Drowning the Voice of Chatfield South

By Molly Afshar, December 2015

 

 

 

Just south of Chatfield State Park in Douglas County Colorado, Valerie Afshar lives with her family on their small hobby farm of 35 years. Her property of five acres is riddled with dogs, cats, horses, old cars, wood piles, and differently constituted gardens decorate just about every corner of the property. This hobby farm lies in Braley Acres, one of four subdivisions south of Chatfield Reservoir that are considered to be a part of a single community. Around two hundred families make up the population of Braley Acres, Plum Creek Acres, View Ridge, and Sunshine Acres, or collectively the Chatfield South community. Most of the properties in this area are at least two acres, and like the Afshar farm often support a wide variety of animals as both pets and livestock. To the north of this community Chatfield Reservoir, and Chatfield State park mark a popular landmark for residents and visitors to take their boats, go fishing, ride their horses, or just enjoy the scenery on a leisurely stroll. Just south, Roxborough State Park showcases red sandstone rock formations and host a wide variety of different level hiking trails. To the west, layers of the purple Rocky Mountains stand, looming over the vast expanse of open flat-land that surrounds this residential area. It is this open land that is going to be developed in late 2016, early 2017. The development, named Sterling Ranch, will consist of high density housing and commerce to support 12,000 housing units at about four units per acre. This eventuality is one that the Chatfield South community has been fighting for a number of years, to no avail. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The way of life for this community is one that means having the freedom to live a life supplemented with horses, cattle, chickens and roosters that crow in the early morning alongside supportive neighbors who are far from being within shouting distance. “We are very cohesive in our like for privacy, keeping our homes, and doing what we want to do without a bunch of HOA regulations telling you what color beige to paint your house,” Valerie Afshar stated in an interview in November of this year. She went on to say, “We’re all rather independent folks who really kind of mind their own business, and if a neighbor is in need we all pull together and help them.” It is this way of life that made the Afshar family move to Chatfield South in 1980, and it is the shared love of this way of life that binds the community together.

Sterling Ranch began planning the development of the area around twenty years ago and quickly “lawyered up,” as Valerie put it. They weren’t actively engaged in the project however, until the last 15 years. They now seem to be following in the footsteps of Highlands Ranch. Highlands ranch is a large housing development Northeast of Chatfield South that maintains a population of over 96,000 people in an area of 23.5 square miles. The first houses of this development were built in 1981 and the expansion of this area is still in effect today. Sterling Ranch is now in the running to do much the same thing, only quite a bit closer to Chatfield South. Speaking on behalf of the community, Valerie expressed her dislike of this fact.

“We were absolutely adamant that we didn't want that… we weren't against development per se because it’s inevitable that with progress comes development. However we felt that we should have some input on what type of development… We certainly didn’t want dense development because that’s why we live here — to get away from that.”

The Chatfield South community wasn't totally opposed to the developer’s plans, however they asked only that they might change their plans and build five-acre farms, in order to maintain the feel of the area. This plea from the community went unheard, despite having taken it to commission meetings, court rooms, as well as writing emails and letters. Jane Hoffmann, a resident of Sunshine Acres for example, pleaded in a speech made at a March 2009 Planning Commission Hearing, “I want a different and unique community for Chatfield Basin, one that will maintain our sense of place on this earth, and one we can be proud to share with others. Keep Chatfield Basin as a non-urban designation.” Such voices clearly went unheard as Sterling Ranch’s plans were approved regardless of such pleas. 

 

Sterling Surging Forward

Sterling Ranch has a website outlining their plan for the area for potential future residents to look at. Spread across the home page is a glorious picture of the vast, beautiful, yet untouched landscape that they fully intend to mar. The Managing Director of this development is Harold Smethills, an accomplished businessman, banker, and owner of Hills Equities LLC. Under his supervision, Sterling Ranch managed to change law after law to accommodate the abrasive plan that was set forward by the development. The County Master Plan was one that was changed a number of times over the years as Sterling Ranch ran into problems regarding the legality of their intentions. As each hinderance was merely pushed to the side by this corporation, the community fought to make themselves heard, and to stress the importance of the laws that were in place. The majority of these laws were put into place to protect the Chatfield South residents in regard to their way of life. Now those laws are being breached directly by Sterling Ranch with little to no thought given to the people that already occupy the area.

The only chance to share their voice on the subject of the surging development plan was to take Sterling Ranch to court and to speak at County Commissioner meetings, both of which they did. Residents were given three minutes each to give a speech to the Douglas County Commissioners regarding their concerns on the subject of Sterling Ranch. One such speech made by Charissa Afshar, the daughter of Valerie Afshar, outlined with little to no impact on the commissioners the changes made to the master plan over the course of the battle between developer and community. Such changes included an appeal to change zoning from semi-agricultural to urban. This change was considered by Douglas County and approved in mid-2009 despite clear opposition from residents like Jane Hoffman, and Valerie and Charissa Afshar.

