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Proposed Toyota dealership causes uproar

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Contributed by: Joseph Kirchmer/YourHub.com on 4/2/2008

Castle Rock Town Council voted April 1 to suspend all new commercial and industrial applications until July 9 as the town seeks to rework zoning regulations that deal with property developments built adjacent to residential areas.

The town took the rare step to approve an emergency adoption of the ordinance to suspend applications, meaning the suspension period begins immediately. It was approved 5-1, with Councilman Douglas Lehnen voting against the ordinance.

The issue arose after word spread that a Toyota dealership has plans to develop a piece of property on Front Street -- about a half mile north of Douglas County High School.

Residents in the area, including homeowners in Metzler Ranch and Black Feather, were outraged and complained the dealership would create traffic safety concerns and lower their property values.

"This has been a reoccurring problem in the town of Castle Rock," said Mayor Randy Reed. "It's something that concerns everyone in this community and it's something we want to take, for a lack of a better word, possibly a timeout, and take a look at if we're doing the right things."

The April 1 town council meeting largely pitted concerned residents against commercial and retail developers in the area.

Colin McGraw, who moved to Castle Rock last year, said he supports attracting new businesses to town, but is concerned about the impacts a large car dealership may have.

"I would encourage you to pass this ordinance because when you speak of businesses like car dealerships, whose major marketing strategy is to be obnoxious enough to catch the eye of passersby, they could have a very detrimental effect to the character of this city," he said.

Andy Caldwell, an astronomy teacher at Douglas County High School, voiced concerns about the light pollution the dealership might have on some of the sky viewing events he holds at the school.

Others, however, said the time is not right to suspend all commercial applications -- especially given the state of the economy.

"Any kind of suspension in the normal course of business can have serious consequences to the overall local economy and the overall quality of life," said Jim Riley, with Castle Rock Development Company, which is overseeing the development of The Meadows subdivision. "We're really concerned about this in the current economic times."

Town Councilman Ryan Reilly said he hopes the vote does not scare away future business development.

"I appreciate what the development community has to say," he said. "However, some of these statements that we're sending signals that we will kill commercial real estate, well I think that cuts both ways. We're also sending a message to potential homeowners and existing homeowners that Castle Rock has zoning that destroys property values."

The study is expected to be completed in the next two months and the public will be given the opportunity to give their input, said Bill Detweiler, director of development services for the town.

The temporary suspension of new commercial and industrial land use applications affects less than 10 percent of the land zoned for commercial and industrial development in the town, according to the town.

The town will look at specific areas in town affected by potential commercial development. The study area can be found at www.crgov.com.

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