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NEPCO, Sept. 9. Monument Fire Department, Planning Commission visit NEPCO.

By Marlene Brown

The Northern El Paso County Coalition of Community Associations (NEPCO) general membership heard presentations on Sept. 9 by staff members of the Town of Monument Planning Commission (MPC) and Monument Fire District (MFD) Chief Andy Kovacs and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Donald Wescott Fire Protection District (DWFPD) Mark Gunderman.

Gunderman and Kovacs explain timeline for fire district merger.

Gunderman and Kovacs said the legal untangling of the merger of MFD and DWFPD should take another six months to a year to complete. DWFPD created the Northern Subdistrict and, should the ballot issue pass in the November’s election, the subdistrict will be dissolved and the two districts will merge into one fire district. Please see more information on November’s ballot issues 6A and 6B on MFD’s website at https://www.monumentfire.org/_files/ugd/799ff1_16524d0042504539b024b6d9caf8f1ff.pdf.

Planning Commission presentation.

Two MPC staff members, Rey Medina and Jeff Lijegren, spoke to the membership on planning and land development. What are MPC’s duties? The process of the Planning Commission is identifying, evaluating, and acting upon land use alternatives and public requests. Community involvement is essential. What is land use planning? It includes community goals, guiding documents, master plans, and visionary goals. Current planning includes zoning maps and regulations, subdivision regulations, development review, subdivision design standards, and enforcement. The MPC looks for citizen participation, asking questions and offering solutions. The applicant needs to learn regulations and processes and communicate issues and concerns. The staff offers technical guidance, provides the information, researches applications, and then reports to the public.

Land use decisions made by the MPC include community goals and growth management. Land lots can include residential, single-family detached and residential attached, mixed use, commercial, light industrial, and parks and open space. The development review process includes annexation, plat, zoning, site plan, construction documents and building permits.

Recently, the Town of Monument (TOM) received a request for a public meeting regarding the possible annexation of Gleneagle into the TOM. A public meeting was held Aug. 29 and after a question-and-answer session and discussion with the TOM officials, it was noted this meeting was strictly preliminary and any annexation would require 51% of voter approval. The majority of the residents at the meeting were opposed to the annexation. The TOM said it would not pursue any further action. See TOM article on page < 12 >.

NEPCO has requested member HOAs in the area to join NEPCO’s Land Use Committee. No experience is needed and training and guidance would be provided. Please contact retiring Land Use Chair Bob Mooney at bobmooney01@msn.com or any board member at boardposition@nepco.org.

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NEPCO normally meets at the Woodmoor Barn every other month on the second Saturday. The next regular member meeting will be on Nov. 11, 10 a.m. to noon. For more information, go to nepco.org.

Marlene Brown can be reached at marlenebrown@ocn.me.

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