Board of County Commissioners Business Meeting - public_hearing

All right, June 23rd at 3.41 p.m., calling the Board of County Commissioners Land Use Meeting and Public Hearing to order. If you'll join me, and if you are able, please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Okay, Mr. County Attorney, Mr. Garcia, is there certification of the agenda?

Yes, sir, the County Attorney's Office reviewed all items on the agenda and we're posting as necessary. It's been made as required. Do you have jurisdiction over these matters?

Oh, and if we could, for the press in the room, if you could just take your interviews to the side, or outside the chambers during the hearing, that would be great. Thank you. We are very happy to have you here, just can't be doing interviews in the middle of the public hearing. Mr. Commissioner Layton, any disclosure items for this agenda?

I have none. Thank you, Mr. Chair. And I have none either.

We are going to reverse things today and start with the public hearing agenda items. The very first up is the adoption of an ordinance for the regulation of low-powered scooters and off-highway vehicles in Douglas County. And therefore, Mr... We are joined today from representatives from our Sheriff's Office. Please take it away.

Commander, Allen Stanton, Douglas County Sheriff's Office. I apologize on the low voice. I've got a cold, but we'll do what we gotta do today. First of all, Commissioners, thank you for having us here today. This is an important safety issue for our community, and I know this is the second reading. We've been very blessed with community outreach on this. Comments, filling out surveys, meeting with our officers. It's been a partnership with the commissioners, with our public, looking for public safety for all. Again, this is the second reading. We're asking the commissioners today to approve this ordinance which would regulate the low-powered scooters and off-highway vehicles in Douglas County. I did give a presentation on the 9th that talked about this ordinance and had a PowerPoint. Today I'll be very brief. It's just some highlights that I think are important to go over. And then if there's any questions. There were some great suggestions from the board from the 9th and also the community. And we thought those were very good questions and very good concerns. And so we've changed the ordinance or updated that to meet those concerns that came from the public with anywhere from definition changes to help them to better understand, because I'll be honest with you, the definitions are very confusing. The state has a lot of different definitions for a lot of different things, and so we tried to clarify that. We also added certified helmets for when riders are riding those, so there's some things we talked about today. If there's any questions, commissioners, please feel free to ask me at any time. So again, the purpose of this is to promote general public welfare and safety, imposing and enforcing reasonable and necessary restrictions pertaining to low-powered scooters and off-road vehicles. Now, I think the important factor, push out again, is that the law right now and the 42-color state law does not adequately cover just the changes we've had quickly in society. It is very easy for young teens, adults, to pick up items off Amazon and other places, and the regulations just have not kept up with the items that are on the roadway. And quite frankly, from the Sheriff's Office, public safety is our ultimate goal. This is not a means to over-regulate. To the degree, we only picked two areas to add in this ordinance. We've been asked by numerous citizens, why didn't we put all these other areas in the ordinance? The reason is we don't want to over-regulate. We only want to regulate what's a problem. State statute covers a lot of things, but there are a lot of loopholes that don't cover. And quite frankly, given an example, an off-road vehicle right now under state law on the roadway that's not allowed. Again, first of all, off-highway vehicles are not allowed on the roadway at all, ever. They're off-road only. But if you were on the roadway, it is a $50 fine only. That doesn't change behavior. And so that's one of the things that cities and counties across the state, across the United States are changing legislation to meet those needs because we want our roads way safe. That's what we want. So real quickly here, it's important to note that this ordinance does not apply to e-bikes and it does not apply to electric scooters. So in the ordinance, we have those definitions because I think that's very important for parents and for adults to know what is okay. So with that, e-bikes, there's class one, class two, class three. Those are legal. Those are ones, class one and class two. Those typically are 20 mile an hour. They're bikes with working pedals. They can be on trails. They can be on bike paths. They follow all bike regulations. Class three are ones that actually are not allowed on sidewalks because of the speed, 28 miles an hour. They're like any other bike, but they have to meet the regulations for that. Electric scooters definition, this has been added from the comments from the citizens, and I think this will help. So electric scooters is defined as e-scooter or low speed, means a device that weighs less than 100 pounds, is equipped with handlebars and an electric motor, and has a maximum speed of 20 miles an hour, on a paved level surface when powered solely by electric motor, 750 watts or less. What does that mean to the public? I know there's a lot of legalese in there, but for those that wanna go buy a scooter from Walmart, a Razor scooter, not picking that brand out that's anything special, but a Razor scooter, That is what we're talking about. So they can go on the sidewalks with that. They can go on bike trails. They can go in bike lanes. Those are not, first of all, it's not in this ordinance and they are legal to ride those in those areas. Another example is the line scooters you see like in Denver and other areas. That would fall under electric scooters. So those are not prohibited by this ordinance. The next definition we have here is low-powered scooters. This is in the ordinance. It means any vehicle that is self-propelled, a vehicle designed for use on roadways with not more than three wheels, no manual clutch, and either an engine cylinder capacity of under 50 cc's or a maximum electric motor output of 4,476 watts or less. Again, a lot of legalese. Just so everybody knows, these are legal definitions from the state of Colorado. We don't make those up. This is what the state defines these items as. So what does that mean for us? These are ones that are only allowed on the roadway and that have to be a licensed driver. They have to have registration. They have to have insurance. And what we're finding, these items are being purchased on Amazon is a great example. We just had a couple ones this week where a young teen actually hit a pole on one of these items and was injured. These are the items that are easily bought, easily taken home. They just have a place and it's a licensed driver registration insurance. The last definition I wanna read is off-highway vehicle. That's any self-propelled vehicle that is designed to travel on wheels or tracks in contact with the ground, designed primarily for use off of public highways. And I think that's the biggest thing here. Off-road vehicles for off-highway. That means they're not allowed on our trails, they're not allowed on sidewalks, they're not allowed in parks. And what we've been seeing throughout the state, in Douglas County, Are these vehicles that are driving within our parks, on our sidewalks? It is a serious safety concern. On the 9th, we showed some videos of a young teen, unfortunately, was making a left-hand turn in front of oncoming traffic on one of these vehicles. And he was lucky that the car only clipped the back wheel, knocked him off his bike. Minor injuries, but if it would have been a second earlier, that teen probably wouldn't be here. So that's what we're talking about. In addition, like I said, for the commissioners going on the specific areas that each of the ordinance sections deal with a parent responsibility. So this is another question that came up from the community. What does that mean? Parents can be held accountable under the statute or under this ordinance, but they have to have knowledge. So if they knowingly allow a teen to go out and ride one of these items where it's prohibited, they can be physically charged under this ordinance. There are other areas that are covered under this, reckless driving, careless driving, safety equipment. This is another one the community and the commissioners brought up that it'd be important to make sure that the helmets that our individuals are wearing, whether in this case teens, because they're required to have helmets, that they would be certified. In the state of Colorado, there is a certification and it has to be DOT or Department of Transportation approved. So DOT is the lowest qualification, lowest certification, and it works its way up to helmets that are even what is called MIPS, which is a multi-directional helmet that'll help with head impact. But again, DOT certified is within the statute, so that is part of the safety equipment. Low-powered scooters, we talked about this, that's basically, there has to be a driver's license, it has to be insurance registered, and again, these are only allowed on the roadway. So what's important to focus on low-powered scooters, there's like, what's the big deal, it's a low-powered scooter. Low-powered scooters in this category will do 50 miles an hour. So can you imagine a 50 mile an hour scooter, low-powered scooter, again, I didn't pick the definition, on a sidewalk. on a trail, these are ones that are gonna get people hurt. They're meant for the roadway. They have safety equipment. They are required to have a driver's license registration and insurance. The last thing I'd like to put out here real quick, normally these ordinances when we come to the commissioners we ask or are part of the ordinance, there is a 30-day moratorium where it is passed by adoption and 30 days goes by and then it becomes an active ordinance. We are requesting of the commissioners because of the concerns we have for public safety that that's waived today on an emergency ordinance and upon vote today that it becomes active immediately. Any questions?

