Jeffco Kills Golden Sex Home Plan
Group Home For Juvenile Sex Offenders Won't Go Near Golden
GOLDEN, Colo. -- Jefferson County commissioners killed a proposal for a teen sex-offender facility just north of Golden early Thursday, a decision that won high praise from residents, city officials and open-space advocates.
The commission voted 3-0 against the facility, around midnight.
Jefferson County wanted to build a 48- to 60-bed facility less than 2 miles from Golden's city limits on land adjacent to Colorado Highway 93. A private company would then run the treatment center.
In a complex arrangement, county commissioners combined money from the Jeffco general fund and money allocated for Jeffco open space to buy the 142-acre property. The county then divided the property in half and retroactively declared one 71-acre parcel the acreage bought with general fund money, and therefore eligible for development. The remaining parcel would have counted as open space, acting as a buffer.
Commissioner Richard Sheehan said that he was disappointed to vote against the plan, but he had significant doubts about the financial aspects of the proposal.
Where the facility may go now was unclear. The county will likely form a task force to study where to put the group home.
County Administrator Ron Holliday proposed the center because current group homes in southern Jefferson County might have to remove teen sex offenders by next year. The county has limited such teens to one per home in residential areas.
But Commission Patricia Holloway said that she believes the free-market system would replace any beds lost from group homes with other homes being opened.
The decision was made after three nights of hearings. The county's planning commission rejected the idea, and the commissioners had the final say.
The vote reverses a county proposal that said the Golden location was the "best location" for such a facility. The Golden location was selected by Holliday after he said the same thing about a location near Pine, Colo. That plan was Initially endorsed by Commissioners, but received widespread opposition from residents.
"There is no appropriate place in the eyes of the community. Anywhere we go in the county, it's unacceptable," Jefferson County spokesperson John Masson said.
The commission voted 3-0 against the facility, around midnight.
Jefferson County wanted to build a 48- to 60-bed facility less than 2 miles from Golden's city limits on land adjacent to Colorado Highway 93. A private company would then run the treatment center.
In a complex arrangement, county commissioners combined money from the Jeffco general fund and money allocated for Jeffco open space to buy the 142-acre property. The county then divided the property in half and retroactively declared one 71-acre parcel the acreage bought with general fund money, and therefore eligible for development. The remaining parcel would have counted as open space, acting as a buffer.
Commissioner Richard Sheehan said that he was disappointed to vote against the plan, but he had significant doubts about the financial aspects of the proposal.
Where the facility may go now was unclear. The county will likely form a task force to study where to put the group home.
County Administrator Ron Holliday proposed the center because current group homes in southern Jefferson County might have to remove teen sex offenders by next year. The county has limited such teens to one per home in residential areas.
But Commission Patricia Holloway said that she believes the free-market system would replace any beds lost from group homes with other homes being opened.
The decision was made after three nights of hearings. The county's planning commission rejected the idea, and the commissioners had the final say.
The vote reverses a county proposal that said the Golden location was the "best location" for such a facility. The Golden location was selected by Holliday after he said the same thing about a location near Pine, Colo. That plan was Initially endorsed by Commissioners, but received widespread opposition from residents.
"There is no appropriate place in the eyes of the community. Anywhere we go in the county, it's unacceptable," Jefferson County spokesperson John Masson said.
Previous Stories:
- July 24, 2001: Residents: Don't Build Juvenile Sex Offender Home Here
- April 11, 2001: Parents Outraged Over Proposed Sex Offender Group Home
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