Developers for the proposed 530-acre Pine Canyon Ranch redevelopment are asking to postpone the crucial water appeal and redevelopment vote with Douglas County scheduled for Tuesday.

If approved by commissioners, then the discussion over redeveloping the historic ranch near Castle Rock will continue on Dec. 17, according to county officials and developers.

The decision follows months of community pushback and delays over the proposed development on the unincorporated ranch splitting the town of Castle Rock. The ranch is a 530-acre unincorporated plot of land near the Metzler Ranch and The Meadows neighborhoods.

There, developers eye 1,800 residential units, commercial space, open space and trails, a new hotel and new renewable water system in the historic Pine Canyon ranch. Its redevelopment proposal, particularly its water plan, has drawn the ire of many locals.

The company behind the development is JRW Family Limited Partnership, LLLP, represented by James Walker, whose family has attempted to develop the ranch for over 20 years.

The Walker family has attempted four times to redevelop its side of the ranch, with the potential of annexing the land into Castle Rock. Now, the family is asking for county approval to get their land redeveloped. However, that process has met delays at the county level.

In the past two months, the Pine Canyon vote has been delayed twice. One delay in early September moved the hearing to a separate, special hearing. During the previous Pine Canyon hearing on Sept. 16, both developers and commissioners agreed to give them more time to work with Castle Rock before a county vote.

They set the hearing for Tuesday, just over a month ago.

When making the decision to delay the Pine Canyon vote again this week, Marcus Pachner, the land use attorney representing the Walker family, told The Denver Gazette that developers will ask for more time on Tuesday.

“We will ask for an extension of time to allow for continued negotiations and discussions with Castle Rock,” he said.

Kurt Walker, a lead representative for the family’s ranch during hearings, told commissioners in a letter last Thursday “additional time is needed to develop and present the necessary legal documents.”

The letter revealed Walker proposed the Dec. 17 date, just less than two months away.

A county spokesperson said Douglas County received a “request for continuance” for Tuesday’s land use meeting. Pine Canyon is the only item expected to be discussed during that meeting, despite the request.

In the original Pine Canyon hearing in early September, Douglas County Commissioner Abe Laydon asked a full house of residents gathered at the public hearing who is against the proposal.

Nearly everyone raised their hands.

Greg Larson, who said he lives “a yard away” from Pine Canyon ranch, said “what affects me the most isn’t the water issue … it is the amount of the homes they talk about, dwellings per unit, traffic. That’s the biggest issue.”

A separate mobile transportation plan on the east side of I-25 also drew concerns about increased traffic and congestion.

Castle Rock Town Manager David Corliss, who spoke during September’s previous hearing, said the municipality nearly reached a deal in 2020 to redevelop Pine Canyon and annex it into Castle Rock.

But, he said, both parties disagreed over water and traffic.

“I would consider it one of the highlights of my career if we can effectively process the Pines Canyon development within the town of Castle Rock,” Corliss said previously. “I want to show them that we are professional, that we know how to make it happen. And we know how to build a quality neighborhood.”