City Council approves a citywide stormwater utility fee

PAY STORMWATER UTILITY FEE

During the March 14, 2023 City Council meeting, Council approved the adoption of a resolution that established a citywide stormwater utility fee. The fee is used to operate and maintain the stormwater infrastructure throughout the entire city. The City began managing all public stormwater infrastructure in Castle Pines beginning March 31, 2023, including infrastructure on the east side as well as the system that was previously managed by the Castle Pines North Metropolitan District (CPNMD).

Why does the City need a stormwater utility fee?

A stormwater utility fee is necessary to provide dedicated funding for the City's management of stormwater system infrastructure. The City obtained ownership of the CPNMD stormwater infrastructure via an intergovernmental agreement on March 31, 2023. On this date, CPNMD transferred all responsibility for the ownership, operation, and maintenance of its stormwater system and necessary property rights to the City to own, operate, maintain, and manage the system. In addition to the transferred stormwater system from CPNMD, the City is also responsible for operating and maintaining the public stormwater system for all other areas throughout the city, including new infrastructure in recent developments.

The stormwater utility fee will allow the City to provide an upgraded, consistent service across the entire city. Collecting a stormwater utility fee aligns with the practices of other Front Range municipalities and enables the City to ensure proper funding levels to meet stormwater system infrastructure needs moving forward.

How much is the stormwater utility fee?

The fee will be billed at $105 per year for all single-family homes in Castle Pines.

The fee for multifamily and commercial property owners will vary depending on the property's impervious area (e.g., concrete, roofs, hardscapes, etc.). If you own multifamily or commercial property, please contact the City for more information.

How was the fee amount calculated?

The City hired an outside engineering consultant in the fall of 2022 to conduct an asset evaluation of stormwater infrastructure throughout the city (both existing City-owned assets and CPNMD assets that will be transferred to the City on March 31, 2023). The evaluation identified maintenance projects needed. City staff also conducted additional evaluations to determine the need for future capital improvement projects. The stormwater utility fee ($105 annually or $8.75 per month) was developed based on these asset evaluations, capital project needs, and other annual stormwater program-related costs.

How will I be billed?

If you live within the CPNMD boundary, CPNMD will collect its final stormwater utility fee during the March 2023 billing cycle, which will be collected via the CPNMD bill received in April. No fee will be collected from either the City or CPNMD for April, May, or June.

The City will then begin collecting payments from all property owners within the city for the second half of 2023 (July-December). Bills will be sent out in June, and the payment ($52.50 for the second half of 2023) will be due in July.

More detailed information about billing and payment options will be mailed to property owners later this spring.

Where can I find more information about residential stormwater management?

For more information on stormwater management, visit the City's Residential Stormwater webpage at CastlePinesCO.gov/Stormwater. If you have questions, please contact the City at 303-705-0200.

The City conducted its 2022 Community Survey to better understand residents' thoughts and opinions of City services, programs, priorities, and quality of life aspects. The survey was open between, Sept. 21 and Oct. 4, 2022. Residents were invited to take the survey via text message invitations, email, and social media. The survey link was also available on the homepage of the City's website

The survey was completed by 907 residents. This resulted in a margin of error of +/- 3.09% at the 95% confidence interval. These results will be used to refine City Council priorities and City staff activities.

Key takeaways from respondents included:

• • • 84% indicated that Castle Pines was a better place to live than other cities and towns in Colorado
    • 81% believed Castle Pines was a good or excellent place to raise a family and children
    • Respondents indicated that the following services were the most important for the community:
      • Fire protection and paramedic services
      • Street maintenance, resurfacing, and snow plowing
      • Community planning, zoning, and development
      • Police, crime, and public safety
      • City parks, trails, open spaces, and recreation
      • Public finance services and management of budget, fees, taxes, licensing
    • Areas for continued improvement included shopping and dining options, roadway maintenance, and business and economic development opportunities.

Detailed information on the complete survey results can be found on the 2022 Community Survey webpage.

From neighborhood fire mitigation plans to property risk assessments, let’s become a fire adapted community.

The Marshall fire burned through homes and businesses in Boulder County just over a week ago causing a devastating amount of destruction. This was a stark reminder to Colorado communities and residents of the fire danger that goes along with living in this beautiful area.

