Castle Pines North took a big lead Wednesday in the race to become the newest municipality in one of the metro region’s wealthiest and fastest-growing areas.
Douglas County District Judge Vincent R. White approved the incorporation petition for Castle Pines North, the last legal hurdle for a vote in the community of 10,000 residents.
Neighboring Castle Pines Village must redraft its incorporation paperwork to accommodate a tax-sharing deal it reached with Castle Pines North last month, then return to the courts for approval.
A committee of Castle Pines North residents will set an election date in the coming weeks, said Maureen Shul, president of the Castle Pines North Master Association.
“It’s been a long haul to get to this point, but now this is behind us, we’ll set our sights on the next hurdle,” Shul said.
Castle Pines North’s incorporation committee hopes for a Nov. 6 election, but the decision will be made by the nine-member election committee, spokeswoman Lane Roberts said.
The revenue-sharing deal would give Castle Pines North most of the sales taxes from the shopping district along Castle Pines Parkway, if voters approve incorporation. It would provide all municipal services to the stores.
Both communities had included the retail area in their proposed boundaries.
White approved the revenue-sharing deal, which requires Castle Pines Village to submit a new map without the shopping area.
Bill Sanko, chairman of The Committee to Protect Castle Pines Village, could not be reached Wednesday.
The race to incorporate began last year when Castle Pines Village announced its incorporation plan to better deal with growth.
The village includes about 3,500 residents but is expected to grow by 37 percent in five to seven years, according to its incorporation committee.
“I support the incorporation of the village to keep us from becoming part of Castle Pines North, Castle Rock or somebody else,” said resident Elise Harrington.
If the measure passes in either community, Douglas County would get its first new city since Lone Tree incorporated in 1995.
The county’s other municipalities are Parker, which incorporated in 1981, Larkspur, which re-formed as a town in 1979, and county seat Castle Rock, a municipality since 1881.
