Douglas County commissioners approve Fields Filing 2 final plat for 60.45-acre subdivision

Douglas County commissioners on March 25 approved the Fields Filing 2 final plat (project file SB2024-027), permitting the subdivision of a 60.45-acre parcel into five lots and two tracks used for utilities and drainage.

The approval, made by a unanimous 3-0 vote, includes five conditions recommended by staff, among them payments for parkland and school land dedication and technical corrections to the plat prior to recordation.

Planning staff presented the proposal during the land use portion of the public hearing. Heather Scott of Planning Services said the application would subdivide the parcel into lots ranging from about 10 acres to 10.7 acres, and would dedicate roughly 6.3 acres of right of way for future Hilltop Road widening, intersection improvements at Hilltop Road and Singing Hills Road, and to construct Pinesong Place. Scott said referral comments had been resolved and that no public comments were received on this final plat. Scott also noted the property is zoned Estate Residential and that the large lots would be served by individual Denver Basin groundwater wells operating pursuant to Division 1 Water Court Case number 11CW99.

Scott told commissioners the county's Public Works Engineering has approved required studies, reports and construction plans, and that the subdivision improvements agreement had been approved. Staff recommended the board consider conditions including a cash-in-lieu parkland payment of $6,178.46 and a cash-in-lieu school land dedication fee of $3,102.96 prior to plat recordation.

Applicant representatives were present. Troy Bales of Bales Brick Engineering Company said the applicant accepts the conditions in the staff report: “we are accepting of the conditions that have been noted at the staff report, so.” Tom Clark was present representing the ownership group. Commissioners asked no substantive follow-up questions and no members of the public spoke for or against the final plat either in the room or online.

Commissioner Till moved to approve the Fields Filing 2 final plat, stating the application met the approval criteria with the five staff conditions. The motion was seconded, and the board voted unanimously to approve the final plat.

The approval follows the board’s earlier preliminary plan approval for the broader Fields development, which the staff presentation said was approved Nov. 7, 2023 for 130 lots on about 638 acres and included a waiver of a provision in Section 6.11 of the Douglas County Zoning Resolution regarding central water service for the largest lots.

The board's action is conditioned on completion of the listed technical corrections, payment of dedications, and fulfillment of commitments made by the applicant during the hearing and in writing.

Douglas County will accept general-purpose utility easements and secondary drainage easements with this plat and will record the additional right of way required for future road improvements before plat recordation. The county's subdivision resolution section cited by staff was Section 504.06.

The Board moved on to other agenda items after the vote.