Castle Rock resident warns battery energy storage site and new four‑lane road will harm her Ag‑1 property

Callie Nichols, who identified herself as the owner of two adjacent properties near Dawson Trails, urged the council to consider the local impacts of a planned four‑lane Dawson Trails Boulevard North and a proposed adjacent battery energy storage system (BESS) site and substation.

Nichols described the physical effect of the road as a severing of cohesive acreage and said it would “completely destroy the utility of the property” by making it difficult to move equipment, vehicles or livestock across four lanes of fast traffic. She also said the nearby BESS would bring an industrial footprint into an Ag‑1 zone and raised concerns about continuous cooling‑fan noise and thermal‑runaway fire risks. “The continuous low frequency from massive cooling fans and inverter units runs 24 hours a day, 7 days a week,” Nichols said, adding that the units can generate “70 to over 90 decibels” at close range and that a sound‑absorbing wall would be her primary mitigation request.

Town staff said they had received Nichols’s materials and would investigate the zoning, access, and safety questions she raised. Town Manager Dave Corliss said staff would look into the issues and get back to her and council.

Why it matters: The combination of a major arterial road and energy infrastructure adjacent to agricultural‑zoned property raises questions of land‑use compatibility, noise mitigation, safety, access and just compensation for rights‑of‑way or annexation. Residents near infrastructure projects can shape permitting, design, buffering and mitigation measures.

What’s next: Staff acknowledged Nichols’s concerns and said they will follow up on access, annexation, and potential mitigation (including noise barriers) as project proposals and annexation requests move forward.