To: Honorable Mayor and Members of Town Council
Through: David L. Corliss, Town Manager
From: Tara Vargish, PE, Director, Development Services
Sandy Vossler, Senior Planner, Development Services
Title
Resolution of the Castle Rock Town Council Making Required Statutory Findings Concerning the Eligibility of Certain Property for Annexation (Crowfoot Valley Road Annexation)
Body
________________________________________________________________________________
Executive Summary
The Town of Castle Rock, as property owner and applicant, has submitted a Petition for Annexation for four unincorporated parcels in Douglas County, known as Crowfoot Valley Road Annexation. Collectively the property is approximately 5.31 acres in size and is located east of the Crowfoot Valley Road/Tower Road intersection and west of the Crowfoot Valley Road/Macanta Boulevard intersection (Attachment A).
On September 5, 2023, Town Council found the Petition to be in Substantial Compliance with the applicable requirements of the Colorado Municipal Annexation Act of 1965 and voted 7-0 to schedule the Eligibility Hearing for October 17, 2023. The purpose of this Eligibility Hearing is for Town Council to review the statutory allegations made in the Annexation Petition (Attachment B) and make a determination as to whether the property is eligible to be considered for annexation into the Town of Castle Rock.
Annexation is a three-step process. In the first two steps, Substantial Compliance and Eligibility, Town Council determines whether an annexation request meets the statutory requirements for annexation as established in the Colorado Revised Statutes, specifically the Municipal Annexation Act of 1965 (Act). In the third step, Town Council determines whether an annexation request complies with the Town’s guiding documents and the Municipal Code, and if the property should be annexed into the Town. The following is a summary of the three steps required for annexation.
Step 1 - Substantial Compliance. Town Council determines if the annexation petition is in the prescribed form and contains the necessary statutory criteria. For example, in order to be compliant with the statutes, a finding must be made that the petitioners constitute more than 50% of all the landowners and that the petitioners own more than 50% of the total area of the property, excluding certain public ownership. Town Council must also set a date, time and place for an Eligibility Hearing.
Step 2 - Eligibility. After four consecutive weeks of public notice in a newspaper of general circulation, Town Council will determine if the statements (referred to as “allegations” in the statute) in the annexation petition are supportable and that the property is eligible for annexation under the Act. The Eligibility Hearing must occur between 30 and 60 days after the Substantial Compliance approval.
Step 3 - Annexation and Zoning. Once an annexation petition has been found to be both substantially compliant and eligible for annexation, the Annexation and Zoning hearings may be scheduled for Planning Commission and Town Council. Substantial Compliance and Eligibility determine whether the parcel can be annexed: this final step determines whether a parcel should be annexed.
The proposed Crowfoot Valley Road annexation is currently at Step 2 - Eligibility. The Eligibility Hearing is procedural; this hearing only determines whether the property proposed for annexation meets State requirements and makes findings on whether or not an election is required. The Eligibility criteria are:
• The proposed annexation complies with Section 30, Article II of the Colorado Constitution, and as applicable §31-12-104 and §31-12-105, Colorado Revised Statutes (C.R.S.),
• More than 50% of the landowners in the area to be annexed, owning more than 50% of the area to be annexed have petitioned for annexation,
• A community of interest exists between the area proposed to be annexed and the Town, the area to be annexed is urban or will be urbanized in the near future, and the area to be annexed is integrated with or is capable of being integrated with the Town,
• At least 1/6 of the perimeter of the property to be annexed is contiguous with the Town boundary,
• No additional terms and conditions are to be imposed; and
• No election is required because 100% of the private property owners signed the annexation petition.
Only after the annexation request is found to be Eligible can the Town proceed to Step 3 - Annexation and Zoning and hold a hearing to determine whether the property should be annexed. The legal description of the property proposed for annexation is attached as Exhibit A of Attachment B.
Staff finds that the proposed annexation meets State of Colorado requirements of the Act, as discussed in more detailed in the Analysis section below, and recommends approval of the Eligibility resolution.
Budget Impact
The finding of eligibility does not have any financial impact. Financial impacts will be addressed through the annexation hearing process, the third and final step in the annexation process.
Staff Recommendation
Based on the findings above, the proposed annexation area meets the eligibility requirements of the Act, and staff recommends that Town Council approve the Resolution finding the property eligible for annexation.
Proposed Motion
Option 1: Approval
“I move to approve the Resolution as introduced by Title.”
Option 2: Approval with Conditions
“I move to approve the Resolution as introduced by Title, with the following conditions:” (list conditions)
Option 3: Continue item to next hearing (need more information to make decision)
“I move to continue this item to xxxx meeting on xxxx, 2023.”
Attachments
Attachment A: Vicinity Map
Attachment B: Annexation Petition
Attachment C: Annexation Map
Attachment D: Resolution
Attachment E: Applicable Sections of the Colorado Revised Statutes