Hillcamp Update: Major Safety Concerns Raised — What Happens Next
- Save the Lone Tree Bluffs
- 15 hours ago
- 4 min read
Your Engagement Made a Difference!
The public referral period for the four Hillcamp applications closed on February 10. Hundreds of thoughtful, detailed comments were submitted by the general public as well as outside agencies and technical experts.
Those comments were formally compiled and delivered to the developer by the City, along with:
All external agency comments (including South Metro Fire Rescue, Colorado Geological Survey and Colorado Parks & Wildlife)
Four separate City technical review letters outlining outstanding deficiencies.
The developer is now required to submit a full resubmittal of applications that addresses every referral comment and each technical issue raised.
Given the volume and complexity of the concerns, City officials have indicated that additional rounds of technical review — and likely another referral period — are anticipated once revised plans are submitted.
No approvals have been granted and the applications are NOT moving to the next step of the process which would have been Planning Commission hearings. Scroll to the end of the page to review some of the documents that were shared with the developer to see firsthand some of the very important issues raised against Hillcamp.
A Defining Moment in the Review Process
What makes this stage significant is not simply the number of comments submitted — it is the substance of the concerns raised by independent agencies tasked with evaluating public safety, geologic risk, and wildfire response.
Two agencies in particular issued findings that elevate this review to a critical juncture.
Colorado Geological Survey: Insufficient Safety Analysis
The Colorado Geological Survey (CGS), the State’s geological authority, reviewed the proposed Hillcamp Drive extension which would serve as the sole access road to 343 homes.
In its January 30 letter, CGS concluded:
“The current level of geotechnical investigation, analysis, and documentation is insufficient to demonstrate that the proposed Hillcamp Drive roadway extension can be constructed and maintained as a public roadway within mapped landslide terrain, unstable and potentially unstable slopes, and debris-flow–susceptible channels.”
CGS further stated:
“The submitted materials do not provide the design-level subsurface characterization, slope-stability evaluation, or drainage performance verification typically required to support approval of a publicly owned roadway that will serve as the sole access to a 343-unit residential development.”
In plain terms: the current plans do not demonstrate that the proposed roadway can safely function in the mapped landslide and unstable slope conditions identified on the site.
This is not a minor comment or a routine revision. It is a finding that the level of safety analysis typically required for public infrastructure has not yet been demonstrated.
In separate letters reviewing the related RidgeGate Rural and Southridge applications, CGS confirmed that portions of the planning areas have:
Mapped landslides
Landslide-susceptible terrain
Potentially unstable slopes
Debris-flow–susceptible channels
In plain English - much of where Hillcamp is proposed to be built is on land that is potentially unsafe for the above reasons. CGS further noted that mitigation measures remain conceptual and recommended more intensive subsurface exploration and slope stability analysis prior to approval.
South Metro Fire Rescue: Fire Access and Wildfire Risk Concerns
South Metro Fire Rescue also issued detailed comments raising concerns about:
Fire apparatus access road widths
Road design configurations
Dead-end lengths
Grade limitations
Secondary evacuation routes
Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) moderate-intensity risk
In wildfire-prone areas, compliant and legally secured primary and secondary access routes are critical to both emergency response and evacuation. At this time, Hillcamp has no approved or legally established access routes. The proposed primary access, Hillcamp Drive, remains under review and has not been approved, and the two proposed secondary emergency routes rely on roadways within unincorporated Douglas County — areas outside the jurisdiction and control of the City of Lone Tree and the developer.
South Metro Fire Rescue identified a significant inconsistency between the project’s “rural residential” zoning and how it is designed. The roadway standards shown in the plans align with Douglas County’s Rural Local Type I and II classifications — standards intended for developments with 2.5-acre minimum lot sizes and approximately eight parking spaces per lot. Hillcamp does not propose 2.5-acre rural lots, yet the roadway widths reflect those rural standards.
Because of those narrow roadway widths and the fact that on-street parking will not be permitted under the RidgeGate 7th Amendment PDD and Southridge Preserve PDD requirements, the entire roadway plans are impractical. More importantly, South Metro emphasized that adequate roadway width is critical for fire apparatus access. Large emergency vehicles require clear travel lanes, turning radii, and recovery space — particularly in a Moderate Wildland Urban Interface area where response time and evacuation capability are essential.
South Metro indicated that approval would be contingent upon addressing these fire code and safety standards. These findings underscore the importance of evaluating emergency response capability alongside geologic stability.
What Happens Next
The developer must now submit a comprehensive resubmittal that:
Responds to every public comment
Addresses all City technical review comments
Demonstrates compliance with fire access requirements
Provides design-level geotechnical and slope stability analysis
Resolves drainage and environmental concerns
After resubmittal, another round of technical review — and likely additional public review — is anticipated.
Staying Engaged
Public engagement brought important technical issues to light.
Independent agencies have now formally documented concerns regarding:
Geologic stability
Landslide risk
Debris-flow susceptibility
Fire access compliance
Wildfire interface risk
That alignment between resident concerns and agency findings represents a meaningful step in the review process - we made it this far because of YOU!
This effort has always been about ensuring that any development in Lone Tree meets adopted safety, environmental, design, and fiscal standards. Lone Tree is a unique community with high standards. Ensuring those standards are upheld is a responsibility shared by residents, agencies, and City leadership alike.
We'll continue to monitor developments closely and provide updates as the next phase unfolds!
City of Lone Tree Technical Review Letters
South Metro Fire Rescue
Colorado Geological Survey
Colorado Parks and Wildlife
Douglas County Open Space