Citizens for a Better Centennial
We are a group of citizens monitoring issues in the City of Centennial, Colorado
Avalon Bay Proposed High Density Housing Project on Valley Country Club land at Chambers Way and Arapahoe Road
UPDATE: Although the annexation was voted down at Aurora City Council, rest assured this issue will be returning again soon.
In 2017, Valley Country Club put 15 acres of their land up for sale. The buyer they decided on is Avalon Bay who wants to build a high-density, apartment complex PLUS commercial (although they said at the neighborhood meeting, they do not plan on including a commercial portion although a commercial area is clearly shown on the documents submitted.)
Valley Country Club is in unincorporated Arapahoe Country. Valley approached the City of Centennial asking to annex. Centennial denied this project. Arapahoe County also declined interest in the project as presented. Now VCC has applied to annex this 15 acres of land to Aurora. If annexed, Aurora will rezone this land from URBAN GREEN SPACE to MULTI-USE CORRIDOR. This is the same zoning as Cornerstar and Arapahoe Crossing. Please note the NEIGHBORHOOD just to the east of this project. FIVE Centennial homes will lose golf course and mountain views. Since the neighborhood is in Centennial, Aurora doesn't seem to care. Valley Country Club doesn't seem to care about their neighbors either.
The entrance to this complex will be at Arapahoe Road and Chambers Way, just west of Parker Road, with a right-in, right-out in the SAME acceleration lane from Helena onto Arapahoe Road.
Valley Country Club proposed multi-family project next to two Centennial neighborhoods:
Many of you rallied and sent letters to the Aurora City Council against changing the rezoning of a 15-acre parcel from Urban Green Space to Multi Use Corridor. This directly affected two Centennial neighborhoods - Valley Club Acres, which is nestled next to the Valley Country Club golf course and the Orchard Valley neighborhood by altering the flood plain.
The developer (Avalon Bay) was proposing high-density housing. This area is at Arapahoe Road and Chambers Way (the entrance to CornerStar.)
At the neighborhood meeting held at VCC, neighbors were told there was no site plan (even though one was presented to Centennial council when they asked for annexation.) The developer also stated that they have no intention of building a commercial part to this even though it clearly shows a commercial area on the documents they submitted. Much of the meeting was dedicated to the developer singing their own praises.
At the city council meeting, one of the council members (Bob Roth) stated that neighbors "attacked" Aurora planning employees at the neighborhood meeting, and based on that AND that he did not like the "tone" of the people who spoke against the project, voted yes. All of the folks who were in attendance at that neighborhood meeting, said no such behavior occurred. When asked, the Aurora planner who was in attendance also stated that no such behavior occurred. Interesting???
UPDATE
At the Aurora City Council meeting on September 23, the vote to approve the comp plan change to allow this project was 6-4. It needed 7 yes votes to pass. The Aurora charter allows this to resurface at the next council meeting in case one of the 4 NO votes would change to a YES. No votes changed at the October 7 meeting so this project has been denied.
Many thanks to all of the citizens who wrote letters, spoke at council and attended the council meetings in solidarity. Many thanks to the 4 Aurora Council members who listened and voted no, especially the council member who actually visited the Valley Club Acres neighborhood.
Occasionally voices ARE heard.
Read the Centennial Citizen article here.
Click here to view the Channel 7 News Story.
The above image is the SEMSWA flood plain plan. The yellow area is floodway. The blue and orange are 100-year flood plain. This project sits in the flood plain AND 100-year flood plain. The Orchard Valley neighborhood has been flooded constantly as the flood way and flood plain creep closer as development creates more impermeable surfaces. Several homes are now considered in the flood plain causing severe financial hardship and property values that have tanked.
This area floods in NORMAL RAINFALL! The photos of flooding after rainfall on June 17, 2019 below were posted on Valley County Club's Facebook page. Paving 15 acres will just make this worse for Orchard Valley and Valley Club Acres neighborhoods.
Orchard Valley
Neighborhood
Valley Club Acres Neighborhood
FLOOD PLAIN (blue)
FLOOD WAY (yellow)
The entrance to this complex will be at Arapahoe Road and Chambers Way, just west of Parker Road, with a right-in, right-out in the SAME acceleration lane from Helena onto Arapahoe Road.