Castle Rock’s councilmembers on Tuesday advanced a landowner’s proposal to annex more than 500 acres of an unincorporated ranch into the town, the precursor for a major development that proposes hundreds of single-family homes and a thousand multi-family units.   

The proposal has been fought for more than 20 years.

The Castle Rock Town Council gave the Pine Canyon Ranch annexation a preliminary approval. The proposal still needs a final yes vote, which is likely given the council’s unanimous thumbs up to the project.  

A second vote in June will likely not require any further discussion, according to town officials.

Once described as the “donut hole” in the middle of Castle Rock, the 533.5-acre unincorporated site splits Interstate 25. It is located north of Scott Boulevard, south of Black Feather Trail, west of Founders Parkway and east of Front Street. On the west side of I-25, Pine Canyon sits east of Prairie Hawk Drive, south of Highway 85 and is bisected by Liggett Road.

The Walker family has owned the property since 1885 and has attempted to develop it since 2003. Pine Canyon has been a cattle ranch since the early 1900s.

Pine Canyon’s development plan includes 800 single-family homes, a maximum of 1,000 multi-family residential units and a 600,000-square-foot limit for non-residential development. Developers plan to retain 176 acres for parks and reserve 33% for open space and trails. The development includes a 21-acre hotel resort and spa with an option for single-family homes. A school is also possible on the site within the next 10 years, according to town staff.

After three failed attempts to annex the site into town and disagreements with previous councilmembers, the family in 2020 asked Douglas County to allow the project, shifting the fight to the county and away from the town.   

The county delayed vote on the proposal. Some residents raised water worries. 

Under the new plan, the development’s water treatment would tie into Castle Rock Water’s existing water system, according to Mark Marlowe, the town’s water director. 

Marlowe said the town’s water authority has planned to serve Pine Canyon for more than 20 years.

“Castle Rock Water will reserve existing excess nonrenewable groundwater already owned to ensure appropriate amounts of nonrenewable groundwater available for the development,” Marlowe said on Tuesday.

Town staffers on Tuesday night said annexing Pine Canyon Ranch means the issue wouldn’t have to go back to the county’s consideration. They argued that the development would be too big for it to occur on unincorporated county land.

Kurt Walker, a sixth generation family member, told councilmembers that the the development would “preserve and honor the legacy before us,”

“And building upon that with the characters and themes we have planned,” Walker added, “that runs throughout everything we’ve tried to do.”

“We have watched the town grow around us and see the changes to what it is for generations,” Walker previously told The Denver Gazette.

The Castle Rock Town Council previously approved pre-annexation for Pine Canyon in December, allowing the developers to address worries over water usage and requiring them to meet municipal standards.

“We didn’t go to the county for leverage or negotiation tactics,” Walker previously said. “We did that because it was our only path forward.”

Some Castle Rock residents said such a development would complicate water sustainability, eliminate open space views, increase traffic, lead to density, decrease property values and create a demand for a new school.

Both residents and councilmembers emphasized the need for an updated traffic study, last done near Pine Canyon Ranch in 2021. Castle Rock staffers said the development would be built to town standards.

“This is a very difficult decision for council,” Councilmember Laura Cavey said. “My two biggest concerns are the density and traffic. Even now, without that development, (traffic) is really bad.”

Woodland’s Homeowners Association President Randy Reed, who served on the Town Council more than 15 years ago, demanded more traffic studies and water assessments before the development breaks ground.

”We believed the town would hold the developer to a higher standard, mitigating the impacts on our community. This does not appear to be happening as the staff is recommending the project with minimal changes,” said Steve Snodgrass, a resident. “The town and developer should work together to reduce the size of this project and mitigate the impacts on our community,” he added.

For Mayor Jason Gray, he said this annexation and development is a long time coming.

“This should’ve been taken care of long before our town council,” Gray said.

“I can see the frustration with the Pine Canyon Ranch family,” he said, adding the development is “going to happen eventually.”

“Now,” he said, “it’s here. I am glad the Pine Canyon and the town have come to an agreement that I think is reasonable.”

After the meeting, Walker told The Denver Gazette, “I didn’t know that we would ever see this happen.”

“This plan allows us to keep over 10% of the property doing what we’ve always done, and that was pivotal to us,” he said. “It was something we were never allowed to do in previous iterations of working with the town.”