The claim also named town officials and detailed lost
profits.
By By: Susan Dage-Ruby
Castle Rock dragged its heels in processing plans for Richmond
American Homes of Colorado’s Liberty Village and could be liable
for $200 million in damages, a notice of claim filed by the
developer against the town alleges.
The claim also named town officials and detailed lost
profits.
“The town does not feel the notice of claim has any merit but is
negotiating with Richmond to settle the dispute,” an official
statement from the town says.
The notice of claim is a prerequisite to filing a state law tort
claim against a Colorado municipality, said Steve Dawes, attorney
representing the town.
Annexed in 1981, more than 1,200 acres in the northeastern-most
part of the town boundaries were zoned for businesses and 5,785
dwelling units, including single-family and multifamily
units.
Liberty Village is on the west side of Colorado 83.
Castle Oaks Road, which runs through the middle of the
development, connects it to Founders Parkway.
The claim alleges that the developer has been attempting to get
an amended planned development for Liberty Villages since
1996.
Between 1996 and 1998, Richmond Homes submitted two plans that
were rejected by development services for various reasons, the
claim says.
Richmond presented a third plan in October 1999 with 1,522 units
to resolve the town’s concerns and comments, which are continuing,
the claim says.
Richmond’s existing application was submitted March 21, 2000, a
statement from the town says.
“Richmond has made repeated efforts to have its plan heard at a
public hearing, but town staff have refused [sic] to refer it to
the [Castle Rock] Planning Commission and [Castle Rock] Town
Council,” the claim says.
Richmond, in its claim, alleges that the town had a “clear …
bias against the project” and made “concerted efforts … to use
interminable delays in the land use planning process” to unlawfully
gain the property as open space.
A neighboring subdivision, Rangeview Ranch, now called Hidden
Mesa, recently was purchased by the town and Douglas County as an
extension of open space.
The claim says the town’s delay tactics kept Richmond from
“economical viable use of Liberty Village” and cut into the
developer’s “reasonable investment-backed expectations [and]
contractual relationships.” The claim also alleges that Richmond
missed out on building “thousands of homes during a superior
economic period of time.”
There is no established timeframe for processing work on major
planned development amendments, the town says.
“Every project is unique – and should be,” the town statement
said. “The time required for review and approval of major
amendments can be affected by the quality of the submittals, town
staff workload, the timeliness of applicant responses to staff
suggestions and questions, infrastructure issues and other
variables.”
Town employees listed in the claim include Mark Stevens, town
manager; Robert Slentz, town attorney; Kathleen Sellman, assistant
town manager for development services; Rita Gerou, deputy director
of development services; Rob Hanna, director of parks and
recreation; and Shani Porter, former town planner.