FLOOD00850

• Designation Number: 31
• County: Arapahoe
• Community: Unincorporated Arapahoe County
• Title: Major Drainageway Planning - Little Dry Creek, Report, Volume I
• Date: 2/1/1974
• Designation Date: 6/1/1974
• Floodplain - Doc Type: Floodplain Report/Masterplan

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County, where Little Dry Creek has been relocated and straightened in an

earth channel. All of the native vegetation has been destroyed, and the

bare earth is undergoing rapid erosion. Treatment of the streambed in

this fashion also is proposed for SMS Joint Venture, a large development

being planned on Little Dry Creek and Willow Creek in Arapahoe County

near Arapahoe Road and South Holly Street. As of this date, the destruc-

tion of the natural environment of the streambed has not yet occurred in

SMS Joint Venture development pending approval of zoning by Arapahoe

County. When asked about restoring grass and other vegetation in the

relocated streambed, SMS Joint Venture's engineer replied that that would

be the function of a park district or another governmental entity that

acquired jurisdiction over the streambed. It can be assumed that the

streambed within this development would suffer the Same fate as that

within Medema Homes, unless further requirements are placed on the deve-

lopers.

We have made a study of current and probable future zoning in the Little

Dry Creek drainage basin and of population density likely to occur from

projected zoning. We find that the planning agencies of all the entities

involved believe that almost complete development of the Little Dry Creek

drainage basin will occur in the near future. Relatively low density

residential development is projected within the Cherry Hills Village and

Greenwood Village municipal boundaries; relatively high density residen-

tial development with some commerical and industrial development is pro-

jected for the areas within unincorporated Arapahoe County and Douglas

County. There is a small area in Douglas County in which the natural

slope of the ground exceeds lO percent and this area has been retained

in agricultural zoning in our study. The length of Little Dry Creek

within the City of Englewood already is in a fully developed urbanized

area.

Flood Plain Zoning

In areas which are not now developed in Cherry Hills Village, Greenwood

Village, Arapahoe County and Douglas County, it would be possible to re-

tain the natural environment of the streambed to the maximum extent by

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