The Sterling Ranch development plan as a whole was approved by Douglas County initially in 2011, but concerned residents of the Chatfield South community took them to court regarding the complete lack of water in the area. In late 2012 a judge ruled to halt the plans of Sterling ranch because they didn’t “have an adequate water supply,” as stated by CBS4 news. Yet, as the same source later reported in early 2013, Sterling Ranch had again been approved by Douglas County to move forward with their plans because they had somehow managed to find a water source. The barriers that Sterling Ranch ran into regarding the lack of water in the area pales in comparison to what the local community had to go through, when confronted with the same issue.

 

 

The Water Crisis

While Sterling Ranch’s struggles with water seemed easily resolved, Chatfield South has not been so lucky. In the past, this community has struggled greatly to make sure that their own homes had an ample water supply. In the winter of 1986 the Afshar well of 258ft had dried up and halted the only water supply to their property. The extent of the damage done by this sudden lack of water was immense, as the water system didn’t only supply the house with running water for drinking and washing, but the heating system in the house was run with water as well. Left without heat and water, the Afshar family was forced to find another water source, as drilling another well was not affordable. 

The Afshar family well was not the only well in the community that had dried up at the time. In fact, wells in the area had been going dry since the early 80’s. The Highlands Ranch development played a large part in the depletion of the ground water for this community, as they used this same aquifer to supply their own development from 1981 to 1986. After this aquifer went dry, one of the only options left was to drill 1000ft to the Laramie/Foxhills aquifer, which lay just below the previously drained water source. But, at the time of the water crisis, drilling cost was $12 a foot and this was far over the budget of residents like Valerie Afshar. 

“We decided to go buy an old fire truck from Louviers [fire protection in the area at the time], which we did, and we cleaned it out and then we bought a big tank for a cistern that held… 5000 gallons of water… we bought water from Roxborough Park… we’d go down there and fill our fire truck and then they’d charge us for the water and for the use of the meter… And of course some of our neighbors ran out, so we helped them as well… that went on and in the mean time we went to water meetings, water meetings, and more water meetings… begging for water. Well, it didn’t happen until… 2000.”

Eventually the area managed to make a deal through Joe Rottman, an engineer that moved to the area around the time of the water crisis. The deal, made in 1998, was that any resident could buy one of 150 water taps that supplied water treated by Denver Water. As much as this was a relief for the area, the price tag on the taps was nothing to scoff at. Rottman managed to get a grant to aid residents, like Valerie Afshar, in paying for the taps. However alongside this, in order to pay for infrastructure, the property taxes in the area were raised a significant amount. Despite this, any resident in the area will say that it was worth it for the water. 

The struggle of this community was immense, and their concerns in this crisis are still present today. This drives much of their concern regarding the recent approval of Sterling Ranch. The time spent by the community of Chatfield South during the Water Crisis was an investment for everyone involved. “Ten years, we went to all the board meetings, we went to treatment plants, we begged, we pleaded, we wrote to the governor. We were a very active group, but finally after ten years we got city water.” Valerie stated in our interview in an exasperated tone. And yet, Sterling Ranch managed to completely disregard the history of this community in their quest to develop the area.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Little Struggle for Sterling

Compared to this year-long plight that residents of Chatfield Basin had to endure, the attainment of water by Sterling Ranch was made in the blink of an eye. This short turnaround is not the only issue that residents have with the plan to develop. The source of this obtained water will be a combination of treated grey water, from Denver Water, and collected rainfall, which will make up 35% of their water supply. Previously, the collection of rain water had been illegal in the state of Colorado, but Sterling Ranch moved to have this law changed for the sake of their development. In a 2015 9news story on the approval of the development, it was stated that Governor Hickenlooper had a house bill re-signed in order to allow for the collection of rain water. In this interview Hickenlooper also stated that this collection method used by Sterling Ranch will be a “test-case” to see if it will adequately supply the development’s occupants. It was not required at any point by Douglas County for Sterling Ranch to prove that they could obtain an adequate water supply to sustain this development.

Legal changes such as those previously mentioned all had to go through commissioner meetings, which the residents of Chatfield Basin were allowed to be a part of. However it is common thought among residents that the county commissioners do little to represent the community. One such commissioner, Republican Jill Rapela was funded significantly by Sterling Ranch. Seventy-five percent of Rapela’s campaign fees were paid by Sterling Ranch and their constituents, while running completely unopposed. Her campaign sign stood tall in their land during her term. Additionally, her term as a County Commissioner for Douglas County covered the most significant changes made by Sterling Ranch, despite clear opposition from residents, the voice of whom was meant to be represented by the commissioners. There are a number of serious issues that the residents of Chatfield South attempted to make known, but the system in place didn’t allow for their voice to be heard.

