Local News

Community members appeared generally pleased that a property owner wants to rezone a vacant 2-acre property on South Platte Canyon Road for townhomes, condominiums, single-family houses or assisted-living units.

The land is zoned C-1 commercial but has been on the market for 10 years and has failed to attract interest. It is bordered on the north by DePew Street and on the east by South Platte Canyon Road.

The area could appeal to people who want to live close to the Columbine Trail, an asphalt bicycle path that borders the property along Platte Canyon Road.

The Jeffco Board of Adjustment voted unanimously Aug. 8 to uphold the zoning administrator's decision to allow parking of off-duty taxis on the street in a residential subdivision.

The Columbine Knolls North Home Owners Association had appealed to the board to reverse the zoning administrator's decision that the practice was legal according to county rules.

But zoning administrator Mike Chadwick said the rules are evolving under the incumbent Board of Commissioners and becoming more liberal on the subject.

Former D’Evelyn Junior/Senior High School band teacher Matthew James Taylor has been sentenced to two years of weekends in the county jail for using his cell phone to record video under the skirts and shorts of female students.

Taylor — who had pleaded guilty on June 11 to attempted sexual exploitation of a child, a class 4 felony, and harassment — was brought to justice after one student used her own cell phone to take photos of Taylor’s interactions with other girls.

Hydration intimidation situation