This Colorado town might restrict the height of its downtown buildings

Castle Rock's town council has delayed a decision on a new ordinance Tuesday night that could reshape the skyline of downtown by limiting building heights.

The proposed ordinance would cap new buildings in downtown Castle Rock at four stories. Currently, some areas allow up to six stories, and developers can request additional height -- as seen with the seven-story Encore Condos and an adjacent parking garage.

"I'm a huge advocate of Castle Rock in downtown," said Jeff Samuelson, a downtown Castle Rock resident, property owner, and commercial real estate broker. "I do a lot of business here. I've been here a long time."

He says recent development in downtown Castle Rock has brought new life to the area.

"We were a bedroom community. Everybody left downtown and went into Denver during the day, spent their money in there," he said. "Where we've gotten today, it's been probably 15 years of planning, design, making the right choices."

Samuelson said the growth, including new apartments, has created a more vibrant downtown.

"We have livable residences downtown," he said. "So all the people that live down here now frequent these different retailers and restaurants, and so it's created a huge vibrancy."

Town Councilman Mark Davis said residents have told him they don't want high-rise buildings and would rather preserve Castle Rock's small-town feel. That's why, during a June council meeting, Davis moved to lower the height limit downtown to four stories.

Samuelson said that if the ordinance passes, it could negatively affect downtown property owners.

"If that downzone happens, it will definitely affect the value of my property. No questions," he said. "If you have bought property on the north or south end of Castle Rock and they're downzoning it to a lower height, you've just lost potentially millions of dollars in value."

He also warned that as more people come downtown, taller parking structures will be needed to support demand.

"Would you want a downtown that you can pull right up in front of a business that maybe is not a great business, because downtown's not thriving? Or do you want a place that everybody's frequenting all the businesses and they're all succeeding? And that's what we have right now," Samuelson said.

Samuelson criticized the town for not involving downtown stakeholders earlier in the process.

"Nobody's been notified," he said, adding that he and other property owners plan to attend Tuesday's meeting to share their concerns.

If the ordinance passes, existing buildings like Encore and projects that have already received council approval would be grandfathered in. Town councilmembers could vote Tuesday night, but a second reading would still be required before the ordinance becomes final.

The council voted to bring the resolution back to the Downtown Development Authority and feedback from the community.