Such issues include, but are not limited to, transportation in the area and the myriad of wildlife that call Chatfield Basin home. Though Sterling Ranch does plan to add roads to the area, these additions and their upkeep will be payed by taxpayers, not Sterling Ranch. Furthermore, these additions will be made off of Titan Road, the only access point residents have to the area. Even with only 200 families in the area, fire safety has long since been a large concern for the South Metro fire department because of the fact that there is only one evacuation route for residents, this also being Titan Road. 

This two-lane road remains unlit by street lamps and has a number of hills that limit sight distance for drivers. At a number of points along the three mile stretch of road, there are blue signs asking drivers to drive carefully in memory of someone who didn’t. This road runs west through Waterton canyon, another park with limited capacity for traffic, and east to Highway 85, which is four lanes wide and heavily utilized. C-470 is the main tollway that feeds Highway 85 and the Chatfield Basin area. Along with Highway 85 and Titan Road, C-470 has been deemed unfit by the Colorado Department of Transportation to withstand the traffic made by the Sterling Ranch development. And like the pleas of the community, this statement went unheard.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Despite not making much headway in protecting their own neighborhoods, members of the community still fought long and hard to make not only their voice count, but also to speak on behalf of the wildlife that live in the area. Chatfield State park is home to a vast list of different species, including, but not limited to, owls, hawks, elk, beavers, raccoons, coyotes, foxes, snakes, and nearly too many rabbits to count. Each of these species will inevitably be a problem for the incoming development as rabbits chew the wiring on cars, coyotes eat domestic cats and small dogs, and raccoons consistently break into trash. The residents of Chatifield South have learned to live with this, and it’s just part of their way of life. They lock their chickens away from the foxes at night, and keep their trash locked up in raccoon-safe containers that have also been tested by black bears over this past summer. Sterling Ranch had promised in their plan to include a “wildlife corridor” to accommodate such wildlife. But what they fail to realize is that the wildlife won’t know what land is set aside for them, and what land is set aside for the 30,000 residents that likely won’t care about the well-being of wild animals. The behavior of the wildlife in the area will only be seen as an inconvenience to the building of Sterling Ranch, and likely to the future residents as well.

Ask any resident of Chatfield South about the inconvenience of having such wildlife entering their properties, and they will tell you exactly what Valerie Afshar told me, “I love it. I don’t mind it at all. I love it, they were here first, not me, and anyone who doesn’t believe it should get out of here.” Even now, before building has begun, Sterling Ranch has taken steps to remove the wildlife from the area. Prairie dogs riddle the land, but for the most part keep to themselves. Unfortunately, Charissa and Valerie Afshar witnessed on a number of occasions companies gassing the prairie dogs that occupied Sterling Ranch soil. “What’s so funny is about a month later, they were resurrected. They stand there, like they’re praying to the sun. They even started a group down in Highlands Ranch not to kill prairie dogs because they… support 40 subspecies.” The resilience of this species and the residents of the area is one that is amazing, but is proving to have little effect on the outcome of the situation at hand.

 

The Voice of the Chatfield South Community

This community has been fighting diligently for years. They spoke at meeting after meeting, hired attorneys to speak for them, and even went from one neighborhood to the next, handing out fliers asking their neighbors to spring into action and aid in the cause. These fliers, stating things like “Protect Chatfield” were soon followed by fliers from Sterling Ranch, only these were on card stock, not printer paper. The Sterling Ranch fliers held a fancy logo at the top and quickly dismissed the actions of the residents in their first sentence, and these fliers were spread much farther than those spread by residents. 

Sterling Ranch preached to the community that they would improve the quality of life in the area by adding to conservation attempts, and building a better community. But they failed to see what was already occupying Chatfield South — “Quality of life already exists here.” Charissa Afshar stated in her speech to the Board of County Commissioners in 2011, 

“Hundreds made a conscious decision to move here because of it, and now it is systematically being annihilated. It may surprise you that not all county residence have the same measurement of quality as this developer, but we don’t have the deep, deep pockets or hordes of paid experts, lawyers and baseball stars to parade, showing you what we are trying to sell. But we’ve done our homework, and what you are hearing from Sterling Ranch is half of the real story… but we only have three minutes for the other half right? Bottom line: no matter how green they say there are… 30,000 people… is 30,000 people using resources, no matter how you cluster or package them.”

These words, along with the pleas of nearly every resident of Chatfield South went in one ear of the supposedly democratic system we have in place, and right out the other. The purpose of the Board of County Commissioners, and the Governor is to be the voice of the people which they represent, but as seen in this ongoing struggle, the voice with the biggest pockets drowns out the voice of the people.