Some Colorado residents were promised mountain views. Now they say they're victims of false advertising
"Free to roam" — it's the slogan of the recently built Macanta community in Douglas County that boasts 50% open space. But now, some residents are upset to learn the views they were counting on are being developed.
"It's a view that I look out at every time I look out of my living room," Sheridan Lofman said.
Open space was a big reason Lofman and her family chose to move to Macanta in August of 2022. The community is just northeast of Castle Rock off Crowfoot Valley Road.
"People who had a view of the open space paid a higher lot fee," Lofman said. "Now that those houses have closed and people have moved in, the land that they paid that lot fee for has been sold."
In 2023, 400-plus acres south of Macanta were annexed, rezoned for residential development and sold to become Canyons Far South. Macanta's developer, Hines, is also developing Canyons Far South. The development has been approved for 474 single-family homes and 217 acres of open space.
Lofman knew the development was coming, but says she was told the 23.5-acre parcel of land near her home was Macanta open space.
"I immediately noticed that instead of the curved boundary now there's a straight line," Lofman said of the site development plan.
Lofman doesn't want to lose her view, or take a hit to her property value. She says Macanta is still marketing the area as open space. Maps viewable on the Macanta website as recently as last week included the parcel. After CBS Colorado reached out to Hines, those maps were removed.
"Something's wrong here. They didn't tell us. And when I reached out to Hines, the developer, it's been over a month and they haven't got back to me," Lofman said.
A Hines spokesperson told CBS Colorado in a statement, "Hines understands that certain homeowners in the southernmost part of Macanta may have developed expectations that certain land bordering Macanta and Canyons Far South would be designated as open space within the southern boundary of Macanta or would otherwise remain undeveloped. This is an incorrect assumption, and Hines made no formal guarantee or commitment to this effect."
The spokesperson says the maps on the Macanta website are for illustrative purposes only, and are subject to change.
The Town of Castle Rock says the land was originally zoned as a golf course, never as open space, but Lofman insists she was told her view was here to stay.
"Macanta's a great community. I love living here. And I don't want us to become a cautionary tale of a developer bait and switch," Lofman said.
The spokesperson says Hines is not responsible for homebuilder's marketing. Lofman's homebuilder, Toll Brothers, has not yet responded to a request for comment.
The Canyons Far South site development plan is under its first review with the Town of Castle Rock. There will be neighborhood meetings and public hearings on the plan.
