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Thornton council unanimously approves Royal Point annexations and rezoning for mixed-use development
Summary
After a public hearing, the council approved annexation and rezoning for the Royal Point development — comprising separate East, West and Central areas — with council and applicant saying future preliminary plans will address irrigation, traffic, and school impacts.
Thornton City Council on Feb. 24 unanimously approved a package of annexations and zoning amendments for the Royal Point development, allowing the city to add roughly three parcels east and west of Highway 7 and to rezone a central parcel from business park to a mix of residential-high density and regional commercial uses.
The city’s senior planner, Kara Stoller, told the council the applications cover “an overall development area of approximately 92 acres” and that the requests were evaluated under the city’s 2025 development code. Applicant representatives for Ventana Capital described the project area as roughly 108 acres and said the proposal anticipates a mix of townhomes, paired homes and multifamily buildings, with a small regional-commercial corner near East 164th Avenue and Highway 7.
The hearing drew public questions about water rights, an irrigation lateral that runs through the site, traffic, building heights and whether nearby oil-and-gas wells are active. Resident Lile Pacheco told the council she depends on a lateral irrigation ditch that crosses the property and asked that the ditch be preserved. The applicant responded that ditch-company comments have been received and that water-rights issues and any required relocations or piping will be addressed as part of the subsequent preliminary-plan and civil-construction review.
Council members acknowledged public concerns and emphasized additional outreach as project-level plans are prepared. Councilmember Russell, who introduced one of the motions, said the development offers “the additional amenities that will come with the pad sites and commercial as well as the mixed housing product” and urged continued community engagement as the project matures.
Council approved seven separate actions tied to the proposal — findings of fact, annexations and zoning amendments for Royal Point East, Royal Point West and Royal Point Central — each by unanimous vote. The motions covered (1) findings and annexation for Royal Point East (approx. 22 acres), (2) annexation ordinance for Royal Point East, (3) zoning amendment for Royal Point East (approx. 21 acres), (4) findings and annexation for Royal Point West (approx. 8 acres), (5) annexation ordinance for Royal Point West, (6) zoning amendment for Royal Point West (approx. 8 acres), and (7) zoning amendment for Royal Point Central (approx. 73 acres) to allow residential-high and regional-commercial uses.
What’s next: staff and the applicant said more detailed development plans — including traffic studies, coordination with the school district and civil construction plans that will address irrigation and any required ditch agreements — will be submitted and reviewed administratively and at subsequent hearings as required.
The council closed the hearing at 8:55 p.m. and moved immediately to introduce and vote on each ordinance and resolution related to the Royal Point package; each passed on first reading or by resolution with unanimous support.
