Old timers may remember the Dines Ranch – where plenty of cattle once roamed. In March, Jim Morley bought the 1,440-acre ranch, near Pioneer Sand east of Vollmer Road and north of Woodmen Road, and renamed it Sterling Ranch – and replacing the cattle are a few homes and a 55-plus development.During an April 10 public meeting at Woodmen Valley Chapel Morley and his staff told about 175 residents that they wanted to listen to neighbors’ concerns before formulating plans for the new Sterling Ranch subdivision.Louis Larimer, an executive for Morley Companies, opened the meeting by taking residents’ questions about population density, schools, roads, water sources, trails, the protection of wildlife and dust mitigation during construction, to name a few.Morley first responded by outlining the plans. He said Vollmer Road to the west is being expanded (currently under way) to four lanes. Briargate or Research boulevards will be extended to connect to Stapleton Road, and roads are designed so traffic from Sterling Ranch will not go through the Black Forest area or any other subdivisions.No sketch plan exists for the development, but Morley said he is speaking with Colorado Springs officials about annexation because “the biggest benefit that affects you people sitting in the audience has to do with water.” He added, “If we go into the city, all of the water is city water, there is no well water … it comes from city lines.”If the development occurs without annexation, Morley said they will have to drill into the Denver Basin aquifers using the 2,100 acre foot of water rights acquired with the land, or they will purchase water from a nearby water district.”Any time you get annexed into the city you give your water rights away,” he said. “I’ve never known the city to then drill wells to supply water for a subdivision.”There will be no need to determine water sources for a golf course. Morley said Dines stipulated in the sale that there would be no golf course built on the land.Sterling Ranch is located in both school districts 20 and 49, and Morley promised the audience he would comply with D 49’s $1,500 developer per-house fee.Home density also concerned some in the audience. Morley assured residents that his development would follow the Black Forest Preservation Plan, which calls for lower-density lots near the trees and urban-like densities closer to Woodmen Road. He also said that environmental studies still had to be completed, especially for the large arroyo surrounding Sand Creek that runs through the property.Neighbors from the Pawnee Ranchettes, a subdivision with 5 and 2 1/2-acre lots, were concerned about buffer zones and open space between their subdivision and Sterling Ranch. Morley assured them that buffer zones, open space and trails will all be considered as a sketch plan is formulated.One Pawnee Ranchettes resident asked if there are plans to purchase land and homes around the subdivision. Morley asked, “Is yours for sale?” The audience laughed while Morley added that they would be interested in talking to anyone owning land contiguous to Sterling Ranch who wanted to sell.While Larimer stressed “everything is very preliminary,” the meeting ended with a presentation by Matt Mandino, division manager for Pulte Homes. He said Pulte recently purchased Del Web Homes, a company that builds active adult communities nationwide for baby boomers age 55-plus. Mandino brought out a Power Point presentation to give the audience of glimpse of those adult communities, all of which have a large community center that is surrounded by clustered homes. Morley said the adult community would be housed on 20 percent of the property.”Keep in mind it’s 1,400 acres, so there is room for everything,” he said. Morley said he expects to offer a range of houses priced for first-time buyers, with the possibility of up to million-dollar high-end homes in the northern part of the subdivision.Neighbors were not surprised at the new development but some questions remained unanswered at the end of the meeting.Marilyn Groben from Mohawk Road asked Morley how a city annexation would affect others in surrounding areas. Bill Larson from the Black Forest said he wanted to know how the city will provide sewage service – something that is currently holding up development on the Banning Lewis Ranch.Morley promised more public meetings in the future as plans for Sterling Ranch develop.
