Castle Rock council tables conveyance of planned Crystal Valley middle‑school site after hours of public objection

Castle Rock Town Council on Tuesday delayed action on an ordinance that would reconvey a 20.9‑acre “middle school” parcel in Crystal Valley Ranch back to the original developer after the Douglas County School District notified the town it would not use the site.

The council voted unanimously to table the ordinance after sustained public comment and questions from council members about the timing, school‑district decision and potential impacts on traffic, open space and schools.

Town planning director Tara Vargas told the council the parcel was dedicated to the town under a 2006 development agreement but that a clause in that agreement says the site ‘‘may be developed in accordance with the development plan’’ and ‘‘the town shall reconvey the site to the owner’’ if the school district provides written notice that it will never use the parcel for a school. Vargas said the district’s written notice arrived Feb. 3, 2025, and staff prepared an ordinance for reconveyance. "This parcel is just over 20 acres in size," Vargas said during the hearing, explaining the development‑agreement language and the school board action.

Developer Greg Brown, present at the meeting, said his team has long anticipated either a school or development for the site and that any future homes would match the character of adjacent Crystal Valley neighborhoods.

Residents who live adjacent to the parcel urged the council to halt the reconveyance. Dozens spoke, citing traffic and safety on Crystal Valley Parkway and Lake Gulch Road, a lack of schools and recreation facilities in Crystal Valley, wildlife and loss of public open space. Alicia Maison, who lives directly behind the parcel, said the hill is currently “a beautiful green hill full of deer and fox,” and said removing the open land would make longstanding neighborhood problems — including school overcrowding and traffic backups — worse.

Several speakers asked whether the town could repurchase the parcel or otherwise preserve open space, or require that any buyer provide community amenities; others suggested directing the $500,000 payment that the developer agreed to give the school district to local school planning or traffic improvements instead of conveying the land. Town staff said the $500,000 is the cash‑in‑lieu payment the developer and the district negotiated and that the town is not a party to that agreement.

Council members pressed for more information from the school district and for time to assess legal and policy options. Councilmember Dietz, who moved to table the item, said residents had been given an expectation that a school would be built and called for more dialogue with the school board. "The school board and this has nothing to do with town staff anymore — these are my comments," Dietz said before making the motion to table.

The motion to table was seconded and passed unanimously. The council did not set a specific return date; council members invited residents to raise concerns directly with the Douglas County School District and suggested staff follow up with legal analysis and additional outreach. Until the item returns, no conveyance will occur.

Why it matters: The parcel had been identified in the original Crystal Valley development agreement as a potential middle‑school site and is one of the last sizeable undeveloped pockets adjacent to Rhyolite Park. Residents said losing the land to housing would intensify already heavy traffic and leave Crystal Valley without neighborhood‑scale public assets residents said they expected when they moved there.

What’s next: Council tabled the ordinance, directing staff to seek more information and to coordinate further outreach to the school district; residents were urged to contact the school board and council members. If the council later moves to approve a conveyance, the reconveyance language in the 2006 development agreement will likely control timing and conditions of any sale or development.

Votes and formal actions related to this item are recorded in the structured actions section below.