Thank you so much for that presentation and actually for doing it multiple times. I know we've had the first reading a few weeks ago, press conference, et cetera, and lots of public feedback. So no immediate questions from me, Mr. Commissioner Layton.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Commander Stanton, great job. Obviously, the Sheriff's Office has done an amazing job leading on this initiative and really being responsive to the citizen outcry around this particular issue. I know as a board, our legal charge is the health, safety, and welfare of 400,000 people. It's a shared responsibility around safety with the Sheriff's Office. And from our perspective, we're balancing this desire for new technology with safety. And safety always comes first. I think what's most important, I mean, obviously, you know, we don't wait to do great. And so this county is going to be responsive and lead the way in terms of addressing this issue. But I think the biggest challenge before us really is communicating what we're doing. Because as you said, the state statutory definitions can be a little bit misleading. particularly that low powered element, a low powered vehicle that's going 50 miles an hour is not low powered, right? So I really appreciated what your team did at the press conference recently. You had a visual of what I'm gonna call the high powered electric dirt bikes. And our message to the community, if this passes today, is to parents, really. It's don't buy these high-powered electric dirt bikes. We are not here today regulating electric bikes or those truly low-speed electric scooters. There's a time and a place for all of those. What we want to avoid are the startling visual images and videos you shared with us where you have kids on dirt bikes that are electric going 50 60 70 miles an hour on roadways that they should be licensed for and those clips are startling because you see kids literally getting injured and getting thrown right off of them and i know many citizens have accounted that as well and have witnessed that so again thank you for your leadership on that I guess my biggest question is probably for your amazing communications department and the county. So for both Deb and Caroline, how are we communicating to citizens specifically what we're doing here today?

We had a press conference about a week ago to debut this proposed ordinance. And then we've been busy on social media, email, working with our partners in the media to really get the word out about this proposed ordinance and encourage community feedback. And we did receive more than 200 comments from the public via our online form between first reading two weeks ago and today. And I know the sheriff's office has also had a tremendous response on their social media channels. as well and then just to sing the praises of our partners at the sheriff's office. They have a very robust website that I would point people to to talk about the different types of e-bikes that are not included in this and then the dirt bikes that we're really talking about here.

Caroline, thank you for that. And I think a picture is better than a thousand words. That really is a perfect example of what we're trying to accomplish. I mean, the visual on the left is that high-powered electric dirt bike, right? Those electric bikes, I mean, this morning before work even started, I took an e-bike to the Bluffs and went back to my house on a bike very much like the one on the right. And I think most Coloradans, most citizens appreciate that. and the ability to do that, but they're literally under 20 miles an hour in most cases. So in terms of how we are sharing this with citizens, there's the website. Can you summarize for us? I just wanna reiterate that the county and the sheriff's office has really, I think, done a, uh tremendous effort at trying to reach out to the public that's why we have a first and a second reading after the first reading a lot of citizen comment and public input was received can you summarize for us what that public comment looked like absolutely commissioner generally speaking from those comments we saw pretty broad support for this i think parents in particular are seeing the need

regulate the safety piece of this. Um, and also just a reminder to the public, one of the messages that we're really trying to get out is that, um, the state already regulates a lot of these things. We're just having teeth really. Um, a lot of these dirt bikes, you know, they're not street legal, so they shouldn't be on the streets anyway. Um, this local ordinance is just adding a little bit of, um, fines and other, um, compelling elements to that. It's generally broad support.

brought support from citizens on this ordinance. So Commander Stanton, what does this look like on the ground going forward? If we pass this today, it goes into effect immediately, what does that look like for you all?

So we do know it's new for our community and we are very blessed in the Sheriff's Office with our public information along with the counties. And our goal is not to be writing how many tickets we can write, it's changing behavior. We do understand there's gonna be a learning curve. So even though if the commissioners pass that today, there is an educational phase. We want our community to know that yes, we do care about our people and there's a balance. And so at the beginning part, we're gonna make sure that we get that out. and we can write warnings later, that's not an issue. Warnings are part of an everyday task. What we find is the individuals that are repeat offenders, the ones that the warnings don't make a difference, the ones that run from officers, the ones that actually put our public in danger, those are ones that a citation and stricter penalties, that's what they're gonna get. So I hope that kind of helps a little bit, but yes, our goal is to let the public know what we have. We've been very blessed with the websites. and with other information out to the public, but we will make sure that our community is well informed before we go into that enforcement phase.

Okay, and then for the benefit of the public, can you show us the changes that were specifically made between first reading and where we're at today?

Absolutely, Mr. Ramanos. if it would help, well, I'll just go ahead and go from this. So the changes that were made from the original, again, one of the things we also noticed, there was clarification, the enforcement part. From the first presentation, Douglas County Sheriff's Office would be the enforcer of this ordinance. But at the same time, we have partners that have limited commissions through Douglas County Sheriff's Office, Heinz-Rech Mentor District, our county rangers. And so that definition was clarified to show that those that have limited commission, as with other ordinances and laws within the county, the sheriff can give them the ability to enforces ordinance. Why is that important? It's important because a lot of these trails in Highlands Ranch and different areas are covered by county rangers, they're covered by metro district rangers. We cannot be in every place at every moment. And so we need their assistance to help us with this. Again, it comes down to community safety. We wanna make sure that if you're walking on the trail with your family, with your family dog or pet, or if you're out there on your e-bike and you're following the rules that you're not gonna have somebody place your life or your family's life in danger because they're not respecting that. So having that partnership is really important. So that area has been changed to add sheriff's office, limited commission personnel that are authorized to enforce laws within the county. So that's one of the sections that have been changed. The next area that's been changed is the issue about the safety helmet or the certification. Before the statute did not give a definition of the helmet that was required, looking deep within the laws of the 42 code, there is a certification for actually anybody riding a motorcycle or anything that's required a helmet, and that is the Department of Transportation certification. So under the safety section, which has been added, specifically Department of Transportation dot approved is the helmet that you have to wear and that's either for low powered scooter or for off highway vehicles. So if a person is contacted and they don't have that proper head attire, they could be issued a citation for that or an organ citation. let's pause on that commander so is that just for people under 18 or is that for everybody it's for those under 18 so the state of colorado because the fact we had some discussion on this because as an adult you have the right to not wear a helmet it's something that there's probably part of us that would like to have some type of regulation on that but adults do make decisions for themselves It's when they make the decisions for their teens that they're responsible for, especially if they have knowledge, we wanna make sure that they're safe. And so the specific ordinance that deals with teens under 18 years of age for the helmets.

