Douglas County approves planned park near Plaza Drive in Highlands Ranch
The 8-0 land-use approval advances a planned park with gardens, recreation areas and 24 parking spaces, but permits, access agreements, costs and operating terms remain unresolved.
The Douglas County Planning Commission voted 8-0 Aug. 17 to approve a location-and-extent application for a planned community park near Plaza Drive in Highlands Ranch. The approval clears one land-use step but does not authorize construction. The commission’s meeting record identifies the project as Highlands Ranch Filing 159.1, Lot 1, or Project LE2026-010.
Project materials describe an approximately two-acre park on the north side of Plaza Drive, near Fly’n B Park and the High Line Canal. The county’s project record places it within a roughly 9.68-acre lot owned by Central Park at Highlands Ranch LLC and lists the application as approved, with a final action date of Aug. 18 and a completion date of Aug. 20. The county staff report refers to approximately one acre of park improvements within the larger lot.
Shea Properties is expected to donate and initially build the park as part of its adjacent senior-housing development. The Highlands Ranch Metropolitan District is expected to take ownership and operate it after completion. The district’s public description of the proposal says Shea would manage construction and the district would use existing general-fund money, without a projected tax increase.
Planned features include community gardens and raised beds, outdoor pingpong, horseshoe pits, bocce ball, fitness and class areas, a sensory garden, lawn space, a pavilion, restroom, bike racks, benches, pathways, a pergola and storage sheds. District representatives said 24 residents were waiting for community-garden plots.
The plan includes 24 dedicated parking spaces, with access by existing and planned sidewalks, county staff said. A separate 13-space lot shown in the plans was not part of the park approval and was being considered through the adjacent senior-housing project.
Construction was anticipated to begin in the fourth quarter of 2026, but that is not a firm start date. The county staff report says construction would occur alongside the senior-housing project and requires all necessary permits. County engineering still must approve or accept a grading, erosion and sediment-control plan and report and a drainage-conformance letter before construction permits are issued.
Several project details remained unresolved in the available record. A 50-foot Denver Water easement crosses the property, and the project team was pursuing a license agreement and access easement. Cross-access and parking agreements tied to the neighboring housing project, including three access points, were still being coordinated through that project’s separate site-improvement plan. No construction-cost figure, detailed operating or maintenance budget, or executed agreement transferring ownership to the district was identified.