To: Honorable Mayor and Members of Town Council
From: Matt Gohl, Special Projects Manager
Title
Update: Annexation of Town-owned Parcels
Body
________________________________________________________________________________
Executive Summary
There are approximately 50 Town-owned parcels that are currently outside of the Town boundaries. The majority of these parcels are less than one acre in size with others up to 79 acres. Staff from several departments including Development Services, Legal, Parks & Recreation, and the Town Manager’s Office have begun the process of annexing parcels into the Town of Castle Rock. This effort is underway in order to clean up Town boundaries where appropriate. This is process is expected to occur over an extended period of time.
Discussion
There are several Town-owned parcels that reside outside of current Town boundaries. These properties are identified in blue on the attached map (Attachment A) showing Castle Rock property ownership. As seen on the map, most are small parcels dispersed throughout the Town, while there are some larger parcels in concentrated areas. Staff is currently engaged in the process to identify these parcels and undergo the annexation process for qualified parcels.
Recently, staff submitted a land use application to annex four parcels in the Hidden Mesa/Gateway Mesa area that total approximately 199 acres, as referenced in Attachment B. It has been determined that these parcels meet necessary requirements and will undergo the required process for annexation into the Town. Staff expects this to be presented for Town Council consideration during the spring of this year.
Staff will continue to work through the remaining parcels that are located outside of Town boundaries and recommend annexation when appropriate. The effort to annex these parcels is not identified as a key Town priority, but is an important initiative to clean up municipal boundaries. Annexation of Town owned parcels is viewed as beneficial for several reasons. Annexation into the Town allows for the enforcement of Town Code provisions on Town owned property (Town law enforcement, Town zoning code, etc.) and avoids service confusion as to which jurisdiction governs certain property. Staff will continue to work through this process as time allows. Next steps for this team are to review remaining parcels and prioritize future annexation recommendations. In order to be as efficient as possible, several parcels may be grouped into single annexation proposals as deemed appropriate.
When the Town is annexing municipally owned property, the process requirements are different than private annexations. For example, the annexation petition, substantial compliance hearing, and eligibility hearing are not required. However, necessary due diligence is performed as part of the process including title verification, preparation of the annexation map, mineral estate noticing, and Planning Commission review. Additionally, the annexation request will be presented, by ordinance, for Town Council consideration.
Attachments
Attachment A: Town Ownership Map
Attachment B: Gateway Mesa Annexation Map