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Sheridan citizens make plea to save drive-in theater

Commission puts off decision on rezoning plan

Tillie Fong, Rocky Mountain News

Published August 16, 2007 at midnight

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SHERIDAN - Kati Alcock goes to the Cinderella Twin Drive-in nearly every weekend and doesn't want to see it torn down to make way for a condominium project.

"This is one thing that promotes the idea of family," Alcock, 25, said at the public hearing before the city's planning commission Wednesday night.

"There aren't many drive-ins left in the country. We have one of the only Twins left."

Alcock was one of three people who spoke against The Park at Sheridan, a 316-unit condominium project being developed by Embrey Partners.

Approval of the final site plan for the development would mean that the 34-year-old Cinderella Twin Drive-in at Platte River Drive and Hampden Avenue would have to be torn down.

No decision was made Wednesday by the planning commission, which decided to continue the public hearing until Aug. 29.

An earlier version of the development, with fewer buildings and a different configuration, had been approved in 2003. But the project was put on hold until the Regional Transportation District made a decision on where the FasTracks corridor would go.

"We are anxious to move forward with this," said Jeff Booth, of Embrey Partners. "This is a significant-sized project."

But residents such as Carma Alcock, 57, objected to the destruction of the drive-in.

"This is a historical (structure)," she said. "Why must Sheridan keep destroying its history?"

Ted Blanchard, Sheridan's chief building official, said the city has to think ahead.

"The nostalgia of that site - the city tried to be sensitive to the whole issue," he said. "But the shopping center that it was named after is gone. It's time to move on."

A number of updated studies and reports from the fire department, planning staff, and outside consultants for the proposed housing development were submitted Wednesday to the planning commission for review.

"It's just a matter of crossing the T's and dotting the I's," said Blanchard.

However, a number of issues, ranging from the number of parking spaces to the monitoring of possible methane gas leaking from a nearby landfill, are unresolved.

Staff writer Justin Coons contributed to this report.