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Neighbors fight to keep private firefighting helicopter in DougCo

Douglas County has asked the owner of a private, firefighting helicopter to move it, yet they've maintained their contract with him so he can assist with fires as needed.

CASTLE ROCK, Colo. — Nearly 4,000 people have signed an online petition asking the Douglas County Board of Commissioners to reconsider a decision that would require a private firefighting helicopter operation to move.

The company, Rampart Helicopter, has a contract with the county to be on-call to help fight wildland fires. The company’s owner, Jeff Armstrong, says Rampart has helped on quite a few fires in the county over the years.

The helicopter is based in his backyard, in the middle of a rural neighborhood near Castle Rock.

“I’m surprised at the amount of support that Rampart Helicopter has received from the community,” Armstrong said Wednesday.

In 2016, the Douglas County planning department received a complaint, inquiring whether the company could exist within the neighborhood where it currently is, west of Lake Gultch Road and south of Plum Creek Parkway in Castle Rock.

The hanger and landing pad for the helicopter are on private property owned by Armstrong, but that property is zoned for agriculture, not for commercial use.

“I am in violation, I’ve never tried to hide it,” Armstrong said. “Back in the day, it didn’t matter - you didn’t even ask permission for anything, you just moved into an uncovenanted area and did what you wanted to do.”

The county never really said anything about it over the years, so Armstrong assumed his property was safe. He said a tax assessor changed part of his property from an agricultural to commercial assessment in 2014, which he believed meant the county approved of the zoning.

Then in 2016, someone filed that complaint.

“They don’t react on it until they get a complaint,” he said.

A spokeswoman for Douglas County verified that the planning department is complaint-based, but wouldn’t comment on this specific case because of a potential pending appeal from Armstrong.

The three-member board of commissioners voted 2-1 in late July to deny a request by Armstrong to consider rezoning the property.

One thing commissioners appeared concerned about; if the property were to be rezoned, it would remain that way forever. They also wondered whether the operation would fit in with the surrounding zoning, which is mostly agricultural and residential.

“The county, the board of commissioners, the exact same ones who voted no against me, send me a contract every year to provide services for the county,” he said.

“What’s wrong with what I’m doing where I am? I’m FAA-approved to be here. I have an FAA license to be here,” he said.

Neither the original complainant, nor a neighbor who testified against Armstrong’s property at an open hearing would speak to 9NEWS on Wednesday.

But quite a few neighbors who approve of what Armstrong does were willing to talk to us.

“As you can see out here…we’re dependent upon quick action, especially when it comes to firefighting. It’s all open lands and that response time is critical,” neighbor April Hawley said. “Most everyone that I know within that community loves him… I think there’s a few squeaky wheels within the community and I wish the commissioners would listen to the whole community.”

Douglas County confirms Rampart is still under contract with the county on a “call by need” basis. The county has also contracted a helicopter from a Fort Collins-based company to be on standby. It sits on a launch pad within Douglas County ready to respond.

Armstrong said he is not sure what is next. He’s speaking with his attorney to determine if there is any way to challenge the commissioner’s ruling.

He said the cost of moving his operation could easily total $1 million. Armstrong is 59-years-old and was considering retirement in a few years.

He told Next that right now, he’s not sure if he’s willing to invest that kind of money in reopening in a new facility.

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