Yeah. Well, I don't want to impede the process today because, again, we don't wait to do great. I think it's important to, pending public comment, hopefully move something forward that's enacted immediately. But from a public safety standpoint, I really remain concerned about the use of helmets. Primarily, I mean, we hear about all these cases, but one in particular involved the fatality of somebody in their 50s who commandeered a high-speed electric dirt bike from a group of kids, got on it, I think it was a vehicle that could go up to 60 miles an hour or more, started riding on that vehicle, went over a ravine, and literally split his head open and died immediately. Don't like the idea of over-regulation, but we do have a seatbelt law in the state of Colorado I'm not sure I'm I'm opposed to the notion of a universal helmet law and and perhaps that's a question for another day We can always come back and amend this but I just I think it's important to state on the record just as one commissioner The safety of all citizens not just those under 18 is really significant to me.

I appreciate it. Absolutely. I

And if I could just on that point, I do know the state legislature did pass at one point in our state's history, a motorcycle helmet mandated law and actually the state Supreme Court overturned it. I believe it was an over exercise of the state's power, our policing power. And so it does come up every couple of years in the state legislature. Where we have this focused I think is kind of the right place, which is it's focused on protecting minors by mandating those helmets for them. But it also distinguishes, like many of our laws, like we have speed limits, we have stop signs, we have things like that that protects other people. not necessarily trying to be a parent to an adult who can make that decision for themselves. Also, where I'd wanna keep it out of this and perhaps wait for the state if they ever do try to act once again on it, is I think it'd be somewhat of a double standard to have a helmet requirement for adults on these vehicles, but not on a motorcycle, not on a bicycle, that going downhill, you know, bicycles going downhill can go pretty fast too, and we're not pulling those people over. So wanna keep the focus of both our Sheriff's Department, of our local municipalities who will be kind of duplicating this, focused on protecting those kids and protecting others as those kids interact with traffic or sidewalk or dogs and pets and things of that nature. Commander Stanton, I do have a question for you, a bit to the state law, which I know our state legislature met recently. They've passed 450 bills in the law. They do that every year, it seems, and have special sessions that pass even more. The reason we're here today is because there is a, not a loophole, but a gap in state law, correct? And that's where we've heard from citizens, the sheriff's office, our sheriffs have heard from citizens, and that's where we need to step in.

We had a specific incident, and I'll just be general about it, where a young teen on one of the OHVs was in an accident here in Douglas County. There was a charging of that individual, and we found out through that charging that there was a loophole where the state law does not recognize an OHV under careless driving. That is currently the state. And so there was a piece of legislation that went in front of the legislature this year and it was knocked down. And so that still has not been corrected. We were hoping that would be the case, but that did not happen. And I think unfortunately what happens sometimes is that we don't want to be the county that waits and then tragedy strikes. If you look at the cities, and I think this is important, if you look in Douglas County, both Castle Rock and Castle Pines, have stricter ordinances than we do, if this passes today, specifically dealing with the same type of violence we're talking about today because of the issues within their community. Parker and Lone Tree are also looking at similar type ordinances or legislation to cover this gap because it is a problem. Again, the Sheriff's Office is not here to over-regulate. Our concern is we're gonna have a teen, an adult, it doesn't really matter, they're gonna be seriously injured or killed, because of number one, a lack of knowledge or ordinances that don't prevent somebody to maybe think twice about what they want to do or buy. Going back to what you said, Commissioner, the person, this is a double-edged sword because the person that died was 59 years of age. The person who actually let him ride the high-end electric dirt bike was 13 years of age. Now, if that ordinance would have been in play when this happened in August of 24, maybe this wouldn't have happened because that young teen would not have had that high-end dirt bike at that park. These are the kind of things that are preventable if maybe the public has knowledge of what this is all about.

Well, thank you so much. And I know my top priority is the safety of Douglas County residents, as is the board and of course our sheriff's office. That's what you do day in and day out. So in my view, this ordinance does close a critical gap in state law. The rules seem very clear, very much appreciate all the public output that has been done already and will be done those clear rules to protect our neighbors and our spaces so that everyone can enjoy, I think this accomplishes that. Any further questions, Commissioner?

Yeah, thank you, Mr. Chair. I do have a couple. So we got a little bit of feedback, and actually I need to praise the members of the Free Press, the reporters that asked this question, but I know one question that we received was whether or not there is a publicly available reporting website for citizens to, if there's, A group of kids in the neighborhood that has one of these or have several of the high-powered electric dirt bikes, can they actually reach out and identify that? I see Caroline going to the podium. Caroline?

I'm being told it's on this page, I believe. Stand by.

Well, while you were doing that, I will say that is, and it did come from the public, that idea. Love your leadership on it, Commissioner. We do have something like that for like drag racing. If you, you know, that's a constant problem on C-470. If you hear or see drag racing, you can report that. So it'd be great to have something similar just for this. And maybe that bought you the time you need.

Sure did. It gave me the time to get the information from the sheriff's office. But yes, they have... a link here to report concerns.

Right there. Good job. Good job, Deb and the whole team. So really part of the message to citizens after today is please, at any time really, please do let the Sheriff's Office know if there are issues. Because I think part of it is it's a shared responsibility with citizens. We want to hear from citizens if there are problems in their local communities. So thank you for that. I think the other question that we got, and this also might have been from a reporter, was whether or not we are educating the business community that is selling these high-powered electric dirt bikes to kids. I mean, how are we notifying sellers of this issue?

