After months of controversy and “agonizing” over how to move forward, Arapahoe County Commissioners on Tuesday approved giving a developer access to a quiet road in Columbine for a new 55-plus community.

Christensen Lane, a one-lane concrete street, currently sits quietly among tall trees, offering a peaceful place for cyclists and pedestrians to recreate and the occasional car to pass by.

Tensions have simmered for months between developer David Tschetter — who plans to improve the road and connect it to his new planned community, Arcadia Creek — and residents, who fought to keep the lane as-is and said they are worried about safety because of the additional traffic the improved street would bring. 

Christensen Lane does not have clear ownership, but a 2020 court ruling decided Tschetter has ingress and egress rights to the lane, which is about 3,400 feet long and runs from South Platte Canyon Road and extends to the Arapahoe and Jefferson counties’ line.

In order for him to make the lane accessible to his planned development, he needed permission from Arapahoe County to override safety standards related to the road’s width. 

After delaying a decision twice, Arapahoe County Commissioners voted Tuesday to allow Tschetter to use the road for access to his development. A discussion beforehand took several hours as commissioners asked questions of county staff and heard public comment.

It passed with three “yes” votes and one “no” vote from Commissioner Carrie Warren-Gully, who said she had to listen to the needs of her constituents.

“I feel as though this is a square peg in a round hole,” Warren-Gully said Tuesday. “You cannot take this lane, in my opinion, and make it safe … this is the most public input I’ve heard and I really feel like I have to stand up for the residents in my community and hear them.”

Commissioner Jessica Campbell, who made the motion to approve access, said she is “disappointed” about the decision, but that the only way for commissioners to control what happens to the lane is to approve access to it.

“The development is approved in Jeffco, (the developer has) rights to ingress and egress that we cannot impair, the traffic will be coming regardless of what we do,” Campbell said. “Our only real ability to impact this positively in any way is to approve this so we can approve conditions.”

Dave Tabor, who lives along the lane and has been vocal about denying Tschetter’s access from the beginning, said he is “disappointed and baffled” following the decision.

“It’s a really sad day for the community when their commissioners won’t stand up for their safety and needs,” Tabor told The Denver Gazette. “It was baffling to the group of citizens working so hard for safety reasons … we don’t know why they wouldn’t do everything they could for the citizens.”

As it stands, the lane is open to cars. But it sees far more bicycles and foot traffic than car tires. It connects several greenways and neighborhoods and acts as a recreational path and a commuter route for many in the surrounding neighborhoods.

Tschetter told commissioners about the benefits of his senior community in August, pointing to the need for more accessible housing for Arapahoe County’s aging population.

Having access to Christensen Lane, he said, makes ingress and egress to his development easier than only having access to one ingress and egress point. 

Tschetter’s development plan includes a promise to improve the lane with pavement, striping, a designated pedestrian walkway separated from the road and updated flood mitigation.

Arcadia Creek has two points of entry: West Leawood Drive in Jefferson County and West Christensen Lane in Arapahoe County.

Dozens of community members attended both the August meeting and Tuesday’s meeting to urge commissioners to not allow Tschetter to use the lane for his development, citing safety concerns and reluctance to give up what is currently a frequently used pedestrian lane in favor of a two-lane road.

More than 280 people signed a petition against the lane proposal, which was presented at a March planning commission meeting.

A traffic study in July through September of last year showed that an average of almost 98 cyclists and pedestrians use the lane daily. Annually, the lane sees more than 23,000 recreational uses, according to the study Tabor presented to the commissioners.

Tschetter argues, however, that due to the nature of his proposed community, the traffic would be far less than from a regular neighborhood.

A traffic study included in his plans estimates 108 traffic trips daily, with about 76 of those going to Christensen Lane. In a normal single family community, the average traffic count is 10 vehicle trips per day per household.

In 55-plus communities, that number drops to a little more than four vehicle trips per day per household, Tschetter’s research shows.

South Metro Fire District and police districts that the lane is in also approved Tschetter’s proposal, planner Molly Orkild-Larson said at the March meeting. Southeast Metro Stormwater Authority and Jefferson County approved the project as well.

Commissioner Rhonda Fields, who voted to approve Tschetter’s access, thanked everyone who shared their opinions on the issue Tuesday, saying “your voices matter.”

“We have been agonizing over how best to move forward with this,” Fields said.