Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Economic Development topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Consultants present draft economic development plan; council asks for clearer city-specific steps
Summary
Consultants from Ayers Associates and partners presented a draft 5–10 year economic development strategic plan focused on place-based strategies, civic anchors and branding; council members pressed for clearer next steps, annexation policy links and an implementation memorandum.
Consultants from Ayers Associates presented the first-draft economic development strategic plan to the Castle Pines City Council during a study session on April 28, 2026. Mike Scholl of Ayers Associates said the plan is intended as a data-driven, place-based playbook to guide decisions over the next five to 10 years, and described research on retail leakage, local market conditions and performance metrics. "This plan gives the city a shared playbook helping to ensure that the individual decisions that you make add up to the kind of community that you want Castle Pines to be over the next 5 to 10 years," Scholl said.
The presentation emphasized an East–West commercial split — a stable West Side and an emerging East Side — and proposed six recommendations, including a West Side infrastructure plan, public-space design standards and performance metrics such as retail sales per resident. Tripp Muldrow, a consultant with Arnette Muldrow and Associates, highlighted civic anchors as catalysts for private investment, noting the potential role of a library or civic campus in drawing daytime activity.
Council members asked for additional specificity. Several members said they wanted the report to translate into clear, prioritized action items rather than general recommendations. One council member criticized the presentation as too generic and asked the consultants to tailor the plan more closely to Castle Pines. Consultants responded they will deliver an implementation memorandum that distills the plan into immediate steps, near-term priorities and longer-range actions to be integrated into the comprehensive plan process. Mike Scholl said the consultants will include the raw outreach data and appendices in the final formatting.
Next steps: the consultants will incorporate council feedback, prepare a final formatted report with appendices and an implementation memo for city staff and the council to review; staff indicated the materials will inform upcoming comprehensive-plan discussions and a proposed priority action plan to be considered at a council retreat or earlier, as needed.
