An auto dealership is incompatible with open space and the nearby world-renowned Dinosaur Ridge in western Jefferson County, planning commissioners were told by nearly all the 44 people who spoke at a 4-hour long, packed meeting Wednesday night, Dec. 7.

The meeting was continued until Thursday night, Dec. 8, when the planning commission is expected to make a recommendation to the county commissioners regarding the proposal. The county commissioners are scheduled to consider the planning commission’s recommendation on Jan. 17.

Property owners, including a family member of the Stevinson auto dealerships, asked the county to rezone a 40.5-acre parcel on the northwest side of the C-470/Alameda Parkway interchange, also the site of the Dinosaur Ridge Visitors Center, to allow the dealership, a 50-foot high hotel or motel and a gas station, among other businesses. The parcel would be known as the Rooney Ranch Business Center, after the nearby historic ranch, which included the parcel in the past.

The proposal’s introduction last spring led to the forming of an opposition group, Dinosaur Ridge Neighbors. The group claimed to have gathered 21,000 online signatures on a petition of opposition, 1,000 written signatures and more than 800 emails against the plan.

Issues identified and addressed by county

County Case Manager Heather Gutherless said the parcel is in an area the county master plan identified for large-scale commercial uses, mixed use and multi-family development.

Gutherless said the geology of the site is in the county’s dipping bedrock overlay district, which can cause serious foundation problems for some buildings constructed on the formation. She said as the project’s plans are finalized and site plans are submitted for approval, the geology will be addressed.

The site is also in the Rooney Gulch and 100-year floodplains, Gutherless added, and dinosaur fossils and tracks could be found when the site is graded.

Gutherless noted the county will require any development to accommodate and integrate the Dinosaur Ridge Visitor’s Center. Further traffic studies would be required once the developers know what types of uses will actually take place on the site, she said.

Specific to an auto dealership, Gutherless said lighting, signs and parking lot conditions are included. Chief among those are a limit of 10-foot candle illumination, which is less than some auto dealers already operating nearby.

Stevinson touts site’s suitability

Greg Stevinson, whose family established a string of auto dealerships in the Denver area, is a partner in the Three Dinos, LLC, ownership group and was involved in the Denver West and Colorado Mills projects. He said the group had considered light industrial, flex warehouse and manufacturing uses for the site, but without neighborhood services and the large amount of traffic generated, did not feel those uses were right.

“We also considered large retail development but that would also generate far more traffic,” Stevinson said.

On the southeast corner of the parcel, Stevinson said plans call for a neighborhood-oriented retail center, including a boutique grocery store, sit-down restaurants, cafes, a dry cleaner and coffee shops. On the northeast and southwest corners, a mix of light manufacturing and flex warehouses are planned and the northwest corner could see regional commercial businesses, such as offices, research and development, professional and scientific labs and light manufacturing.

“We will have no more than 28 acres for auto dealership uses,” Stevinson added, along with a hotel or motel and gas station.

Stevinson noted one reason the area is desirable for an auto dealership is that auto manufacturers are “pushing dealers to ring roads around cities.”

“So this is precisely where an auto dealership should be located,” Stevinson said, adding that such businesses help bring local and regional customers to other businesses in the Rooney Valley.

Opponents, backers argue proper use

Eric Brown with the Dinosaur Ridge Neighbors group told the commission current zoning of the parcel already allows uses that are non-compatible with the surrounding area and the county master plan’s policies should apply to the request. Those include a condition for down-zoning the site instead of up-zoning as has been requested, Brown said. He also noted the Rooney Ranch Historical District is next to the property and Rooney family homestead.

“Economic development should not be more important than good planning decisions,” said Robert Eddy, another opponent. “We have plenty of jobs, let’s look after landscaping and if we pave this land over, it’s gone forever.”

Dr. Martin Lockley of Golden, a professor of paleontology at the University of Colorado, has written many papers about Dinosaur Ridge, which he called a “world-famous site under threat from several directions.”

“I think a lot of people have failed to recognize the importance of this iconic gateway to the Rockies,” Lockley said. “That’s the Jefferson County slogan, and I think we need to live up to it.”

Lockley said Dinosaur Ridge is the world’s top site for dinosaur tracks, but the resources are deteriorating.

“You can buy a car anywhere but we can’t find fossils and tracks of this significance just anywhere,” he said.

Two speakers supported Stevinson and the proposal. John Bandimere, Jr., whose family owns the nearby Bandimere Speedway, said he supports the plan “because I’ve seen what George Stevinson does with his projects. You look at Denver West and Colorado Mills and you see high quality work.”

Rich Rooney of the Rooney family also called Stevinson’s projects “quality and first class.”

“I’m a realist, I understand how things work,” Rooney said. “I know that land will be developed, so you won’t see anything diminished with George Stevinson. Dinosaur Ridge will still be there. I really truly back George because I know he will do the right thing.”