Castle Rock council tables proposed conveyance of Crystal Valley middle‑school site after residents object

The Town Council of Castle Rock on Tuesday voted unanimously to table consideration of an ordinance that would reconvey a 20.9‑acre parcel in Crystal Valley Ranch back to the developer after the Douglas County School District notified the town it would not use the site for a school.

Town planning staff told the council the parcel had been identified in the 2006 development agreement for Crystal Valley Ranch as the “20.9 acre middle school site,” and the Douglas County School District submitted written notice on Feb. 3, 2025, stating it would never utilize the site for a school. Tara Vargas, the town’s planning director, said the development agreement requires reconveyance to the owner if the district declines the parcel.

The tabling followed more than two hours of public comment at a quasi‑judicial hearing in which dozens of nearby residents urged the council not to release the parcel for development. Speakers cited overcrowded nearby schools, traffic concerns at Crystal Valley Parkway and Lake Gulch Road, loss of open space and recreational amenities such as disc golf, and the expectation many homebuyers said they had been given that a school would go on the site.

Vargas said the parcel was platted and conveyed to the town by special warranty deed in 2015 after the Crystal Valley Ranch development was approved and that the property is currently zoned under the Crystal Valley Ranch PD for planning area 3a, which allows residential development. She told the council the developer, represented in the meeting by Greg Brown, had submitted a pre‑application proposing about 112 single‑family lots and that, as required by a separate agreement between the developer and the school district, the developer would pay the district $500,000 at closing as cash‑in‑lieu for a school site.

Residents pressed multiple council members for alternatives, including keeping the parcel as public open space, arranging for a recreation center, or asking the school district to reconsider. “If it is possible to maybe hold that purpose of having it for a school in future…things can change over the next few years as the community grows,” said Emmanuel Lisonbee, a resident who spoke during public comment. Several speakers said they had been told by sellers or brokers that the land would be used for a school when they bought nearby homes.

Council members said they wanted time to pursue additional information and outreach. Council member Dietz moved to table the ordinance; the motion carried unanimously on roll call. Later in the discussion several council members urged residents who oppose the conveyance to contact school‑board members directly and attend upcoming school‑board meetings.

What’s next: town staff and council members said they would use the pause to seek more information from the Douglas County School District about the district’s decision and to explore options raised by residents. The ordinance would have returned the parcel to CVR PA 3a LLC; because the council tabled the item, no conveyance or closing will occur until the matter is brought back for council action.

Votes at the meeting: Council member Dietz moved to table the ordinance; the motion was seconded (second not specified in the record) and passed unanimously.

Context and background: Crystal Valley Ranch is a large master‑planned community originally entitled in the mid‑2000s for up to 3,475 units. Town staff told the council that, across plats and dedications, the neighborhood now contains more than 600 acres of public land and open space (not including the 20.9‑acre site in question). The site was originally designated above and beyond school‑site dedications; the district’s letter that it would not use the parcel triggered the reconveyance clause in the development agreement.

Speakers quoted in this article are identified in the record and attributed to their appearances during the Crystal Valley Ranch quasi‑judicial hearing at the March 18, 2025 Town Council meeting.