Metro Bond Property Taxes in The Meadows Castle Rock-3/16/2026 Update

Metro Bond Property Tax Update – March 2026

Metro Bond Property Taxes in The Meadows Castle Rock have been an on-going concern for many years. Although the tax rate is very low (35 mils) compared to other Metropolitan Tax Districts in Colorado, the concern for the property owners is the term to pay off the bond before the tax is completely eliminated.

Most Colorado Metro Bonds terminate between 30-40 years, regardless of how much tax revenue has been paid toward the debt.  i.e., If there is a lack of tax revenue to pay off the principal and interest after 40 years, the bonds is still fully discharged and the tax is eliminated regardless of how much has been paid during the 40 year term.

With the property taxes in The Meadows, the bonds don’t stop and are not eliminated at 40 years which is June 2029. The interest stops accruing at the end of 40 years, but property tax collection continues until the principal and interest are paid in full. On the current projectile, the property taxes in The Meadows may continue for another 40-60 years, after the 40 years of service.

In 2025 after 37 years of developer-controlled Meadows, the property owners took control of 6 of the 7 metro bond boards to address the property taxes imposed by the developer in the late 1980’s, which will cost all of us about $1b for a $57m infrastructure project.

Our tax rate will NEVER increase above 35 mills (which is very low for Colorado), and there will never be any special assessment. But on the current course, this tax will never go away in our lifetime. Our push is to seek options to reduce or eliminate this property tax, and improve the lifestyle in The Meadows. If you would like to understand the actual facts about our situation, this page lists a number of important items.

As we move forward, we will have more spending money for the community, we will have a more beautiful Meadows community, our property taxes should go down, and our property values should increase. These results are at no additional cost to any property owner, just the voluntary efforts, time, and business savvy of your local neighbors and metro bond board members making this happen. If you would like to read a comprehensive list of the our status as of November 2025 with the Metro bond property taxes in The Meadows Castle Rock, this web page is very informative.

If you want to be on the email distribution list for updates, or have questions/ideas, send an email to MeadowsMetro@gmail.com

Here is list of our current progress and achievements:

• From the May 2025 elections, property owners took control of 4 districts (2,3,6,7) of the 6 away from the developer. In the fall of 2025, we seized control of one more district, District #5, the commercial district. District 1 has always been property owner controlled. As of the end of 2025, the residents’ control 6 of the 7 districts. Developer still controls District 4, the “Master District” which controls a large portion of money.
• Board Presidents are meeting monthly with the Developer in an effort understand what they are doing and why they are still in The Meadows after 37 years. Property owners want to take control of that board, so we can have full control of the metro bond property taxes in The Meadows and our tax revenue. Board Presidents are relaying this information to their board members to relay this information to the owners in their districts. If you have any questions, please reach out to one of your board members.

The metro boards are currently addressing these main items:

1) Property Taxes – After 5+ years of searching for our bond documents and legal filings, we still have not received them. If Spencer Fane, the law firm which wrote the documents and legal filings between the 1980s and 2026, and Colorado Bond Shares, which purchased the bonds in 2007 & 2019, cannot produce the specific documents within the next few months, we will expand our search to other firms which have been involved in The Meadows over the years.        

District 1 has been property owner controlled from the 1980s. They have been retaining unused operating revenue for several years. This “slush” fund of unspent money has been earmarked by the Board to help fund these legal inquiries. Thus this process is being funding by already collected property taxes in The Meadows revenue, reappropriated by District 1, with no cost or liability to any property owner in The Meadows, Castle Rock.                  

Since the Developer controls the cash and budget for Districts 2-7, they have been sending all unused operating funds at the end of the year to the bondholders every year. In short, the Developer spends as little as possible maintaining The Meadows and wipes out the bank accounts every year with any remaining cash for all 6 developer-controlled districts since inception. Those districts currently do not have the resources to join District 1 in their legal process. However, with property owners in control of Boards 2,3,5,6,7, we are working on acquiring funding for these districts from the developer for this purpose and other improvements in The Meadows.      

The 7 districts have a very complex, interwoven legal framework between them including cost sharing agreements, consolidated service plans, & straddled debt on 3 of the 7 districts (1, 2, & 7). The Metro Bond Legal Team at Burg Simpson has to analyze and investigate the structure for the entire Meadows before providing any legal opinion or options. All boards and our legal team are working collectively and diligently to understand the full scope of the metro bond property taxes in The Meadows Castle Rock. As such the legal contract and scope with Burg Simpson is confined to Metro District 1, which has the operating cash to fund this investigation, but entails the entire Meadows.    

This is a slow process. We are working within the government and the legal system; both of which move very slowly. We hope to have more information by July 2026.

2) District 4 – Even though the property owners have control of 6 of the 7 districts, Board 4 is still controlled by the Developer. Despite our efforts, the Developer still controls the tax revenue, budgeting, and decision making for a large portion of The Meadows.      

Board Presidents began meeting with the Developer/District 4 on a monthly basis in January to transition the Developer out of The Meadows. Our objective is to: a) Understand the functions and tasks of the Developer in The Meadows, b) What needs to be done to transition those tasks for the Developer to leave, c) How can the property owners take control of Board 4, so we have full control our own metro bond property taxes in The Meadows Castle Rock revenue, budget, spending, etc., now and into the future.      

