The Town has not received a formal proposal from the Church of the Rock.
The Town was invited to and participated in a meeting in early October that explored the options for the church site. The Douglas County Housing Partnership, which is planning to partner with the Church of the Rock on the potential project, applied for the charrette through the Housing Colorado Design Charrettes Program to look at the feasibility of constructing multifamily housing on the Church of the Rock property to allow for affordable family housing, community supportive transitional housing and emergency housing for individuals experiencing homelessness.
If Church of the Rock submits a formal proposal to the Town, they will need to follow Town Code. The property's current zoning doesn't allow housing. If the church wants to pursue changes to the zoning, an application would need to be submitted to the Town. Before an application is submitted, they would have to hold a public neighborhood meeting. At least three public neighborhood meetings would be required as part of the process.
There are criteria established in Town law that guide how staff looks at applications. Staff evaluates if the proposal complies with the Town's Comprehensive Master Plan and if it's compatible with adjoining properties, and they review it for any other issues associated with the proposal. Ultimately, the proposal goes to a public hearing at the Planning Commission, which Town Council has appointed to make recommendations for land use items. The Planning Commission would then provide a recommendation to Town Council.
Town Council consideration requires one formal public hearing. If the ordinance is adopted on the first reading at the public hearing, it would then be considered at another Town Council meeting for second and final reading and approval. Council and Planning Commission consideration is done in a quasi-judicial fashion, meaning they have to apply Town law to the facts presented and they have to make a determination on whether or not the application meets Code requirements and therefore determine if the application would be approved or denied.
Updated Dec. 29, 2022