Lone Tree neighbors in Colorado's Douglas County worry about proposal for "Hillcamp" development

Neighbors in Lone Tree are fighting to save the bluffs near their Colorado homes from development.

The proposed Hillcamp development would bring 343 new single-family homes to land on the west side of Interstate 25, south of RidgeGate Parkway, north of McArthur Drive and west of Cabela Drive. It sits adjacent to the East-West Regional Trail, which neighbors say draws people from across the Denver metro area.

"It's just the crown jewel of Lone Tree, and people literally break down in tears over the potential impact that it's going to have," said nearby resident Tara Meekma.

Ever since Meekma learned of the development proposed on the bluffs near her Lone Tree home, she said she has spent 35 hours a week spreading the word.

"We put flyers on cars. We walk the trails. We hand them out to people that are walking. And we're really just hoping the more people we talk to, it's going to spread," Meekma said.

She has created flyers, a website called Save the Lone Tree Bluffs and a petition with nearly 5,000 signatures.

"We want politicians and the developers and the other decision makers to understand people are paying attention," Meekma said.

The project she's fighting is called Hillcamp. Developer Brookfield Residential is proposing 343 single-family homes on almost 400 acres the company owns. The City of Lone Tree says the project also includes an amenity center.

Meekma is worried about the impact to wildlife, water resources, traffic and the wild character of the land and space many Coloradans enjoy.

"People come up here to connect, to get off their phones, to just kind of unplug," Meekma said.

Peter Lauener, President of Brookfield Residential's Colorado Division, said the land was zoned for residential development in 2000, and their plan will preserve the bluff face, the East-West Trail and add 170 acres of open space.

"We wanted to be very thoughtful to creating a lot of open space trail systems, being sensitive to wildlife habitat, sensitive to the most sensitive areas of the site, and leaving those in their natural state," Lauener said. "We are preserving the East-West Trail. We're creating over seven acres of additional trails. We're creating fantastic viewpoints for the community to be able to enjoy and see the views and enjoy the trail as they do today."

Lauener said the project is being developed consistent with zoning, with a density of less than one unit per acre.

The plan includes extending Cabela Drive through Lone Tree open space for Hillcamp's primary access road.

"We understand the developer owns this land, but the developer does not own access to this land," Meekma said. "We're upset about the fact that the city would be benefiting the developer by building a road through that critical habitat."

A Brookfield representative said 447 acres were zoned as open space in 2000 and transferred to the city for free in 2020. The company said the owner at the time reserved the ability to extend Cabela Drive and plans have long been in the works with the city to do so.

Meekma hopes the developer and the city will hear her concerns.

"My message to Lone Tree is, listen. Listen to your constituents. Listen to the people that live here," Meekma said. "The City of Lone Tree also needs to respect why people have lived here and what makes Lone Tree special."

Brookfield has scheduled a meeting with concerned Surrey Ridge residents on Nov. 13 at 5:45 p.m. at the Lone Tree Hub.

"We want to hear their concerns and make sure, as we develop this project, that those concerns have been addressed," Lauener said.

"We have a say in what happens in our backyards. Everybody does. And this is not a done deal," Meekma said.

The City of Lone Tree told CBS Colorado the application is currently under technical review. The next step will be public referral and public hearings, which are not yet scheduled. The city says it cannot comment on a quasi-judicial process like this.