So that's been a great discussion because the sellers that sell these items, again, a lot of them are through Amazon and other type of internet type groups that you buy those. Now there are actual licensed dealers that sell some of these brands like Saran and some others. They are required to let the individuals know when they purchase those vehicles that they are for off-road use only. They do make specific e-motos that are actually for the roadway that are licensed, registered vehicles, but those are completely different items. As you pointed out, Commissioner, these e-dirt bikes, 70 miles an hour, 80 miles an hour, and if they alter those, we've seen it even faster. They were never intended frame-wise, safety-wise, to ever be on the roadway, and that's the problem. There are a lot of areas within Douglas County and the state of Colorado where these can be enjoyed safely. We have Rampart, beautiful place within Douglas County. I'd have to check, I think it's like $27. You can get a OHV sticker for that item, and you can ride that up on the trails. There's Thunder Valley, which is off of 470, which is a track that's got anywhere from beginner to advanced riding, where you can take that there. There's private property. Those that have private property, you can ride those on private property. What we're asking is ride those in the appropriate areas, and that's really what we're talking about. And I think some of it is that parents don't know necessarily what their kids are buying. They think, oh, it's just electric-based, it's not gonna be a problem, it's not quick, I don't have to worry about the safety features. The reality is technology is so superseded on how fast those will go. Using that unfortunate tragedy we talked about, An average e-moto is probably zero to 40 miles an hour in about three seconds. and some are faster. And so you get somebody who's inexperienced, that has never had a driver's license, they don't know the rules of the road. This is somebody who was an adult that has a driver's license, 59 years of age, but had never been on that type of motorcycle, or I should say e-dirt bike. And he just didn't understand the power, and his life was gone that quick. And so I think it's an important part from the sheriff's office, from our community. We need to make sure we educate each other. The media's been phenomenal to help us out with this endeavor to let the community know this is not about sheriff's office being over-regulation or the commissioners over-regulating. It's basically trying to make our community safe. And we just want you to make sure you use those items in the appropriate areas.

Yeah, that's great. I mean, it really does sound like a communications exercise. And again, I want to thank the members of the media for helping to educate the public about it. But Caroline, for specifically the business community, how are we going to alert sellers about the passage of this ordinance if in fact it does pass?

Thank you, Commissioner. I appreciate that question. I think That'll be part of our communications plan following board direction from this meeting. I think we have some really good partners that are EDC in our chambers who can help us get the word out. The other group that we'll be looking for help from is our school district. Obviously, when they get kids back in school and kids are on their bikes headed to class and whatnot. We will definitely work on a robust communication plan.

Yeah, last thing we need is an 11-year-old going 75 miles an hour on an electric dirt bike on our roads. So this question might be for our sheriff, or maybe back to you, Commander, depending on how the sheriff wishes to answer, but I am curious, and I would probably defer, I would defer to your recommendation on the helmets for people over 18. So do you have any specific thoughts on that?

You know, that would be something I would have to go back to my sheriff and to my command. I have my personal thought process, but that would be a sheriff's office.

Well, he's right behind you, so let's have him come up.

Mr. Sheriff, thank you for joining us today, please.

Good afternoon, commissioners. I think it's important to note that I do have a motorcycle endorsement. And I believe that people over 18 years of age should be able to make their own decisions on whether or not that they choose to wear a helmet if they are riding a registered, licensed vehicle appropriately on the road. The state of Colorado right now, over 18, they do not require a helmet for a motorized vehicle, for a motorcycle. So my personal opinion, I am not in favor of that.

Well, I appreciate the personal opinion. What is your opinion as sheriff of our county, public safety for our citizens?

I think if you're over 18, you're an adult, you should be able to make your own decisions.

Okay. All right. Thank you, Sheriff.

I do think in a lot of this, like you said, Commissioner, is public awareness. I think this might be one area of strong public awareness. Just like we would encourage someone on a motorcycle on I-25, you should... be wearing a helmet. And I think this as well. And while we can mandate that for kids and those under 18, I think this is where the public awareness can come meet in the middle. Mr. Sheriff, oh, actually, hold on.

Well, I was looking forward to this discussion with you as the fellow decision maker because I really like that as a solution that we focus on the education. and offer up really strong recommendations and even highlight some of those terrible stories that unfortunately law enforcement has to observe and be part of. And I don't wanna let perfect be the enemy of the good. I think we need to not wait to do great, get this passed today, pending citizen comment, and then really work toward public education as part of what we're trying to accomplish.

I agree. Mr. Sheriff, thank you so much for joining us. Is there anything else besides the helmet question you'd like to say on the topic either before or after public testimony?

I just think it's important to note that this ordinance is in response to, quite frankly, outrage from the community about what people are experiencing in their neighborhoods, in their parks, on their roads. A lot of these instances, kids are doing wheelies on public roadways, blocking traffic. They're putting other people in danger and our residents have had enough. And I've only gotten a couple of negative emails from citizens that they don't support this. The overwhelming majority, to include our social media, they are absolutely in favor of this and they think it's long overdue.

Okay, very good. Thank you, Mr. Sheriff. Thanks for having your ear of the community. With that, I will take us into public testimony. We have had one person sign up. Lynn Bussard, Franktown, Colorado. Please approach the dais there. Let us know who you are once again, where you're from, and proceed with your testimony. And we are limiting it to two minutes, which is the standard.

First, I would like to compliment Sheriff Stanton on his mention of behavior. I happen to be a senior citizen and a student of psychology. I'm currently a college student. People are unaware that the word psychology simply means the study of behavior. Well, the behavior of the parents is where we all need to start. When I was a child, we were educated in school, at school, on the grounds. This is a bicycle. This is how you ride it. When you get to an intersection, you get off the bike and you walk across the intersection for safety. That is not happening anymore. A couple of months ago, I was walking my dogs on Apex, which is right off Tamichi, and I hear this tremendous roar coming. I had no idea what direction it was coming from. A child. on a dirt bike comes up the road at us and I had my two herding dogs with me and it was important for me to control them, flies by us while mommy is proudly standing at the intersection of Pinevale and Apex watching her little boy on a dirt bike illegally driving a dirt bike on a public road. Again, this comes from behavior. It starts with the parents and with education. I want to continue with this. As the old saying goes, timing is everything. A week and a half ago, I left my driveway, made a left turn on Caribou Drive and I'm going to myself, what is that huge piece of equipment doing in the middle of our road? And it took me a while to realize it was a derp, excuse me, an ATV, a gray ATV where a man lost control and crashed on my road. This is just a week and a half ago. I posted this on Nextdoor Pinewood Knolls, if you would all like to look it up. And the negative remarks were incredible against me calling 911, asking for help, who knows if he had a head injury or not. The young man, he was about 28, insisted, oh, you can just drive me over to my house and I'll get my truck and I'll upright the ATV. No, I didn't do that. I called 911. He insisted, oh, no, you don't need to call 911. I can handle this myself. God forbid someone came down Caribou not doing 25 miles per hour and crashed into this gray ATV which was on its side. Please remember, everyone, an ATV weighs 200 to 700 pounds. Lynn, please wrap it up. Oh, I'm sorry. It's okay. I want the ATVs, UTV, the big equipment off the road and fines definitely to be imposed, like $1,000 fine.

