Douglas County Commissioners on Thursday withdrew the proposal to locate a new 23rd Judicial District office next to a residential area in Lone Tree.

Douglas County commissioners, who will decide the site of the new office, voted, 2-1, to drop the proposal during a community town hall meeting Thursday at The Lone Tree Hub.

Commissioners Abe Laydon and George Teal voted down the location, while Commissioner Lora Thomas supported the proposal to place the new office at One Lincoln Station in a building inside a business park surrounded by apartment complexes and near the Heritage Hills neighborhood and a Regional Transportation District light rail stop.

Residents said they worry about increased crime and the effect of the new office on local businesses. A Douglas County official, meanwhile, said the individuals who will get served at the new office are, in fact, cooperating and working to meet court requirements. 

“I think there are inherent risks in the motion of this office,” said Heritage Hills HOA President Karl Bruce, who hosted Thursday’s community meeting. “I think what we’ve got here is a bit of a misalignment in terms of priorities.”

Out of 402 Lone Tree residents, 392 oppose the proposal to place the new office in a building next to the Heritage Hills neighborhood, according to a survey conducted by the association.

During the meeting, Bruce told county and judicial district officials that “the criteria that should be used is what’s the risk to public safety. And I would say this office has a higher risk than the office that you have in Castle Rock.”

The current 18th judicial district will split into two beginning next year, prompting the need for the new office.

The 23rd Judicial District, which is the state’s first new judicial district in 60 years, will cover Douglas, Elbert and Lincoln counties, while Arapahoe County will retain the old 18th district.

Direct access to public transportation is one of the main draws of One Lincoln Station, according to 18th Judicial District Judge Ryan Stuart, who will join the 23rd Judicial District. 

Also, the new judicial district office building needs to be a minimum of 27,000 square feet, enough space to accommodate all the staffers working in several programs, according to Thomas.

The new office will offer three services: pretrial, diversion and probation, which Thomas described as “an exit ramp.”

Lone Tree residents have accused Douglas County officials of lacking transparency and argued that the new office would cause increased crime, prompt safety concerns and economically impact nearby businesses.

They also cited children’s safety.

“I can commit to you your concerns that we will not supervise any sex offenders or people that we determined violent criminals in this location,” Stuart replied. 

Thomas earlier told The Denver Gazette that she is unaware of “any survey or statistics that shows that people who are in these three categories of services are involved in increased crime.”

“These are people that are cooperating with the services and the conditions of their bond, to cooperate with the criminal justice system,” she said. 

The office “isn’t a parole center,” Thomas added.

In a letter to Lone Tree residents on Wednesday, Laydon said the county’s criminal justice services are “not necessarily low-level crimes, as it may include people accused of sex crimes, crimes of domestic violence, child abuse, and assault from anywhere in the state who committed that crime in Douglas County.”

The county initially explored 20 potential office locations, which dwindled down to four options, according to Teal.

In addition to the One Lincoln Station, the two other options are on the east and west side of Lone Tree that both offer public transit options. The fourth option “removes our options from the northern tier of the county and removes the option for transit,” Teal said.

“I can go into every one of those other three communities, and we will have a meeting just like this,” Teal said.