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Rooney Valley residents want input on future of property at Dinosaur Ridge

Developer plans business park
Posted at 11:59 PM, Dec 07, 2018
and last updated 2018-12-08 12:11:58-05

LAKEWOOD, Colo – Like most of metro Denver, the area near C-470 and the hogback is growing.

More growth is on the way.

Members of the Rooney Valley Alliance would like input on how that growth is managed and so they’ve launched their second petition drive to save Dinosaur Ridge.

Their first effort to halt plans for a row of car dealerships near the Dinosaur Ridge visitors center was successful. Now the owner, Three Dinos LLC, may sell the property to a group that wants to construct a business park that might include light sports-related manufacturing and perhaps even a brewery.

Questions about compatibility

Linnea Hauser, president of the Rooney Valley Alliance, said a business park is not compatible with the geologic history and culture of the area.

"Warehouses can be placed anywhere," she said, "dinosaur artifacts, irreplaceable geological, paleontological relics do not happen very often, and they should be preserved and protected."

Denver7 reached out to Three Dinos to get reaction to the neighbors’ concerns, but we have not received a reply.

Hauser said her group wants the community to come together and have a dialogue about the plans.

“We have our ideas,” she said, “but it’s not up to us to make that decision. We should get the government entities together, Jefferson County, Lakewood, the citizens and the developer and the land owner and have a robust dialogue.”

She said the petition is an effort to get the attention of the Jefferson County Commissioners and the Lakewood City Council, “to say, 'wait a minute. We want to be part of the dialogue. We do not want this priceless area to go into something this is not fitting, not compatible.’”

Hauser said they want to talk about what’s best for the area and how the landowner can benefit from his investments.