Lone Tree officials are weighing a proposal that would add hundreds of new housing units to the city’s western mesa tops, and the plan has already drawn sharp pushback from residents worried about traffic, wildlife and wildfire evacuation routes. The development under consideration would reshape nearly 400 acres of bluff land west of Interstate 25, one of the last large undeveloped stretches in the RidgeGate master plan.
As reported by FOX31 Denver, the city is considering a new development that would bring hundreds of housing units to the area, and the proposal has already generated controversy among nearby residents. That project has a name: Hillcamp, sometimes referred to as Mesa Tops, a joint venture between Brookfield Residential and RidgeGate Investments to build 343 single-family homes across the mesa land, according to Homes.com. The outlet reports Hillcamp is planned as the final major single-family residential section on the western side of the RidgeGate master plan.
Opposition has coalesced around a group calling itself Save the Lone Tree Bluffs, which has gathered more than 8,000 petition signatures. The group urged the Lone Tree Planning Commission at public hearings this month to delay approving preliminary infrastructure — including extending Cabela Drive and building a water pump station — until the city completes a full environmental and wildfire evacuation review, per details shared by Save Surrey Ridge. Opponents argue that greenlighting roads and utilities first builds momentum toward home construction before those comprehensive site reviews are finished.
What’s at Stake on the Mesa
The group’s objections are not purely procedural. An environmental assessment submitted in community planning filings documented nesting habitat for native bird species — including western meadowlarks, scrub jays and finches — on land proposed for the Cabela Drive extension near Bluffs Regional Park and the East-West Regional Trail, the same filings note. Bluffs Regional Park and its surrounding trail network serve as a key outdoor recreation hub for south metro Denver, a point residents have leaned on in making their case…