Laura Wing said the water supplier, which draws its water from the Standley Lake, South Platte River and several storage reservoirs, aims to ensure that reservoir levels are at about 75 percent of full capacity at this time of year under normal conditions
but are now seeing those levels hover at 63 percent. Wing said water levels at this same time last year were at 68 percent but also pointed out that Thornton Water customers used 20 percent more water in 2012 than they did in 2011. “Every effort to save water will help in our future water storage outlook,” Thornton Water Conservation Administrator Laura Wing said. “The problem that many people don’t realize is that water consumption increases in the summer in a drought year. We know residents have done a great
job at conserving water, but we’re just asking for a little extra this year because we don’t know what the weather may look like this summer.” According to the Lincoln, Neb.-based National Drought Mitigation Center, about 88.97 percent of the state is currently experiencing severe drought conditions characterized by likely crop and pasture losses, water restrictions and water shortages. Wing said Thornton Water is still enforcing mandatory stage 2 drought water Water continues on Page 28
More gun bills reach governor Background checks, magazine limits await signature By Vic Vela
vvela@ourcoloradonews.com
Midtown at Clear Creek community sales manager Lindsay Marie Esparza, far right, shows Westminster residents Brett and Joe LaHay, far left, the finished basement in a model home created by Englewood-based land developer and homebuilder Brookfield Residential. Photo by Darin Moriki
Midtown at Clear Creek on the move 184-acre community opens at 68th and Pecos By Darin Moriki
dmoriki@ourcoloradonews.com A new development in unincorporated Adams County that has been marketed as “a boutique new home neighborhood northwest of downtown Denver” will soon offer more modern and convenient options for homebuyers. Midtown at Clear Creek, a budding 184acre community at West 68th Avenue and Pecos Street, opened to public for the first time last weekend when nearly 100 prospective homebuyers toured three “home evolved” model homes that developers say are designed to provide modern yet sustainable conveniences for residents. Perry Cadman, the general manager of Englewood-based Brookfield Residential Properties Inc., said a total of 1,400 singlefamily homes are slated to be built in the community, including 900 single-family detached and 400 to 500 single-family atPOSTAL ADDRESS
tached homes. These “home evolved” homes, he said, will range in size from 1,997 to 2,228 square feet and include modern conveniences such as USB ports in key outlets; HighDefinition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) hookups in basements; large, customizable closets throughout each home; and handheld showers and bath fixtures for children or older adults. In all, Cadman said six of the 24 homes slated to open by the end of the year have been sold to date. “We really wanted to focus on how people live today,” Cadman said. “I’ve been building houses in Denver for 30 years, and during that time, I’ve had very unique homes with beautiful vistas of the mountains that attracted a lot of interest. But, there has just been an incredible amount of people who are interested in what we are offering here.” The development, which is about five miles away from downtown Denver, is located about a half-mile from the planned Pecos and Federal Boulevard commuter rail stations of the Regional Transportation
District Gold Rail Line. Both are slated for completion in 2016. The development, which will officially open to some residents by September, will include an event plaza, garden shed, community center, retail center, dog park and urban farm that will span across one city block from 68th and Pecos to West 67th Avenue and Pecos. Cadman said Agriburbia, a Goldenbased agricultural design company, will grow organic vegetables in the “urban farm” and sell them out of a company run farmer’s market in the event plaza on certain days or distribute them to local restaurants. The “urban farm” and the adjacent dog park on Raritan Drive will be designated for mixed used development in the future as the community continues to grow and relocated to a 40-acre open space area near Zuni Street and 68th. “I think this will over a period of time change the face of Adams County.” Cadman said. “We really took a different approach to what we’re doing here to really fit with Highlands but still create a unique community within the neighborhood. ”
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Two more gun bills await Gov. John Hickenlooper’s signature, following another week of polarized debate on firearm-related legislation in the General Assembly. A bill that would put in place universal background checks on gun sales and transfers has now cleared the General Assembly, after getting one last round of debate in both the House and Senate on March 15. House Bill 1229 had previously passed both chambers, but lawmakers had to take up the bill again to deal with some minor amendments. Earlier in the week, on March 13, the House also passed House Bill 1224, which limits high-capacity ammunition magazines to 15 rounds. That bill had already passed the House last month, but lawmakers in the lower chamber had to vote on the legislation again in order to deal with amendments from the Senate. As was the case with earlier votes on these bills, debate was lengthy and at times emotional. Democrats continued to make the argument that background checks and magazine limits must be put in place to prevent more criminals from terrorizing a state that is no stranger to mass shootings. And Republicans argued at length that the bills would do nothing to further community safety and would only make it more difficult for law-abiding citizens to exercise their Second Amendment rights. The same Democratic lawmakers who voted against the bills did so again last week. Reps. Ed Vigil of Fort Garland, Steve Lebsock of Thornton and Leroy Garcia of Pueblo all voted against putting in place magazine limits. Vigil also voted against the background checks bill, along with Sen. Lois Tochtrop of Thornton. All Republicans voted against both measures. House Bills 1224 and 1229 join the previously passed House Bill 1228 — which requires that gun buyers pay for their own background checks — as three major pieces of Democratic-sponsored gun-control legislation that have now reached Hickenlooper’s desk. The governor is expected to sign all three bills into law. Two other gun-control bills continue to work their way through the legislature: Senate Bill 195, which bans exclusive online training for those seeking concealed handgun permits; and Senate Bill 197, which would prohibit domestic-violence offenders from having access to guns.
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