Sterling Ranch residents say plans threaten character of community

Signs reading "retail, multi-family, mixed-use" point to a development coming to Sterling Ranch.

Neighbors say when they bought their homes, they were told it would be a bustling town center.

"The idea of having space that would be walkable that would have perhaps a grocery store or restaurant or other kinds of retail that I could just walk to would be amazing," said Sterling Ranch homeowner Silvia Arpke, who lives right next to the land to be developed.

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However, Arpke was shocked to hear Sterling Ranch is now proposing seven four- to five-story apartment buildings with 412 total units on that land.

"It's a massive change from what was originally gonna go there," said Arpke.

While the plan still includes retail development, neighbors say it threatens the character of their community .

"This is the great outdoors. This is a rural society out here. I'm not sure that building massive apartments is the idea that people bought in when they purchased homes out here," said homeowner Fred Ciochetto.

Ciochetto is worried about traffic, parking and safety. He says the Waterton Road intersection is already dangerous, and there's currently no light.  He says a nearby single-lane roundabout and residential streets will be congested.

"Over here the kids like to play and it wouldn't be a stretch to imagine someone chasing a ball into a street that's rated for two thousand cars a day," said Ciochetto.

Another concern is schools.

"Where are the kids gonna go? That is a major concern for me. I have a one-year-old a 10-year-old and a 17-year-old," said Arpke.

Sterling Ranch is already a school desert and a school of its own is years -- and a voter-passed bond -- away.

"Schools are at capacity or above, and so the idea that were going to drop 450 apartments here, that's going to increase the number of students who need an education in this area dramatically," said Arpke.

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Brock Smethills, president of Sterling Ranch Development Company said in a statement, in part:

"Change is always hard, particularly as Sterling Ranch continues to grow (Sterling Ranch was the best-selling master-planned community in Colorado in 2023 and 42nd in the Country as reported by John Burns). Sterling Ranch Development Company has been open and transparent that apartments would be constructed on this site since before a single home adjacent to the site was every constructed or purchased. This is evidenced by several 8' x 4' blue signs that were installed in 2021 to make people aware of "Multifamily/ Mixed Use" and "Retail Multifamily Mixed Use" on the site."

Smethills also says that neighbors were informed of the apartment buildings and that home views were subject to change.

UCHealth Sterling Ranch Medical Center has also indicated a need for affordable workforce housing.

"We've been told repeatedly 'we hear you,' but there is no change," said Arpke.

Arpke has gathered nearly 600 signatures in a petition against the apartments.

"This plan is not going to fit our community well," said Arpke.

The Douglas County Planning Commission will review the proposal on Monday. Neighbors say they'll be there to voice their concerns during public comment.