Castle Rock liaison reports council approved lowering downtown building height; staff to draft ordinance

Town Council Liaison Mark Davis told the Town of Castle Rock Design Review Board on the evening of the meeting that the Town Council voted to lower the maximum building height in downtown from six stories to four and approved a tightened Title 9 ordinance restricting provocative public acts in public spaces.

Why it matters: the change directly affects downtown development options, property owners and future proposal reviews before the board, and will require a written ordinance from staff before the new rule takes effect.

“Right now, it's to change the building heights,” Mark Davis said when asked whether the council vote was to change the height limit or only to gather information. Town staff said they are preparing the ordinance to implement the council’s direction. “So, yeah, town staff is preparing that,” said Mr. Kaczewski, a town staff member, describing what will come back to the board.

Davis said the council also passed a revision to Title 9 that tightens provisions to restrict provocative public conduct in public spaces, and he confirmed that new alcohol permits will be required for events where alcohol is served under the revised rules. He described the Title 9 change as related to restricting provocative performances in public areas where children may be present.

Davis and town staff provided additional development updates the board heard: the Crystal Valley Interchange bridge deck has been poured and is being used for construction traffic; Dawson Trails Boulevard is under grading and partial asphalt installation, with a target opening of Nov. 1 for the segment from the Crystal Valley Interchange south to Tomah Road; Costco has its site development plan approved but is considering minor tweaks; and the council completed a second reading approving financing and tax matters for the Brickyard project. Davis also said a new recreation center is planned, with construction expected to start in about 1½ years and take about two years to build, and he named the contractor Saunders as the planned builder.

Town staff told the board it is also preparing items for the upcoming meeting including the implementing ordinance for the council’s height decision, the sunset of the interchange overlay district, and an ordinance to simplify a process for creating what staff described as an "80 use" on homeowner property (details not specified in the transcript). Staff said Scalepi’s Phase 2 is likely the next design review item to come before the board.

Votes at a glance - Approval of minutes (Nov. 13, 2024): motion to accept approved 5–0. Mover recorded in the meeting as "Robert" (first name only in the transcript); second by Board Member McHugh. Recorded vote: 5 yes, 0 no. - Resolution of appreciation honoring resigning member John Manca: approved 5–0. Moved by Board Member McHugh; seconded by Board Member Lang. Recorded vote: 5 yes, 0 no. - Chair nomination (Chris Leavers): nomination passed by roll call, 6–0. Recorded vote: 6 yes, 0 no. - Vice chair nomination (Kevin McHugh): nomination passed by roll call, 6–0. Recorded vote: 6 yes, 0 no. - Motion to adjourn: passed by roll call, 6–0.

The board did not take formal action on the downtown height ordinance at the meeting; council has voted to change the height limit and staff said it will draft the implementing ordinance for future review. The Design Review Board heard the council and staff updates for planning and construction projects in and around Crystal Valley and downtown Castle Rock and scheduled no additional policy votes at this meeting.

The board’s meeting minutes and future agendas will provide the formal ordinance language and specific implementation dates once staff returns the drafted ordinance to the board and council.