Part of Castle Rock in RTD

“We have to see when the annexation was and when the boundaries were drawn before we can address this conflict,” said Liz Rao, senior manager of systems planning with RTD.

She said Woodlands Boulevard was outside the town limits and was used as a boundary after the town voted to remain excluded. But the Woodlands was incorporated into the town in 1984, said Carole Murray, Douglas County clerk and recorder.

RTD District G boundaries in Castle Rock include the area from Woodlands Boulevard north to Scott Boulevard down to Interstate 25 and north again to Blackfeather Trail.

The boundary then follows Blackfeather Trail to Founders Parkway and connects with Crowfoot Valley Road into Parker. All property to the east of those roads including Woodlands east of the boulevard, Metzler and Maher ranches are part of the RTD district and retail businesses built in that area must charge the additional tax. Metzler and Maher ranches were annexed by the town in the late 1990s.

Although the Woodlands was annexed before the RTD boundary was set, representatives of RTD were hesitant to comment until they had an attorney look at the situation.

But just as RTD has encroached into Castle Rock, so has the town annexed into the district. The difference is town annexation into the district is covered by legislation.

RTD boundaries were set in 1967 by the state Legislature, said Loren Sloane, District G representative for RTD.

In 1975 the Legislature removed all of Douglas County from the RTD district except for the northeastern portion around Parker.

“Created within that Legislature was a method to exclude municipalities by popular vote,” Sloane said.

In 1981, Highlands Ranch residents voted to be included in the RTD district, but Castle Rock residents remained steadfast in their desire for exclusion.

Although there are no retail stores along Front Street in the RTD district, a little more than 19 acres are zoned for later commercial development. Retail stores in that area would charge the RTD tax, even though Castle Rock itself remains excluded from the district.

The 6 cents on every $10 collected by RTD are a part of the sales tax and included on any purchase made in the RTD district, Sloane said.

“Just like their director,” Sloane said. “If town boundaries expand into RTD districts, anyone who moves into the area would be subject to the tax even if the area were annexed by a town that voted for exclusion.”

Residents in the southern-most part of RTD district G are not likely to see any transit service in the near future either.

“RTD is under no obligation to provide services to those within the boundary if it’s not cost effective,” said Dave Shelley, project manager for the transit authority.

“By law, RTD can’t pick up and drop off passengers outside its district,” Sloane said. “Although an RTD bus can drive through an area that’s not part of the district, it can’t stop for passengers.”

In Castle Rock there are no retail businesses within the RTD boundaries, so the RTD tax is not being collected. But anyone who makes a purchase within the RTD district pays the special tax, said Dorothy Dahlquist, public information officer for the Colorado Department of Revenue.

“If items are purchased in an area where there are special taxes, they are subject to those taxes,” Dahlquist said.