Okay, thank you, Lynn. Thank you. Thank you so much. Lynn is the one person who signed up to testify, but is there anyone else in the room who would like to testify on the audience? We did have many, I see none. Going once, going twice. Okay, public testimony is closed. Thank you, Lynn. To our Sheriff's Department, we have some, Chief White, Sheriff, any response to the public comment? Or anything last you'd like to wrap up on this agenda item before board discussion and a motion? I was just gonna make one question.

The ATV would fall under the OHV in the ordinance and would be covered and that's one that would fall under the ordinance.

Okay, so we have state laws for that already. Okay, Mr. Commissioner, I'll bring it back to the board for further discussion or a motion.

well thank you mr chair and again thank you to the citizens the members of law enforcement that have all been working closely with the county to help accomplish what hopefully is safest and best for all of us with that i will make a motion to approve an adoption of an ordinance for the regulation of low-powered scooters and off-highway vehicles in douglas county repealing all ordinances and resolutions in conflict therewith and providing penalties for violation thereof second and final reading okay thank you

Mr. Commissioner, I second the motion. I really love the process that we have here. We never do anything overnight. We never do anything quickly. This is again one that we had the first reading. We had a press conference. We have a whole packet of public input in return in response to that. It's been modified slightly. and brought to us today for second and final reading. What I've heard from the public is just very similar to what the sheriff has said is a big thank you for taking this on because it is a growing problem. Technology moves so quickly and so fast and it's not what it was even last summer or the summer before that. Our local laws need to move fast as well to keep people safe. This ordinance isn't, it's not about restricting outdoor fun, it's about establishing common sense boundaries so that our neighborhoods, streets, sidewalks, and trails remain safe for pedestrians, motorists, and for the riders themselves, and I'm proud of this work product from the board, and especially with the tremendous leadership of our extremely talented sheriff and his whole team. hearing from the community and responding with this recommendation to us, the board. Mr. Commissioner, I'll pass it to you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I think that was really well stated. And again, I wanna be really clear for citizens so they understand what we're doing today. And forgive me for just trying to reduce this to plain English, but for the parents out there, E-bikes are okay, traditional. Don't buy, do not buy the high-powered electric dirt bikes for your kids. That is the message. And sorry that the state vocabulary is a little bit convoluted on this subject, but that, in a nutshell, is what we're trying to do today.

Okay, any further discussion? Seeing none, all in favor, please say aye. Aye. And I vote aye as well. That motion passes.

So commissioners, I believe the sheriff's department is asking this to be adopted as an emergency ordinance for public safety. And if so, we would ask that you would waive the 30 days that was typically in place and have it take effect immediately. If that's the case, there would need to be an amendment to that.

So moved. And I will second. Any discussion on that motion from our sheriffs? Or I just see nodding heads in support. So it will be an emergency ordinance if this motion were to pass. Any further discussion?

Yeah, again, this is don't wait to do great. It's the hot summer months. And I think the sooner we can get this into effect, the more kids can be protected.

I do view this and I've heard from many in the community, I've witnessed it myself. We drive every day on the streets too and there's been some close calls. We need to do everything we can to protect our public and this is what we can do right now with the resources and powers granted to us. So with that, any further discussion? Seeing none, all in favor of the motion, say aye. Aye. And I vote aye as well. That motion passes. Thank you, Mr. Sheriff. Thank you to your whole team. Thank you, Captain. Chief White, Commander. Now comes the hard work of making sure the public knows all the facts. Okay, we do have one more, just to kind of level set here, we have one more public hearing agenda item, and then we will go back to the land use meeting item. So if you're here for the land use agenda, we have not forgotten you, it just got moved from first to second. So with that, a resolution supplementing the 2026 adopted budget for the County of Douglas. We have Ryan Bolger, our budget analyst, presenting. And Ryan, this is something we do, I feel like, almost every single meeting, just a slight amendment and supplement, so please.

Not everyone, but a couple times a year. Ryan Bulger, budget staff, hello commissioners. I'm here to formally present the third supplemental for fiscal year 2026. The amount of the request for your consideration today is $9,016,864. This supplemental, we're requesting appropriations for new revenues that have been received since the formal budget adoption, allowing for unspent grant dollars to be carried forward into the current year, and appropriating spending authority for 2026 initiatives. There are six funds that are affected by the supplemental today. Approximately $800,000 in the general fund, approximately $534,000 in Developmental Disabilities Fund, approximately $2.1 million in the Public Health Fund, approximately $62,000 in the Law Enforcement Fund, $5.2 million in the Road and Sales Use Tax Fund, and then $194,000 in the Parks and Open Space Use Fund. We provided $194,000 details of the request today in your agenda packet, along with fund summaries. This supplemental request today is governed by state statute 29-1-109, which permits the BOC to make revised appropriations resolutions to account for the increased expenditures currently under your consideration today. With today's supplemental approval, the new amended budget for Douglas County for 2026 will be $756,975,363 or 16.3% increase to the 2026 adopted budget. Okay, thank you, Ryan. Any questions?

I have none, Mr. Chair. Great report, thank you.

And I have none either. This is, well, that was a very long way, a very thorough way of saying budgetary housekeeping. We passed the budget in December for the next year, but funds come in. That then needs to be applied to the line items to the budget that we were passed, so largely technical housekeeping agenda item here. No one has signed up for public testimony. Is there anyone in the room that would like to testify on? Very, no, no one is moving. We do some exciting things like evacs and we just do some housekeeping with the books. All right, thank you, Ryan. Thank you so much. Any further discussion or a motion?

Mr. Chair, if it pleases the board, I'll make a motion to approve a resolution supplementing the 2026 adopted budget for the County of Douglas, Colorado to recognize new revenues received since annual budget adoption, appropriate, restricted, committed, assigned, and unassigned fund balances in the amount of $9,016,864.

I second the motion. Any further discussion? Seeing none, all in favor say aye. Aye. I vote aye as well. Thank you, Ryan. That motion passes. That brings us to our land use meeting agenda item. It is the Rambo Weed final project file SB2026-009. We might need just a minute to kind of let people settle in for the land use item here. So take your time when you're ready. Please take it away. Trevor Bedford, senior planner.

