October 13, 2026: Canyonside faces hard questions and the open space transfer passes
Updated: Oct 30
Here is what the Castle Pines City Council did on October 13, 2026, and what District 2 Council Member Kori Salazar asked and voted for. Every entry comes from the public meeting record and the city staff reports.
“Our comprehensive plan… asks for high quality housing that has physical separation from adjacent communities. And as the applicant talked about, these are bigger lots, they have bigger yards, they’re connected to the trails, and that connects to what’s important to our residents.”— Council Member Kori Salazar, on the Canyonside plan, October 13, 2026
Canyonside, Housing & District Lines
Pressed the Canyonside developer on construction traffic, open space and home design Preliminary plan approved
Voted to approve the preliminary plan for a new Canyonside neighborhood: 69 single-family lots on about 26 acres southwest of Canyon Forge Drive and Cross Canyon Trail, with a little over 12 acres going to the city as open space. The layout gives up 0.64 acres of designated open space and adds about 4.3 acres elsewhere, and it adds public trails, including a link along Newlin Gulch between the bridges at Cross Canyon Trail and Canyonside. Lots run from about 5,000 square feet to just over 10,000. Salazar asked three things before the vote. On construction traffic, which has frustrated Canyons residents, the developer said the dirt haul that put flaggers on Cross Canyon Trail is finished, the site now balances its own dirt, and extending Sweet Creek Lane gives crews a way out to either Cross Canyon Trail or Canyonside Boulevard. On the open space swap, she asked whether the city was trading good open space for poor; the developer said the road's intersection spacing and the slope drove the change, and staff said the smaller tracts still carry trails. On the homes, she asked about size, price and style, noting council disliked the designs shown last year. The developer said Richmond American plans new floor plans, mostly 2,000 to 3,000 square feet, with many lots deepened to 120 to 125 feet for bigger backyards; the price is not yet set, and the Canyons design review board must approve the architecture. In discussion she tied her vote to the comprehensive plan's call for quality housing with physical separation from neighboring communities and trail connections. Two residents wrote in. One asked about timing; the other argued that part of the new open space works more like frontage than natural land, that the credited acreage also holds retaining walls, drainage and utilities, and that the city should publish a cumulative traffic analysis first. The developer reported daily trips for this part of the Canyons running about 17 percent below the original traffic study. On the mayor's motion, the approval requires the developer to install chase drains wherever the city engineer finds drainage problems, before the city accepts the streets and through the two-year warranty. The Planning Commission had recommended approval 6–0. The motion passed. A preliminary plan is the first of two platting steps; final plats return to council on the consent agenda before any lots exist, and the developer estimates the open space would pass to the city around the end of 2029.
Set a 90-day clock for reviewing qualifying affordable housing Approved
Approved Resolution 26-63, which requires a final decision within 90 days of a complete application for qualifying affordable housing projects: a condition Proposition 123 sets for cities that opt in. A project qualifies when at least half its homes are affordable: rent at no more than 30 percent of income for a household earning 60 percent of area median income, or ownership costs within reach of a household at 100 percent. Qualifying projects still meet every city standard and go through the same public hearings; only the timeline changes. Staff told council the 90 days is close to how long reviews take now, and expects few qualifying applications. The policy takes effect November 1, 2026.
Renewed the city's affordable housing commitment for 2027–2029 Approved
Approved Resolution 26-64, authorizing the city manager to file a state commitment of 68 affordable units for 2027–2029 and keeping Castle Pines in its regional partnership with Lone Tree, Parker, Castle Rock, Douglas County and the Douglas County Housing Partnership. The city committed to 19 units for 2024–2026 and expects to count 66, all existing for-sale homes priced within the state threshold for a household at area median income; no subsidized project was built here. Staying in keeps the city eligible for state housing money and for a shared regional grant to write the housing action plan the state requires, which the city would otherwise pay for alone. If the city misses the 68-unit goal, it loses eligibility for 2030. The commitment changes no local zoning, and the partnership has no affordable project planned in Castle Pines.
Advanced the new council district map Approved on 1st reading
Approved on first reading, on consent, Ordinance 26-10, which redraws the three council districts to close the 11.8 percent population gap reported on September 22. Under the new lines District 1 has about 6,002 residents, District 2 about 6,066 and District 3 about 5,967: within 1.6 percent of each other. The city charter requires district lines to be final at least 180 days before an election. It needs a second vote.
Open Space & the Happy Canyon Interchange
Finished moving 76 acres of open space into city ownership Passed
Approved on second reading Ordinances 26-08 and 26-09, which carry out this part of the 2023 property transfer with the Castle Pines North Metropolitan District. The city takes ownership of about 76.37 acres of open space and drainage, maintained with the 12-mill parks and open space tax voters approved; the district takes 4.43 acres of utility tracts that hold its water and sewer lines. Salazar asked whether the trails on the larger tract off Monarch Boulevard would stay open to the public. Staff said that wherever a trail crosses land the district keeps, a public trail easement keeps it open, and that trails will sit on city tracts wherever possible. Answering a colleague, staff added that the city maintains trails on those easements. Both ordinances passed.
Approved $874,178 for construction oversight at the Happy Canyon interchange Approved on 1st reading
Approved on first reading, on consent, an agreement with Alfred Benesch & Company to manage construction of the interchange's first phase — pay documentation, quality control, traffic control and materials. The staff memo puts the fee at about $874,177.88, billed only for hours worked. Four firms proposed, and a panel of city, Douglas County and CDOT staff chose Benesch, which has served as the city's on-call engineer for 18 months and managed the larger Crystal Valley interchange in Castle Rock. The same consent vote raised the independent cost estimator's contract with Stanton Constructability Services from $49,572 to $64,532, a $14,960 increase, so it can finish checking the contractor's prices for the second construction package. Salazar voted yes. Later in the meeting the city manager, answering questions several members had raised, said future contract memos will show the original amount, each amendment and the running total — the practice Salazar asked for on September 22. He told council to expect more Benesch amendments, since this contract covers phase one only, and estimated the city will pay the firm close to $4 million by the time the interchange is finished.
In the Community
Represented council at the Douglas County Libraries gala Ongoing
Represented the City Council at the Douglas County Libraries gala, one of the library district's major fundraisers, where Castle Pines was a presenting sponsor. In her council report she also thanked the two residents who sent written comments on Canyonside.
Watch the recap
About this record
Every entry comes from a public Castle Pines City Council meeting; video and official minutes are available through the city clerk's office. Ordinances take two council votes: an entry marked first reading still needs a second, confirming vote before it becomes law. Resolutions, emergency ordinances and contract awards take a single vote. Matters still in process are described as such rather than claimed as outcomes. Dollar figures come from the staff memo or the record; none are estimated.
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