Taking control of Board 4 is imperative and proving to be more difficult than expected. Between 1985-2007, the Developer filed a number of legal instruments to prevent any property owner in The Meadows from joining Board 4. Clearly it was their attempt to continue to control of all metro bond tax revenue in The Meadows in perpetuity. So far, they have succeeded, but with our new control of the boards, we believe their end is in sight.    

All Boards except 4, now run by the property owners, are determined to take control of the metro bond property taxes in The Meadows Castle Rock. Stay tuned in !!!

3) Meadows Blvd Median Landscaping – If you haven’t noticed, the areas are UGLY, barren with dead trees and plants, and have been seriously neglected for many years. The Developer has been in control of this item. They have been spending the least amount possible, sending all unspent operating cash back to the bondholders at year end, and leaving us with dead trees. That all stops – NOW.      

At the end of 2025, the boards took lead control of this item to beautify our sub division. With some pressure and legal maneuverings, we were able to divert $240k away from the developer to additional landscaping, which can be carried over into future years if we don’t use it all in 2026. We plan on diverting more metro bond property taxes in The Meadows Castle Rock into future years, as needed, to keep improving the common areas landscaping.

The process is complex with many issues and organizations involved. i.e, water usage cost and amounts, design documents, permitting, landscaping credits. The list is extensive. The boards are working with Town of Castle Rock, Water Department, landscapers, commercial designers, the Developers, and others for an overall plan. Expect to see improvements for colorful, more pleasant, and decorative medians in the future.

This project has many moving parts and time consuming, but worth the efforts to make our community BEAUTIFUL ! If you would like to help, please send an email to MeadowsMetro@gmail.com

PLEASE NOTE-Median landscaping on Meadows Blvd, entrance/exit areas, and other areas are the responsibility of the Metro Districts, not the HOAs. This is from the neglect of the Developer, NOT the HOAs.  Please do not contact the HOA about this issue.

4) Lottery Funds Money – In our review of the financials, we found about a total of $1.2m sitting idle in bank accounts designated to “improving the lifestyle” of the residents of The Meadows. Each district has their own bank account and designated amounts. This lottery fund money has been accruing for years, since the developer had no interest in finding a purpose for it. This money is NOT property taxes in The Meadows. It is supplemental income from the State of Colorado.

The districts have asked for ideas and we have received many excellent ones. However, if there are any on-going, annual expenses with these improvements, we have been met with resistance by the Town and the HOAs, who do not want to incur any additional future expenses from our projects. The Metro Districts are currently reviewing proposals from both HOAs. However, many of the items are “maintenance” items and do not qualify for “lifestyle improvement” projects.

The Town of Castle Rock and the HOAs do not want any improvements where they have to pay for anything after we spend our money. Examples-Build a skate board park at Bison Park, add a pool at Butterfield or the Grange, build a fishing pond & walkway at the retention pond behind the Grange, add more pickleball, tennis, basketball, volleyball courts. We may be limited to simple things like adding sitting benches along walkways, converting dirt walkways to cement paths, etc.

The Town and the HOA are not willing to pay for insurance, maintenance, clean up, up keep, etc. Every idea has been shot down.

If you have any ideas and/or want to help with this topic, we would love to hear from you and help spend this money.

In Close:

For almost 40 years, no one has done anything to address this theft of our money. The changes we are addressing will help improve the lives of many people for years to come. Seniors may be able to afford their homes without the threat of government seizure from non-payment of their property taxes. Young people may be able to qualify and afford their own home. And the rest of us get to keep our own money that we should not be paying. This is a task that should have been addressed by many before us and continues to be their failure that we will remedy.

If you would like to follow along, there is a website for The Meadows Metropolitan District No. 1 and another website for The Meadows Metropolitan District Nos. 2-7 .

The property owners have risen and we will succeed! We are reviewing all legal opinions and will take full control of our taxes and our government, The Meadows Metro Bond Government.

Thank you:

I would like to say a special THANK YOU to everyone who has helped, and joined the efforts to help push this forward to make The Meadows a better place to live. I have met many new friends over the past few years and it has been my pleasure to meet you, and have you in my life. My life is better for that.

To the many who have called or sent me a quick thank you email, that means a lot to me. Thank you very much! This has been a long journey  and we still have a long way to go to remedy this situation. Your positive comments are very much appreciated, and heartfelt. 😊.

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There are lots of parks and recreation in The Meadows sub division in historic Castle Rock, Colorado is a family friendly, adventurous place with many schools, parks and recreation for all to enjoy.  The developer of Meadows, Castle Rock Development Company which is now run by Alder & Co., established 2 main HOAs for this subdivision. There is The Meadows Neighborhood Company HOA and The MCA, Meadows

Jim Garcia has been the President of The Meadows Metropolitan Bond Board #1 since 2025. On his own time and at his own expense, Jim has been researching and spearheading metro bond property taxes in The Meadows Castle Rock for 5+ years.