What Ballot Measures 300 and 301 Mean For Castle Pines
What these measures actually do
Ballot Question 300 would amend the city charter so that any property over 20 acres owned or controlled by a single owner, ownership group, or common plan of development can be annexed only with approval from Castle Pines voters. Parcels annexed together or in sequence are counted as one annexation, so a land owner can't avoid the vote by splitting land up.
Ballot Question 301 would send any 20+ acre annexation completed within 180 days of the section taking effect back to voters for ratification.
Supporters say these measures give residents a voice. It's a fair goal. But look at what they actually do, and you'll see they trade a voice we already have for a veto that weakens our city.
1. It shuts the door on growth inside Castle Pines, but not outside it
Twenty acres is a small parcel. Councilmembers called the 20-acre threshold relatively small, and one predicted the city would see no annexations at all if the measure passes. Land owners facing the cost and uncertainty of a citywide campaign have an easy alternative: develop under Douglas County rules, or annex into Castle Rock, Parker, or Lone Tree. Those communities do not send annexations to a public vote. Their councils hold public hearings and decide.
The land next to us will be developed either way. The only question this measure answers is who decides what gets built there. If it passes, the answer is less likely to be Castle Pines.
2. Losing control of our borders means losing a say in our future
When land annexes into Castle Pines, it has to meet our standards: our zoning, our design, our open space requirements, our traffic studies. When it develops in the county or in a neighboring city, we are just one more voice at someone else's hearing. Turning away annexations doesn't keep development away. It just hands the decisions to someone else.
3. We already built a high standard, and residents helped write it
This summer the city adopted its first annexation policy, shaped by a community survey and public comments. It requires applicants to show clear public benefits and evaluates each proposal on community character, open space, fiscal sustainability, and fit with long-term plans. Projects with negative long-term financial impacts will not be approved, and proposals must keep at least 30% of the site as open space unless unique circumstances justify otherwise.
These standards are the protection residents asked for. The ballot measure puts a blunt yes-or-no vote on top of them. This measure treats every annexation as a one-size-fits-all, binary decision. A negotiated agreement can require better roads, more open space, or a stronger tax base. A ballot question can't.
4. It drives away the revenue that keeps our taxes low and our service quality high
Commercial development pays for roads, parks, and public safety, and it brings the restaurants, shops, and employers residents say they want. Tax revenue funds roads and parks and trail maintenance. Businesses and land owners look for predictability. A rule that adds months of delay, campaign expenses, and the risk of losing a citywide vote after investing in plans and studies tells them to go somewhere else. Castle Rock, Parker, and Lone Tree will gladly take that sales tax revenue.
5. Voters already have a check, and it's the right size
Supporters say this measure is about democracy. But democracy in Castle Pines doesn't stop at the ballot box. We elect a City Council specifically to study complicated land-use questions, hold public hearings, and negotiate with property owners on our behalf. If they get it wrong, we can vote them out, and residents who oppose a specific annexation can still bring a separate ballot initiative on that project. That tool already exists for the cases that truly need it.
Our system is a representative republic for a reason. Our founders understood that complex, technical decisions are best made by accountable representatives who do the detailed work, not by an automatic up-or-down vote where the loudest campaign, rather than the best plan, carries the day. Sending every land deal over 20 acres to a citywide election doesn't add democracy. It replaces careful deliberation with a popularity contest and makes our elected representatives unable to do the job we elected them to do.
6. Question 301 can undo a deal after it's done
Question 301 doesn't just add a vote before an annexation. It sends annexations completed in its 180-day window back to voters after they've gone through the full legal process: hearings, the city's new annexation standards, and council approval. A land owner who followed every rule in good faith could see the deal overturned. Nothing tells businesses and land owners to look elsewhere faster than the message that a finished agreement with Castle Pines might not stay finished.
The bottom line
These measures won't stop growth on our borders. They'll just make sure Castle Pines has no say in it, while costing us revenue, businesses, and the strong standards we built together. Vote No on 300 and 301.
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