by Elizabeth Wood West

In its ongoing efforts to address the unwanted train horn noise in the Castle Pines Village and Sedalia area, Douglas County is planning to conduct a railroad quiet zone study.

The Douglas County Board of Commissioners approved $100,000 to fund the U.S. Highway 85/Happy Canyon Road Quiet Zone Study. The comprehensive study will follow Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) guidelines, and be a coordinated effort between Douglas County, Union Pacific Railroad, the Colorado Department of Transportation, and the Public Utilities Commission (PUC).

A railroad quiet zone is a crossing where train horns are not routinely sounded by train operators, according to the FRA. A quiet zone designation is used to decrease train horn noise levels for residents within the area.

What will the study do?

“The study will establish the Public Improvement District (PID) boundary, and identify proposed improvements and estimated maximum costs to be used to create the PID,” according to County engineering staff member, Sean Owens, PE, capital improvement project manager. The initial study will take two months.

Once the initial study is completed, a petition question will be finalized, including boundary, proposed improvements, and estimated maximum costs. Representatives from the community will then be tasked to obtain signatures from 30 percent or 200 of the qualified PID voters (whichever is less) within the proposed PID,” Owens said.

What is the timeframe?

“The PID will be created by the County and an election of the property owners will be held in November of 2010. If the election passes, the County will proceed with design and submittals to the railroads, FRA, and the PUC,” said Owens. “It could take one to two years to complete the improvements and create the quiet zone, including design, construction, and finalization,” he added.

Who will pay for the quiet zone study and improvements?

The PID, if approved by the property owners within the PID, will pay for the cost of the study (including reimbursing the county for the cost of the initial study), the election, and design and construction of the improvements required to create the quiet zone. This will be done with a PID mill levy or a special assessment on PID members’ property taxes.

Owens said, “Bond sale proceeds will most likely be the mechanism to finance the project. The bonds will be paid back by a property tax assessment to property owners within the PID boundary; tentatively over a ten-year period. The PID will expire when the debt is retired, including the cost of the study, election, and design and construction of the improvements.”

For technical questions, please contact Douglas County Engineering at 303-660-7490 or engineering@douglas.co.us. For policy questions, please contact the county manager at 303-660-7401. Visit their offices at 100 Third Street in Castle Rock.