Good afternoon commissioners, Trevor Bedford representing community development. The request is the Ramblewood final plat. The project number is SB 2026-009. Dan Sheldon with Miller United is the applicant. The request is for the approval of the Ramblewood final plat consisting of 70 units over approximately 177 acres with approximately 56 and a half acres of open space. Central water will be provided to all lots by Parker Water and Sanitation District, Central Sewer will be provided to the single family lots by Parker Water and Sanitation District through an agreement with Pinery Water and Wastewater. The two agricultural lots will be served by individual septic systems with the option to connect to central sewer if desired. The intent of the final plat process is to provide for the review of the final engineering plans, the subdivision improvements agreement, public dedications, and other legal agreements. The final plat process begins with the submittal of an application following a review period by referral agencies and the public and acceptance of engineering plans. The request is considered by the board at a public meeting. Referral comments received are attached to the staff report. Referral comments were standard in nature and have been addressed by the applicant. Seven letters of support have been received from the public. The project is in the northeast sub area of the Douglas County Comprehensive Master Plan as shown on this map. Non-urban densities up to one unit per two and a half acres are generally supported in this area. This map shows the zoning in the area. The subject property is on Ramblewood PED and is adjacent to rural residential and estate residential lots in the Hidden Village subdivision to the east and south. The A1 parcel to the northwest. Tallman Gulch, a clustered bonus density rural residential subdivision is located across Hilltop Road. and the field subdivision zoned estate residential is also along Hilltop Road. The gross density of this final plat is one dwelling unit per two and a half acres, which is generally consistent with this zone district. The aerial map provides some additional context. The area highlighted in red shows the boundaries of the project. The property has been historically zoned and used for agriculture. The subject property was rezoned from agricultural one and row residential to the Ramblewood plan development in August, 2025. And the Ramblewood plan development was approved by the Board of County Commissioners at the March 10th, 2026 public hearing. The final plat conforms to the approved preliminary plan. This exhibit shows the proposed subdivision. The four public roadways will be owned and maintained by Douglas County. 15 foot general purpose utility easements will be dedicated to the county along the roadways. with additional drainage easements dedicated to the county to provide access to drainage infrastructure. Secondary easements will be dedicated to the county over tracks with a blanking easement over the entire subdivision. The tracks with the exception of track D will be owned and maintained by the Ramblewood Metropolitan District for open space, drainage and utilities and a 1.5 acre public park. Tract D will be privately owned as a director's parcel and maintained by the Ramblewood Metro District. The tract will be conveyed to the Metropolitan District when it is no longer needed as a director's parcel. The project's primary access will be via Hilltop Road with a secondary access by Alpine Drive. This exhibit shows a closer look at the single-family residential lots in the northern portion of the subdivision. These lots range from 13,499 square feet to 25,560 square feet. This is consistent with the minimum lot size of 10,000 square feet required in this area of the Ramblewood plant development. The agricultural lots are 28.635 acres and 53.128 acres. This is also consistent with the minimum lot size required of at least 20 acres in this part of the development. There's a 1.5 acre park that will be open to the public proposed in tract H. A condition of approval for the Ramblewood preliminary plan was that the applicant would provide evidence of inclusion into the Parker Water and Sanitation District prior to the board's consideration of the first final plat within the Ramblewood plan development. The applicant has an executed inclusion agreement with Parker Water and Sanitation District that indicates the inclusion is subject to the final plat approval by Douglas County. As such, the court ordered inclusion has not been filed. The applicant has requested to modify this condition so that the court order for inclusion into Parker Water and Sanitation District will be provided prior to recordation of this final plot. This is a photograph of the property from Hilltop Road across from Maryvale Trail facing generally southwest. This is a view looking north from Alpine Drive. This road is proposed to be improved. And this photo generally faces south from Alpine Drive. The approval standards for a final plat request are set forth in section 503 of the subdivision resolution and listed on this slide. Staff's assessment of these approval standards are discussed in detail within pages eight through 11 of the staff report. Staff has evaluated the final plat in accordance with article five of the Douglas County subdivision resolution. Should the board find that the approval standards for a final plat are met, the following conditions should be considered for inclusion in the motion. Condition one, prior to recordation of the final plat, evidence that the court ordered inclusion of the property into the Parker Water and Sanitation District has occurred and shall be submitted to Douglas County. Condition number two, prior to the issuance of the first billing permit for residential unit in this final plat, the applicant shall pay cash in lieu of land dedication to the Douglas County School District in the amount of $126,110. Condition number three, during construction within the development, the applicant, its successors, and assigns shall take all reasonable care to watch for historic resources, paleontological resources, and cultural history resources, and shall immediately notify Douglas County and complete appropriate Colorado Office of Archaeology and Historic Preservation data management forms in the event of such discovery. Condition number four, during construction activity within the development, the applicant, its successors, and assigns shall conduct a burrowing owl study if any earth moving will take place between March 15th and October 31st. Condition number five, prior to recordation of the final plot, technical corrections to the final plot exhibit shall be made to the satisfaction of Douglas County. And condition number six, all commitments and promises made by the applicant or the applicant's representative during the public meeting and or agreed to in writing and included in the public record have been relied upon by the Board of County Commissioners in approving the application. Therefore, such approval is conditioned upon the applicant's full satisfaction of all such commitments and promises. This concludes my presentation. I'm available for any questions. Otherwise, the applicant is prepared with a presentation as well.

Okay, thank you very much. Commissioner, questions? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair, and Trevor, great presentation. Let me just go to the comp plan first. So the policy 3-3E1 states that a maximum gross density of one dwelling unit per 2.5 acres is supported in the northeast subarea where it is logical infill where approximately 50% of the property boundary is adjacent to zoned lands or parcel sizes consistent with the proposed development. It sounds like based upon your report, the project has a gross density of one dwelling unit, 2.5 acres, is that correct?

Yes, that is correct.

Okay, so consistent with policy 3-3?

Yes.

Okay, and then what was the Planning Commission recommendation on this?

Well, the final plat only comes to the Board of County Commissioners, but for the plan development and for the preliminary plan, they did vote for approval. I don't remember the exact votes.

Okay. All right. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Oh, thank you. And I know this is actually, so this has been a year in the process of meeting with the board and going through the county process. So I may be misremembering with the previous hearing, but is there a cash in lieu for the parks dedication?

So there is typically a cash in lieu for the parks dedication in lieu of that. The applicant is building a public park that will be open to the public. There are improvements, well in excess of the amount that would have been due that they've included in their subdivision improvements agreement with engineering.

Okay, that makes sense, I did see that. Okay, any other questions prior to the presentation? Okay, I see it was, I think it was Dan Sheldon? Yes. I was going to make a presentation on behalf of the applicant. Thank you for being here once again with us on this long-time project in the making.

