Douglas County approves consent agenda including $410,000 Zebulon design contract amid public objections

Douglas County commissioners voted unanimously on July 22 to approve the consent agenda items A through U, a package that included a $410,000 contract for phase‑1 site design work on the proposed Zebulon sports complex. The vote followed a lengthy public comment period in which residents raised concerns about transparency, environmental risks, funding, and the project’s fit with the county’s open‑space priorities.

Multiple residents urged the board to pause or remove the Zebulon design contract from the consent agenda until the county provides clearer information on ownership, environmental mitigation plans, projected total costs, and financing mechanisms. Laura Thomas, a Highlands Ranch resident, cited the county’s 2025 citizen survey and asked who would be responsible for environmental mitigation and whether the county or a developer would pay for potential redesigns driven by Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) concerns. Kelly Mayer cited media reports and said the project may require taxpayer‑backed debt through certificates of participation (COPs), a point she said merited public disclosure before approving design contracts.

Other residents—Bob Marshall, Kim Turnage, Aiko Browning, Dave Swinart, Kim Carroll, Sudie Floyd and others—said they were surprised by the project’s scope, questioned whether public input matched the developers’ plans, and pressed the board for detailed cost estimates, traffic and water analyses, and an explanation of whether a competitive procurement selected the contractor.

County staff and commissioners responded that Zebulon was developed as a strategic priority after extensive public engagement, including town halls and surveys, and that the proposal aims to deliver park amenities, sports fields and open space funded from the 2022 ballot measure authorizing $330 million for parks, open space and historic resources. County manager and staff characterized the $410,000 item on the consent agenda as the phase‑1 civil/site design contract to evaluate buildability, cost drivers and development options; they said more public outreach and town halls would follow once conceptual designs become more concrete.

At the meeting, the board’s consent motion to approve items A through U was made from the dais and seconded; the board then voted “aye” and the chair announced the motion carried unanimously. The consent package included the Zebulon phase‑1 contract (listed on the meeting consent agenda as the public contract for services in the amount of $410,000) and related items.

Residents asked for explicit answers about who will own land, whether the county will back debt, the potential use of tax increment financing or metro districts, the project’s water requirements, environmental review with CDPHE, and whether the site’s acreage and amenities had changed since earlier public briefings. Commissioners said Zebulon remains an active public discussion, that some site choices were made to preserve other previously proposed areas as open space, and that further public meetings and planning would occur as design work returns concrete plans.