Developers of The Headwaters, a luxury golf course and
subdivision proposed for the Jackson Creek area of western Douglas
County, withdrew their 2003 request for a January hearing before
the county planning commission.
The hearing was set to evaluate aspects of the development that
normally are not allowed in areas zoned for agricultural
uses.
The land proposed as the development site is zoned for
agricultural use, but other purposes could be allowed after a
review by county planners.
The hearing was set for Jan. 12, but the developers withdrew the
request in December 2003 and have not asked to reschedule it, said
Douglas County planner Mark Knight.
Headwaters representatives gave no reason for cancelling their
presentation to the commission, he said.
“I did not get a definite answer,” Knight said. “They did not
give a specific reason as to why they are withdrawing at this
time.”
Headwaters developers George Hanlon, Armen Suny, and their
Denver attorney, Tom Ragonetti, will not talk to the
media.
Knight said he suspects the withdrawal from the hearing could
have been caused by the county’s last review of The Headwaters’
water supply plan.
In May 2003, Douglas County’s water consultant Bruce Lytle
expressed concerns that the development’s plan to use intermittent
surface water from Jackson Creek and West Plum Creek to water two
18-hole golf courses might be inadequate.
Lytle said there might not be enough water to keep that much
course grass alive and the additional depletions of the creeks
might have unforeseen environmental effects.
In March 2003, Douglas County commissioners granted a waiver
that would allow Headwaters to form a district to provide water to
a 132-house subdivision proposed for the property.
The waiver was necessary because the land under the proposed
development lies in the Denver Basin’s Margin A.
That is an area at the edge of the aquifer system.
Allowing new wells in that area is likely to lower levels in
existing Margin A wells.
Under county regulations, such a district can only operate in
Margin A if it extracts surface water.
Members of the West Douglas County Citizens Alliance say the
developers are using delay tactics by withdrawing their request for
a hearing.
“This is the way they always operate,” said alliance member
Sarah Berry. “Every year, about November, they start jumping up and
down and demanding a hearing.
“Everybody gets all geared up, and then they cancel,” Berry
said. “This is not the first time this has happened.”
Also, she said she believes the developers want to let the
fallout die down from a recent series of Rocky Mountain News
articles focusing on possible water shortages facing Douglas
County.
Berry said the developers might also be waiting for the
appointment of new county planning commissioners.
Laura Jorgensen, also a member of the alliance, said she
believes the developers are stalling to maintain the interest of
their investors.