Littleton is in the preliminary stage of considering annexing the 3,406-acre Sterling Ranch next to the Chatfield Reservoir, a move that could increase the population of the city by 43 percent over the next two decades. Sterling Ranch, which plans to be one of the most water-efficient master-planned communities in the U.S., is anticipated to have 31,700 residents when completed. The current population of Littleton is slightly more than 40,000 and it for the most part, does not have large areas where it can grow.
Jim Yates, chief financial officer for Sterling Ranch, said that some Littleton City Council members had approached them about the annexation. They also have had some initial discussions with some staff members. The council on Tuesday had a study session on the proposed annexation, but did not go into an executive session to discuss the idea while the snowstorm raged that evening.
Revenues greater than expenses
Representatives from Sterling Ranch made a presentation to the council that projected that annexation would ultimately mean that Littleton would provide $22 million in services at build-out, but it would receive $28 million in annual revenues, for a $6 million annual surplus when it is completed.
“From a financial standpoint, I would not say it is a windfall for Littleton, but it is a huge net positive,” Yates said.
What is attractive to Sterling Ranch and its owners is that the annexation would allow it to tap into the state-of-the-art Englewood/Littleton wastewater treatment plant, instead of building one from scratch. That would save them from creating a metro district to issue bonds to raise about $100 million for a new wastewater treatment plant, and then charge a mill levy to residents to pay for it. Instead, tap fees would be paid to Littleton, as residents and businesses move into Sterling Ranch. In other words, they would “pay as they go,” instead of having to float bonds to cover the cost.
“Frankly, it is the more responsible thing for us to do,” Yates said. ‘There is no point in floating the bonds and raising the money to build a new plant, when there is an existing one that vastly under-utilized. They have the capacity to handle much more and us. It would go from being under 50 percent utilized to maybe 65 percent utilized.”
But the costs would be basically the same, so it provides no huge economic advantage to Sterling Ranch, he said.
Not a retail cash cow
He said that some city council members initially have been skeptical, because Sterling Ranch will not have as much retail space as Littleton and the metro are do as a whole, he said.
“That was viewed as a negative by some,” because communities depend so heavily on retail sales taxes to pay for city services.
“Our model is not economically the same as Littleton’s,” Yates said. “We do not have the 55 or 60 square feet of retail space per person, as they do. We will not have a regional mall, for example. The Denver metro area is roughly 50 square feet of retail per person. We will be more like Highlands Ranch, with closer to 25 to 30 square feet per capita,” he said.It’s anticipated at build-out that Sterling Ranch will have 800,000-square-foot of retail, which will create 2,900 jobs.
April meeting scheduled
Yates said the next meeting with the city council is on April 6.
“Hopefully, they will go into executive session, and come out saying they would like to explore and evaluate this further,” Yates said.
He said Sterling Ranch is at kind of a crossroads.
“We are already down the road with working with Douglas County, so this really is the time to determine which direction we will be heading.”
Sterling Ranch is south of Chatfield Reservoir, west of Hwy. 85 (South Santa Fe Drive) and north and east of the Roxborough community. For more details, visit this link.
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Article provided by John Rebchook