Yeah, happy to be here. Good afternoon, commissioners. And just to be clear, I'm not Dan Sheldon. My name is Daniel Jennings. I'm a member of the project team presenting on behalf of the applicant, Dan Sheldon. And we're pleased to be here in front of you to present our final plat application for Ramblewood. And we want to go ahead and thank Trevor for his presentation. really for working with us as well as the rest of the county staff over the past two years to get to this point where we can bring the final plot before the board. Our project team is here and they're ready to answer any questions that you may have, but I think we'll go ahead and jump in. So first to just give an intro for Miller United Real Estate. They are a local real estate company who have a successful history of working in Douglas County and doing these types of residential infill projects like the one that we brought before you today. This map shows seven of their recent communities in the area and they're excited about delivering their new community, Ramblewood, very soon. Just to recap the history of the development applications that we've been working on over the past two years, it started with our application to rezone the site to the Ramblewood PD. We then brought a preliminary plan back before you all in March, and we completed a location and extent application for offsite sewer infrastructure to serve the site. And each of our development applications for Ramblewood were approved, and so we're back in front of you today with our final plat application, that final technical step in the development process for the site. The last time we were in front of you, again, was for our preliminary plan application back in early March, and the board approved the application with these conditions, and we have been busy working over the past three months to check these off the list, and we're pleased to share that we have met all of the conditions of approval from the preliminary plan with the final plat application that we've brought before you today. Just to give you a quick comparison, this is our approved preliminary plan and our final plat side by side. And as you can see, the final plat is the same plan that we presented at preliminary plan. There were just a few minor refinements to finalize our engineering for recordation and construction as the final plat is that final technical step in the subdivision process. Trevor touched on this, but as we're showing in these tables, our final plat meets and exceeds the requirements of the Ramblewood PD, proposing a total of 70 lots across 176.8 acres, which equates to a density of one dwelling unit per two and a half acres, which meets the zoning requirement and is consistent with the county's comprehensive master plan. Our proposed lot size range from 13,000 to 26,000 square feet. in planning area A, which exceed the minimum lot size requirement of 10,000 square feet. And our two agricultural lots are 28 acres and 53 acres in size, which exceeds the minimum lot size requirement of 20 acres for planning area B. And if you recall, the Ramblewood PD has specific buffer requirements written into it so that development of the site will fit in with the surrounding community. And our final plot takes these buffers further than is required by the PD, doubling the required setback from Hilltop Road and exceeding the buffer requirements of Planning Areas D and E. And that allows us to provide nearly 60 acres of open space across the site to ensure that our neighborhood is thoughtfully set back from the adjacent properties and that we preserve the natural edges of the site. So we believe that our final plat meets and exceeds the requirements of the Ramblewood PD. And an important part of our work over the past two years has been our outreach efforts, going out, meeting with our neighbors, sharing our plans. And it all started with a neighborhood meeting we hosted back in 2024 when we were still studying the site. Even before we submitted an application, official development application to the county, we wanted to get input from our neighbors from the very start. So we've held five neighborhood meetings over the course of the project to continue to keep the surrounding community up to speed with what was happening with our development. We've had multiple meetings on-site with neighbors. We've sent mailers to several hundred property owners who live in the area, notifying them of our development, and we've worked closely with the adjacent Hidden Village HOA. We maintain a project website, www.LiveRamblewood.com, as a resource for neighbors to access project information, documents, updates, And all of these efforts to engage with the surrounding community has really paid off. Over the course of our various development applications, we've received dozens of letters or emails in support of our project. And these support letters should be in your hearing packets. And so we believe that our neighbors are generally pleased with our plans for the site. Just to highlight some of the additional benefits of the project, our PD includes a commitment to financially contribute to the county's project of paving Alpine Drive. Our development is going to provide a street connection from Hilltop Road, which will offer the Hidden Village community a new means in and out of their neighborhood. Then our neighborhood's going to have a park that's open to the public. And then from developing plans to construction and eventual home sales, we estimate this project will create hundreds of jobs and really be a benefit to the local economy. Our application is in conformance with the county's comprehensive master plan addressing several of the stated objectives and policies such as designing development to conserve and showcase important natural and rural features, using clustering to direct building away from environmentally and visually sensitive lands, and encouraging connections to central water and sewer district systems. Just a quick overview of our timeline for developing the site. As I mentioned, our zoning, the Ramblewood PD was approved and recorded in September of last year. Our preliminary plan was approved this past March, and of course, we're in the middle of the final plat, or the end of the final plat stage here, after which we can start construction. We anticipate groundbreaking on the infrastructure to serve the site as commencing in the fall of this year. Homes will be built within the first house occupied in roughly the winter of 2027, spring of 2028. And then we anticipate full build out with the final house occupied by roughly spring of 2029. We know that in evaluating our application, this board is tasked with considering approval criteria from the subdivision resolution. We believe our application meets each of these criteria. Trevor covered it very well in his staff report, and we're happy to answer any questions you have about them. And finally, we acknowledge and agree to the conditions of approval. And at this point, I would like to invite Jim Whittlesey, the son of Brad and Joan Whittlesey, one of the property owners, to come up and speak on behalf of the project. Thank you.

That would be welcome. Thank you, Mr. Jennings. Sir, please tell us who you are and continue the presentation.

Hello, my name is Jim Whittlesey, and our family is the longtime owner of the 160-acre portion of the property. As you may recall, I've spoken in support of the Ramblewood development in the past. I wanted to speak again as part of the presentation today to show our continued support for the project and to recommend approval. I'm a local civil engineer with development experience and I understand the importance of following regulations and criteria for development. I've been delighted to work with Dan and this team as we all share this belief. This is the same great project that has been presented and approved by the commissioners during zoning and preliminary plan hearings, as well as to the neighbors in numerous outreach meetings. Developing the site, which is compliant with regulations and satisfying neighbor wishlist items, including setbacks, open space, and sustainable water use, in my opinion, has been a real victory for the design team. It's difficult to achieve all your project goals, but on this project we have done so. My family and I are excited for the next chapter of the property, which includes a responsible new community for future homeowners to enjoy. We also look forward to continuing our 70-year legacy with the property with our retained ranch lots. Hopefully my children will be able to enjoy the property with their kids. Finally, we appreciate the hard work and time dedicated by the commissioners in service to the citizens of Douglas County and look forward to a bright future in Douglas County, which includes the Ramblewood development. Thank you. And I'm gonna pass it off to Dan Sheldon.

Okay, thank you, Mr. Whittlesey, for being here today and your words. Mr. Sheldon. Continue the presentation.

Mr. Chairman, Commissioners, Dan Sheldon, Miller United Real Estate, 6900 East Bellevue Avenue, Suite 300, Greenwood Village, Colorado 80111. I'd like to thank Trevor, Jeanette, Chuck, all the staff that's worked on this. Your staff's really done a nice job keeping us moving along, and they have been responsive during the process to all of our needs. The processing of the zoning, the platting, the inclusion agreements, the water districts, the easements, all those things that go into this process of creating a new subdivision, that's just part of the job for us. Where it really becomes fun for us as developers is this next phase when we actually get to break ground and we actually get to see a new community come to life. We're really excited to see this happen at Ramblewood. We think Ramblewood's gonna be our best Douglas County project yet and we're very excited to see it happen. Because we don't get a chance to thank you after the hearing, because your schedule continues usually on to the next item on your agenda, I want to take a moment to thank you too, Commissioner Thiel, who I understand is out today. But thank you for your careful and continuous deliberation, not only on this project, but for everything else that you do. We stand by, me and my team, ready to answer any questions that you may have. Thank you.

