URGENT! Help us save the Lone Tree Bluffs (Action needed by Oct 12)

The day has come and we kindly ask you again to help us stop the Hillcamp road and development proposal.

We all come to the Lone Tree Bluffs for open views, mental health, quiet walks or rides and time with ourselves, families and friends. We all want to keep this place as it is, full of life, wildlife and peace.

As you know Hillcamp proposes 343 homes (400+ acres) on top of the Mesa Land and very near the Regional Bluffs Park. A new road proposed "on unstable ground" would extend Cabela Drive into this landscape to serve the development. On October 13, the Planning Commission will consider the road and a water pump station. If this gets approved it clears the way for the development to happen easier.

Wildfire safety affects families already here. More homes mean more people trying to get out during a wildfire. The applicant’s own study flags added Hillcamp traffic as a risk during mass evacuation. Families deserve a clear answer: can everyone get out safely?

Wildlife already lives here

The applicant’s biological study found nesting habitat across most of the area studied for the road. Surveyors saw western meadowlarks, scrub jays, robins and finches. Clearing vegetation for construction means losing habitat where that vegetation is removed. Common birds deserve a place to live, too.

A road would change this landscape for good

At the highest point, the plans show three stepped retaining walls, each eight feet tall. The East West Trail would cross the new road on a bridge. If built, pavement and walls would permanently change this stretch of the bluffs and the experience of people from all South Suburban who come here.

The City needs to consider the whole project

A road and pump station help make the proposed homes possible. Approving them first risks making the development feel like a done deal before the City has decided whether the whole proposal should go ahead. That is the wrong precedent for protecting our remaining natural places. We want the City to consider the full effect on wildlife, wildfire safety and the landscape before moving these pieces forward.

October 13 is a critical chance to keep this project from moving forward. We need your voice now.

Ask the Planning Commission to delay the road and pump station until the full project’s impacts and safety questions are addressed.

Join us Tuesday October 13 at 6:30 p.m.

Lone Tree Civic Center • 8527 Lone Tree Parkway

Three ways to help

You do not need to be an expert. Tell the Commission what this place means to you. A personal email or a short statement can help make the case for protecting it.

1. Send a short personal email:

Write to Chuck.Darnell@cityoflonetree.com for the Planning Commission by Monday, October 12 at 6:30p.m. Earlier is better. Say where you live, why you love the bluffs and that you oppose the Cabela Drive road and Hillcamp development.

Written comments receive the same consideration as spoken comments. Copy this and make it your own

Subject: October 13 — Protect the Lone Tree Bluffs

Dear Planning Commissioners,

I live in [city] and visit the bluffs to [walk, ride, watch wildlife or spend time with my family]. This place matters to me because [your reason].

I oppose the Hillcamp road and development. Please delay action on the road and pump station until the full project’s impacts and safety questions are addressed. I want this wildlife habitat and landscape protected for future generations. Please consider the whole development before approving the pieces that would make it possible.

Please include my comment in both October 13 hearing records: the road (SB25-0014) and pump station (USR25-0002 / SP25-0023).

Thank you,

[Name and city]

2. Show up on October 13, 2026

The meeting starts at 6:30 p.m. at the Lone Tree Civic Center. Aim to arrive by 6:00 and sign in before the meeting if you want to speak up. You have only two minutes. Tell your own story and ask the Commission to delay the road.

You are always welcome even if you live outside Lone Tree or prefer not to speak. Bring someone else that also cares. Seating is limited to 110, so send your email even if you plan to attend.

3. Bring more people into the effort

Sign the petition if you haven't, Share it and this guide with friends who love the Lone Tree Bluffs. Join the updates at savethelonetreebluffs.com.

Keep showing up! Council comments can go through cityclerksoffice@cityoflonetree.com

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The facts behind the call to act

Why October 13 matters.

The road would provide access to Hillcamp, whose two housing plans propose 261 and 82 homes. The October 13 hearings cover the road and water pump station; the housing plans have later hearings. This is a chance to influence the project before it advances another step.

Our goal remains stopping the development and protecting the bluffs. The immediate request is a delay: keep the road and pump station from moving forward while the City addresses the full project’s effects and unresolved safety questions. Separate applications should not obscure their combined impact. That is the position we are asking supporters to voice.

Wildfire and getting people out safely

On page 13, the applicant’s wildfire report identifies greater vulnerability from added Hillcamp traffic during a mass movement of vehicles. It also describes benefits from a paved route for access and reducing fire spread. The public needs to understand how the whole development would affect evacuation, including families already

living nearby. We are asking for demonstrated evacuation performance and adequate fire-water protection.

Habitat and lasting changes to the land

The biological study covers about 55 acres, a larger area than the road footprint. It identifies nesting habitat and records the birds named in this guide. The study anticipates limited impacts with protective measures; proposed revegetation would restore some disturbed areas. Our concern is the habitat and natural landscape that roads and other permanent structures would replace.

The retaining walls would be stepped, with three eight-foot walls at their highest point and eight-foot-wide spaces between them. A bridge would preserve the East West Trail crossing. The concern is the lasting change to the landscape and trail experience. The proposal affects part of the wider bluffs landscape; it does not propose paving the whole landmark or all of Bluffs Regional Park.

Taking part and staying involved

People from outside Lone Tree can attend and comment. The agenda allows two minutes per individual and four for an authorized group representative; sign in before the meeting. Send written comments at least 24 hours ahead, and request disability accommodations for the hearing at least 48 hours ahead.

If this trail is part of your life, your voice belongs in this decision. We are stronger when we speak up and get together to show we care for our community.

Stay connected, ask us any questions and keep an eye out for updates as we approach the hearings.

Thank you for standing up for what you care and love!

Save the Lone Tree Bluffs Team