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Commission flags groundwater questions on Antelope Crossing rezoning referral
Summary
Commissioners reviewed a referral for Antelope Crossing (100-acre parcel subdivided) and raised concerns about adjudicated water decrees that may not match county records, the feasibility of exempt well permits for lots rezoned after 1972, and whether a conservation/leak-detection plan is needed before approval.
The Douglas County Water Commission discussed an Antelope Crossing rezoning and final plat that proposes dividing roughly 100 acres into multiple lots. Chair introduced the referral and Tricia Bernhardt raised questions about groundwater: the property’s water-court decree lists Elbert County rather than Douglas County and the application did not, in her view, clearly show whether future lot owners could obtain exempt well permits if the property is rezoned after 1972. "They may have to have augmentation for their groundwater use and they may not be able to get a permit for such small lots," Bernhardt said.
Commissioners debated density and water use assumptions. Clark Hamillman noted the applicants described 2 acre-feet decreed per 10-acre lot (roughly 1,800 gallons per day per residential lot by his calculation) and recommended that the Board of County Commissioners ask for a conservation plan and leak-detection plan as part of approvals. The commission did not take a formal vote on the referral at the meeting; staff noted the referral and took notes for follow-up with planning and water-rights review.
