On Sept. 22, 2020, the El Paso County Board of County Commissioners approved a sketch plan on the recommendation of the county planning department for Grandview Reserve, a 767-acre, 3,000-plus home subdivision, according to a county document dated Sept. 22, 2020.The development is west of Eastonville Road, east of U.S. Highway 24, south of Latigo Boulevard and north of Stapleton Road.The developer, 4 Site Investments LLC, recently requested that the BOCC approve their request to establish four metropolitan districts under the Colorado Revised Statutes Title 32, Special District Plan. On Sept. 28, the BOCC approved their request.According to specialdistrictlaw.com, a ìspecial districtî is a quasi-municipal corporation and political subdivision of the state of Colorado formed to provide necessary public services that the county or municipality cannot otherwise provide. It is essentially a tax-exempt financing mechanism used for the installation, operation and maintenance of public infrastructure.Dave Doran, president of the Upper Black Squirrel Creek Groundwater Management District, said their board attended the county commissioners meeting in September to advise the BOCC on the proposal for the four new metro districts. ìItís difficult enough with the number of metro districts we already have; this means having four more to hold accountable regarding water issues.îDoran said their board made the argument that the Grandview Metropolitan District has at present no proof of ownership of the water; the GVMD attorney said they need to form the metro district first before they sign contracts to purchase water. ìOwnership of water rights is first and foremost in our minds plus the fact that the development will depend on the Denver Basin water for all their water needs,î Doran said.The estimated water requirement for the entire development is 1178.67-acre-feet a year, he said. Water is measured in acre-feet; one acre-foot equals about 325,825 gallons or enough water to cover an acre of land, Doran said. ìSo multiply 325,825 times 1178, which equals over 3 million gallons of water a year,î he said. ìThis is massive.îThe Colorado Division of Water Resources representative, (responsible for administering water rights, issuing water well permits, etc.) also attended the meeting; the division did not respond to a request for an interview.Editorís note: We posted a question on The New Falcon Herald Facebook page, asking readers how they feel about the recently approved Grandview Reserve development (a planned 3,260 single-family home subdivision in Peyton), particularly since providing sufficient evidence for water is not required at this point. Thank you to everyone who responded to our post.At least 20 people responded, and most were concerned about the new development. Water, of course, was mentioned numerous times as was the impact on the school district and traffic. El Paso County Commissioner Carrie Geitner responded as well, and encouraged the readers and the NFH to reach out to her directly. She said the decision at the Sept. 28 meeting only approved the request for four metro districts. She said, ìNot only is water sufficiency not a required criteria on this decision, it is not legally allowable to be considered on this decision.î The NFH staff reached out to discuss her comments but we never heard back from her.