Okay, thank you. Mr. Commissioner, questions? Thank you, Chair.

Well, Dan, you just keep getting better and better and it's nice to see that. I know this is really an exciting moment in the development timeline and I'm encouraged that the public input that was received was favorable, it was all favorable. And also pleased to see that this is really consistent with the comp plan and some of those zoning issues that are always of concern to us. So I don't actually have any questions and I'm certainly looking forward to this being a great addition to Douglas County if approved.

Okay, thank you. I do have just a couple quick questions, and of course, it's not your first hearing here on the project, so I'll try to keep it brief as possible. There was question originally, and it seems that it's been resolved. It's right there, the check mark number one. Inclusion in park or water and sanitation. Please just confirm that that has been concluded.

So the inclusion has been completed. The court order and decree has been requested by my team to Parker Waters team. They are going to go ahead and order that up right now. It can take anywhere from a day or two for the judge to issue it to a month. We are going to sit back and patiently wait for that to occur and once we have that court order and decree for that inclusion, which as your staff noted is a prerequisite to recording the plat, we will wait patiently until that occurs and then we will get lined up and record the plat.

Okay, well, I appreciate that. And then it says right there, applicant agrees to these conditions. Could you just verbally confirm?

Yes, Commissioner, I do confirm that we agree with conditions one through six listed on the screen.

Okay, thank you. And one final question for me. In the event of an evacuation emergency, I do, I think, I'm not sure at what point in the process the entry road actually became two separate roads. Those can be reversed in a time of evacuation so that both roads are exit, correct? Or am I mistaking this?

So we have two points of access, ingress and egress, into the community right now. You can get in or out of the community through Hilltop Road, which is where we envision the majority of our residents going in and out of the community. You can also access the community from Alpine Drive on the south, which is where if you're a hidden village neighbor and you're coming to see a resident in Ramblewood or vice versa, that's how you would get there, that direction. but you can certainly egress out to the south on Alpine just like you could to the north onto Hilltop.

And I was referring, the main road in has, it's now, I think it's now kind of divided. It's not a guardhouse, but there's some foliage.

We have a raised median at the front entry, and that was done as really a design feature. We thought that that would really dress up the community area We have put in a raised median with landscaping, monument signage, mailbox kiosk, that's where we have our gang of mailboxes for all of our residents. That all is in a median and we went ahead and widened the right of way in on that road so that there's enough room for a car to come in, stop, get out of the car, get their mail, and then another car that could easily go around it. And I think we made it long enough to queue up three or four cars to be able to stop, get their mail. And that's inbound and outbound. We accommodated that width with that raised median and wider road sections at that entry.

Well, I know it's done, it looks great when it's done, and it looks great on the designs that we've seen, but also from a sense of the need for evacuation, having that nice wide road, having the two kind of divisions that can go one way if ever necessary by our Sheriff's Department is also very greatly appreciated. So thank you for that design feature and upgrade. I have no further questions. Well, I think that was a really good question.

Definitely an important one. If there are no further questions, I will make a motion.

Actually, we do have, still need public testimony.

Okay, yes.

Although we do have a pack.

Did we not have that already?

No, I'm sorry, we haven't. We did receive our pack with many notes from the public in favor, but we also have two people that did sign up. Oh. And if I can find my paperwork here, we get flooded with paperwork.

Mr. To clarify, was the gentleman the testified part of the applicant's presentation?

Yes. Okay. Yeah, and he, yeah, landowner applicant. So we do have two people who sign up, and first is, I believe it's Scott Goldemere? Scott, please make your way, tell us who you are, where you come from, and proceed with your two minutes of public testimony.

First of all, thank you for this opportunity to speak in front of you guys. My name is Scott Goldamer. I've been a Douglas County resident for 30 plus years, following the Ramblewood project through zoning, preliminary plat approvals, and now the final plat. I'm not gonna repeat everything that Trevor and that Daniel just went through with you, Dan Sheldon, his constituents. they develop a really strong plan supported by the homeowner, supported by the local neighborhood. They've thought through just about everything, including that it meets the Douglas County Comprehensive Plans criteria. So as a long-term resident, homeowner, taxpayer of Douglas County, I support this project and I'd ask you folks to do the same.

Thank you. Thank you, sir. Second person and final person to sign up, I believe it's Ted Hillmar. I may be, I'm having trouble reading. or speaking, that happens sometimes too. But Ted, just make your way to the dais. Tell us who you are, where you come from, and proceed with your two minutes.

My name is Theodore Whitman. I live at 7265 Alpine Drive, which is right alongside where the subdivision will be. I'm very, very happy that they are doing everything that they can. They've been working very well with everyone in Hidden Village. They've tried to answer every question that we have, and it's a beautiful piece of property, and the way that it's gonna be developed, it will keep a lot of wildlife, a lot of ponderosa pines, instead of being chopped up into small pieces, and I certainly approve of it. Of course, I would have rather have Douglas County buy it as open space, but that will never happen. and but this is a the group they work very very hard and i'm very very proud to um support them and i thank you very much

Thank you, Mr. Whitman. Well, that was, and I do wish we could buy everything for open space, but just people need places to live too. And we appreciate all the hard work that's gone into the project. That is the only two people that signed up to testify. We do have other comments in our packets that were submitted. Is there anyone else in the room that would like to speak either in favor or opposed to the potential motion coming? Seeing none, public testimony is closed. That brings us back to the board for further discussion, questions, or a motion.

Well, Mr. Chair, I'm really pleased with everything I've heard today. The applicant did a great job and it's really nice to hear the support from the citizens. So with that, I'll make a motion to approve the Ramblewood final plat because based on my review, I believe it does meet all of the approval criteria with the six conditions as presented. Project file SB 2026-009.

I concur fully and I second the motion. Any further discussion? Seeing none, great work on the project. I know it's been a long time coming, two years working with the county. You have a great team, great landowner, and I think there's gonna be very many happy people who are thankful for the project. Thank you for the new park. That's gonna be pretty cool too for the people of Douglas County. So with that, any further discussion? Seeing none, all in favor of the motion, say aye. Aye. I vote aye as well. That motion passes, congratulations. And that concludes our land use and public meeting for the day. Our next land use public hearing will be held on Tuesday, July 9th at 2.30 p.m. And that concludes our agenda for the day. We are adjourned.