El Paso County Planning Commission, Sept.7 and 21. Preliminary plan for 21-home subdivision recommended for approval

By Helen Walklett

At the Sept. 21 El Paso County Planning Commission meeting, the commissioners voted unanimously to recommend for approval an application for a preliminary plan for 20 single-family lots to be known as the Hay Creek Valley subdivision. The one residence currently on the property will remain, making a total of 21 lots.

The 214.62-acre property is zoned RR-5 (residential rural) and located west of Interstate 25, directly north of the United States Air Force Academy (USAFA), south of the Forest Lakes subdivision, and southwest of the Town of Monument. Lots are planned to range in size from 5.5 to 17 acres. The USAFA has reviewed the plan and stated that an avigation easement (giving the right of overflights in the airspace above or in the vicinity of the property) needs to be recorded with the final plat.

The property is currently gated and will continue to be once it is developed. Access is off Hay Creek Road. Jason Alwine, Matrix Design Group Inc. and representing the owner, said the county is requiring the developer to straighten the junction of the property’s private road and Hay Creek Road to provide better line of sight.

The application was pulled from the consent calendar for a full hearing at the request of neighbors. One told the commissioners she had come to obtain more information, having only learned about the plans when the sign was posted the week before, and therefore did not know whether she was in opposition. She raised concerns about the impact on wildlife, traffic, wildfire evacuation, water availability, and county’s communication with neighbors in the area about the application. She suggested a postponement of any decision to allow for those in the area to receive more information.

Alwine said they had worked extensively with Colorado Parks and Wildlife and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on wildlife issues and any fencing would follow state guidelines. The county and the Fire Department had looked at the access and concluded there was no option for two-way in and out. There will be a fire suppression system meeting the Fire Department’s requirements in the form of an underground 33,000-gallon tank. Water will be addressed at the final plat stage.

Staff clarified that in 2022 when the application was submitted, only adjacent neighbors were notified. That changed this year to all property owners within 500 feet and this had been done in this application’s case.

The application is now scheduled to be heard at the El Paso Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) meeting on Oct. 12.

The Planning Commission also met on Sept. 7. The applications considered at that meeting went to the BOCC for consideration during September and are covered in the BOCC article on page < 1 >.

Helen Walklett can be reached at helenwalklett@ocn.me.

Other El Paso County Planning Commission articles