Board approves River Canyon filing 1A minor‑development plat with six conditions

The Douglas County Board of County Commissioners on March 11 approved the River Canyon filing 1A fourth‑amendment minor development final plat, which creates four new residential lots (1.0 to 1.33 acres each), reconfigures several tracts related to the Ravenna golf course, and adjusts related easements and private road access.

Jeanette Baer presented the staff report and noted the planning commission recommended approval 7‑0 after hearing the application on March 3. Staff summarized referral responses and identified public comment from adjacent Roxborough Park residents expressing concerns about neighborhood character and environmental impacts; the applicant said those concerns were addressed through design adjustments and outreach. Applicant Jeff Collins, vice president of River Canyon Real Estate Investments, told the board River Canyon will remain below the River Canyon PD cap of 250 dwelling units and said the project "utilizes existing infrastructure for water and sewer." He also described building envelopes, drainage design using a detention pond and the Eighth Fairway as part of filtration, and two emergency access gates that would remain limited to emergency and authorized quasi‑governmental access.

Staff recommended six conditions be attached to approval. Those conditions read into the record include: (1) prior to plat recordation, payment of $1,000 cash in lieu of parkland dedication to Douglas County; (2) prior to plat recordation, payment of $2,000 cash in lieu of school land dedication and $2,368 for school capacity to the Douglas County School District (amount specified in the PD); (3) prior to building permit issuance for lots 1–3, evidence that a 10‑foot utility easement and a golf‑cart path easement have been vacated; (4) during construction, immediate notification to the county if historic or paleontological resources are discovered; (5) technical corrections to the plat exhibit to the county's satisfaction prior to recordation; and (6) satisfaction of any commitments made during the public hearing or in writing.

Commissioners asked about outreach to Roxborough homeowners, emergency‑access gate procedures, and construction timing; the applicant said the developer had held an open house, responded to two written inquiries through the county process, and planned to start construction in October with a target six‑month construction window. A motion to approve the minor development final plat (project file SB2024‑064) passed with a unanimous vote.