Erie council pauses Parkdale North approval after residents raise school, well and park concerns

Erie Mayor Andrew Moore opened a public hearing Feb. 11 on a proposed Parkdale North planned‑development amendment and a preliminary plat that would add about 534 lots on roughly 140 acres and dedicate a 15‑acre elementary school site.

Senior planner Harry Brennan told the council the request would amend PD dimensional standards to mirror the town’s Unified Development Code and reduce some minimum lot sizes to allow single‑family detached lots in the 2,500–4,999‑square‑foot range and attached products down to about 1,000 square feet. Brennan said the overall gross density on the preliminary plat is about 3.7 dwelling units per acre and that detailed architecture and final lot lines will be addressed at final plat and site plan review.

John Prestwich of PCS Group, the applicant, said the PD amendment is meant to align the PD with existing UDC standards, provide flexibility to accommodate trails and right‑of‑way and allow the mix of single‑family and townhome product types planned for the neighborhood.

During public comment, Parkdale resident Thomas Windorf said he was alarmed to see a plugged oil well near the school site and warned about yard sizes and limited amenities if lots are made shallower. “That’s really just that’s a little scary,” Windorf said, urging the council to consider larger recreational space and to address utility easement placement so backyards remain usable.

Environmental services director David Frank told the council the three wells on the property were plugged recently (state records show plugging in 2019 and 2021) and meet current plugging regulations. Frank said staff believes the documentation supports reducing the standard 150‑foot setback to a 50‑by‑100‑foot rectangular setback at final plat, with verification, but cautioned that any re‑entry of a well would be disruptive for nearby residents.

Traffic and school‑safety concerns dominated several council comments. Public works director David Passay and staff said Coal Creek Boulevard is planned as two lanes each direction with some turn lanes and arterial speed reductions to 25 mph in school zones using MUTCD‑compliant treatments, school flashers and a roundabout adjacent to the school site. Staff and the applicant said they had coordinated the conceptual school site and circulation with Boulder Valley School District (BVSD) and that BVSD engineers and architects had reviewed the layout.

Mayor Moore and several council members said they wanted more time to review whether locating an elementary school adjacent to a primary north–south arterial was the best long‑term design, and whether lowering speeds there would shift traffic to other neighborhood routes. Staff confirmed the council and two council liaisons will meet with BVSD and that a transportation study and a March study session on the comp plan will be used to test traffic assumptions.

Given the outstanding questions—oil‑well setback verification, detailed traffic analysis and scheduling with BVSD—the council voted to continue the public hearing to May 27, 2025, to allow staff and the applicant to return with additional analysis and to permit council members and staff to meet with BVSD representatives before any final vote.

The preliminary plat and PD amendment remain under review; no final approvals were adopted at the Feb. 11 meeting.