Developing an effective wildfire mitigation strategy is key in preventing the spread of low to moderate intensity wildfires. However, even if you utilize every mitigation practice in the books, it may not help contain the spread of an extreme-intensity wildfire like the Marshall Fire. That fire was powered by hurricane-caliber winds blowing over 100 mph.

Keeping all of that in mind, the City of Castle Pines is committed to taking proactive measures to protect the community. The City has partnered with South Metro Fire Rescue (SMFR) to develop neighborhood wildfire mitigation plans for each neighborhood in Castle Pines. Though the process is still underway, Castle Pines will eventually have plans that cover the entire community.

Neighborhood Wildfire Mitigation Plans

 

Additionally, instead of using mechanical means to reduce the volume of Gambel oak growing in the open space surrounding neighborhoods in the City of Castle Pines, the City, several HOAs and SMFR will be utilizing herds of goats. According to Einar Jensen, Risk Reduction Specialist for SMFR, “Goats are more effective than tractor-mounted grinders, chemicals, or chainsaws at long-term mitigation in Gambel oak ecosystems.  They remove leaves from lower branches (ladder fuels) to prevent wildfires from growing into canopies, eliminate weeds because their stomachs neutralize seeds, and fertilize soil with their urine and feces”.  Neighborhoods in Castle Pines have utilized goats since 2015 and as summer approaches, you will start to see the goats throughout our community again.

Here are a few other ways we can all work together to minimize risk and the spread of a fire:

• Representatives from South Metro Fire Rescue are available to conduct free risk assessments for your property, both residential and commercial. They will then provide feedback on improvements that could help reduce fire risk. Contact Einar Jensen at Einar.Jensen@southmetro.org, to set up an assessment.
• If you are not interested in an assessment, take action to prepare your home and property for wildfire. The Colorado State Forest Service provides recommendations around steps that will reduce the ignitability of your home.
• View the Castle Pines City Council June 2020 study session on wildfire mitigation.
• Review the Douglas County wildfire mitigation and risk reduction resources as well as the Community Wildfire Protection Plan.
• Building codes have changed since wildfire knowledge has improved over time, the City is currently under the 2015 ICC Building Codes. If your home was built under previous building codes, it may be worth investing in fire resistant roofing, siding, etc.

“We can work together to update our communities to adapt to fire’s existence," states Jensen. Thank you to South Metro Fire Rescue and to our residents for partnering with the City of Castle Pines to keep our community safe.

Stay tuned for a follow-up article related to evacuation and preparation in case of a wildfire.

Life Time plans to bring a new facility to the east side of I-25 to provide high-quality recreation opportunities to the entire Castle Pines community.

The City is excited to announce that a new Life Time Athletic Resort will soon be coming to Castle Pines. After extensive negotiations and planning, the new facility has found its future home east of I-25. The new building will offer all Castle Pines residents world-class recreation programs and facilities in our own community - no more driving out of town to get your exercise! Along with providing new amenities to residents, Life Time will also ensure that the facility meets the high aesthetic and environmental standards here in Castle Pines.

About Life Time Fitness

Founded in 1992, Life Time champions a Healthy Way of Life for its members across 158 destinations in 36 major markets in the U.S. and Canada. Life Time prides itself on delivering an unmatched athletic resort experience. It provides a comprehensive healthy living, healthy aging, and healthy entertainment experience that goes beyond fitness to encompass the entire spectrum of daily life.

Development Plans

Life Time in Castle Pines will feature approximately 115,000 square feet of health and wellness amenities and employ over 200 people in full and part-time positions. Like all other Life Time resort locations, this facility will feature premium four-sided architecture consisting of decorative stacked brick, high-quality limestone accents, and earth-toned stucco. Specifically, this proposed location will offer:

• • approximately 525 parking spaces with 5% of those spaces as EV-ready.
  • a 50,000 sf outdoor pool deck
  • 8 bodies of water including
    • an outdoor leisure pool
    • an outdoor lap pool
    • an indoor lap pool
    • an indoor lesson pool
    • 2 indoor hot tubs
    • 2 indoor cold tubs
  • Life Café & Poolside Bistro
  • Life Spa
  • Life Time Kids Academy (offering care for members while on-site, as well as summer camp and school days off programming)
  • Studio Spaces
  • 2 Group Fitness
  • 2 Yoga
  • Barre
  • Cycle
  • Pilates
  • Regulation Basketball Court

Next Steps

As soon as the City receives additional information on the specifics of this project, we will share it with the community!