CASTLE ROCK — One of the byproducts of today’s rapidly improving economy is renewed resistance from citizen activists worried about overdevelopment or concerned with the way public funds are used to finance projects.
In just the past year, campaigns to counter planned retail projects or pro-development policies have cropped up in Castle Rock, Littleton, Wheat Ridge and Arvada.
One led to . Another campaign — one to stymie construction of a 1 million-square-foot, $240 million shopping complex in Castle Rock that was approved by the town last month — .
Meanwhile, a after city leaders approved a deal to use future tax revenues to help finance a redevelopment project. A water bottle thrown after the meeting almost hit representatives for the developer.
“I think people are waking up and no longer want their community defined by large-cost projects, whether it’s malls or big-box developments,” said Linda Van Nostrand, an 18-year Castle Rock resident who is leading the charge against the 166-acre Promenade at Castle Rock between Interstate 25 and U.S. 85. “The people should vote as to whether they want such a behemoth in their community.”
More than 3,000 signatures on a petition turned in to the Castle Rock clerk last week are being checked for validity — 1,945 need to be legal. The petition seeks to reverse the Town Council’s approval of the development plan and zoning for the Promenade.
University of Colorado political science professor Ken Bickers said an improving economy, with long-delayed projects finally seeing the light of day, seems to be driving the recent momentum among detractors.
“I suspect that there’s more of it now that there is more development going on,” he said.
Bickers also cited the role of social media in making it easier for advocacy groups to amass support for their cause. The fight in Castle Rock has spawned several Facebook pages decrying the Promenade, including one calling for a boycott of any business that sets up shop there.
“Most of the people said they did not want malls — they want the small-town character,” said Keith Lattimore-Walsh, another anti-Promenade organizer. “And this mall is not helping that.”
Colorado Municipal League executive director Sam Mamet said he’s not convinced there’s anything new at play. He called today’s resistance movements “part of the business of municipal governance.”
“It doesn’t happen often, but it’s not an unusual occurrence,” Mamet said. “Growth issues always generate some controversy. And all politics are local.”
Indeed, the spirit of defiance has a long history in Colorado, most prominently when voters refused to allow public funds to be spent on hosting the 1976 Winter Olympics. More recently, Longmont residents rose up against a proposal to annex 348 acres for Life bridge Christian Church, which eventually backed away from its development plans.
But Alberta Development Partners, Promenade’s developer, has no plans to abandon the project, which includes 350 residential units and has been working its way through the town’s approval process for more than a year. An .
Peter Cudlip, project manager for Alberta, said in statement that the Promenade is “aligned with the long-term goals of the town of Castle Rock” and will serve as a “landmark destination and local gathering spot.”
Castle Rock spokeswoman Karen Carter said the parcel in question was annexed into the town nearly 30 years ago for commercial and light industrial use. She said Alberta’s plan is actually a “better option” than what would have been allowed under the more permissive zoning that existed previously.
Carter said residents have made it clear in surveys that they want the restaurants, sports store, natural grocer and entertainment venues the that Promenade plan envisions. They don’t want to have leave town on the weekend just to go shopping at Park Meadows Mall, she said.
And the expected sales-tax revenue from the project is critical for Castle Rock, which has a population of 58,000 and a projected buildout of 100,000, she said.
“We really live and die off sales tax,” Carter said.
Bill Detweiler, director of development services for Castle Rock, said he hasn’t seen the kind of outcry over a proposed development in town as he is seeing now with Promenade.
The issue, he said, when some residents objected to the removal of a large prairie dog colony on site. Before that, there was little public interest in the project, Detweiler said.
But Van Nostrand said it’s about more than prairie dogs, which are no longer on the property.
She said the Outlets at Castle Rock struggles to fill every space it has and that a giant new shopping center right next door isn’t what is needed for the town.
“We live here for these rolling hills and open spaces,” Van Nostrand said. “Our quality of life is being threatened and cheapened by this mall.”
John Aguilar: 303-954-1695, jaguilar@denverpost.com or twitter.com/abuvthefold
