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The delivery was light-hearted but the topic serious when Douglas County Sheriff's Deputy Harris spoke to the assembly at the Master Association Annual Meeting on November 8, 2001.

Deputy Harris told the almost 100 residents in attendance that it is not a secret among crooks that Castle Pines North is a "target-rich" environment. But with a few simple actions by residents, 90% of the burglaries in Castle Pines North could be avoided.

Here are his suggestions:

Lighten Up. Literally, add lighting to your home. Sensor lights, especially in the backs and sides of properties, will discourage crooks. Caught in a beam of light, the crook will most likely step back and choose another home that is dark.

Lock it up. Motor vehicle thefts have actually occurred because the keys were in the ignition, and the car was unlocked, sitting in the driveway!

But in addition to using common sense, homeowners can make other changes to protect their property:

• Locking all the doors in your home at night - especially the one between the garage and the home - "is the most valuable minute you can spend," according to Deputy Harris.
• Close your garage doors at night.
• New homes are equipped with builder's grade locks, and one key fits all. Always change your locks when you move into a new home, or if one of your keys turns up missing.
• Always use deadbolt locks.
• When you bring your car into the shop, remove the garage door opener. It's easy for someone to note the code inside and program another opener to unlock your garage doors.

Teamwork.

• Work with your neighbors to put sensor lights in between your properties.
• Learn who lives around you.
• Start a Neighborhood Watch. It only requires two meetings a year, which can be block parties.
• Note the license plate number of suspicious vehicles in your area.
• Work with the Sheriff's office. With the growth of our area, law enforcement can't be everywhere at once. If you're going away, you can call the HouseWatch program, and officers will come out and check your property at least once per shift. You also can call the Sheriff's office for a Ride-Along. See what the Sheriff's Department sees on a weekend night!

Solicitation If you put up a "no solicitors" sign on your home, solicitors should not come to your door. All solicitors should be registered with the Sheriff's office and wear an identification badge. If your home has a sign (sorry-such signs are not permitted at the entrance to the neighborhood), and a solicitor comes to your door anyway, the Sheriff's department will come out and cite them. (This does not apply to Girl Scouts and other students!)

To reach the HouseWatch program or the Ride-Along program, call 303-660-7544. E-mail Deputy Harris at bharris@douglas.co.us if you have any questions about preventing crime.

Despite the six motor vehicle thefts in our neighborhood in the last two months, we are still one of the safest places in the entire state, according to Deputy Harris. Let's work together to keep it that way!

On Castle Pines Village, northern tier. The County Commissioners have approved Filings 27, 28, and 15c, with conditions including:

• Forest Park Drive will NOT be used as a North Gate thorofare. It will be used for emergency vehicle access, with a locked gate accessible only to the fire district.
• Instead of the original proposal for the North Gate via Forest Park , there will be a "northeast gate" that would provide access via the LaGae Ranch. Details still to be worked out regarding location, etc.
• Water issues have been resolved to the satisfaction of the County.
• School issue is still not resolved; no land was dedicated toward the elementary school site that is desired by CPV residents (and will eventually be needed even with the construction of a 2nd elementary school in CPN). There is one major CPV filing that still needs to go through the County process -- Filing 15D, which is along the southern border of Forest Park. No schedule for that one yet.

Village Homes is adding new subdivisions and opened their Clubhouse and Pool.

Writer Homes will build duplexes and fourplexes adjacent to their new Townhomes (south of the Parkway, between Monarch and Oxford).

Genessee is building patio homes west of the golf clubhouse, south of the Parkway.

Several builders are constructing new residential areas to the north and west of our existing neighborhoods. During the planning stages these areas were known as Lynx Land and Romar West. The developer for these areas, Chris Fellows, will be living in our community and has been a major contributor to the creation of our new Parks Authority.

Hidden Pointe (a separate "master plan" area) will eventually have 215 homes. It has chosen to join the Castle Pines North Master Association as an associate member and has contracted with the CPN Metro District for services. It is also working with our Parks Authority on adjacent open space.

The Canyons is still pending. The current proposal calls for open space and a Regional park in the area immediately east of I-25. The balance of the development would include 2,600 homes, 3 golf courses, schools, and parks but no commercial space.

A luxury apartment complex is proposed in the commercial area south of the Total station. This complex would make significant contributions to the CPN Parks Authority. It would also help our bond issues as this area is in the Metro District's service area.

We will be hearing more about the new development annexed by Lone Tree. We drive past the area all the time (south of Lincoln, along both sides of I-25). The original 1980's plan for this 3,500 acre site included a town center, offices, hotels and 12,000 homes.

Stay tuned.

We currently have about 1700 homes in CPN. We expect that we will grow at a rate of 300 units a year for the next 3-4 years. When building is completed, there will be approx. 3000 homes, including a much wider variety of housing types (single-family, patio homes, duplexes/fourplexes and townhomes).

While this may sound like a lot of homes, it is a smaller number than was originally approved for the CPN in the 1980's. Completion of the community is essential for repayment of our water and sewer bonds (and hopefully, eventual lowering of the property tax).

about the bond structure.