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OCN > 2412 > El Paso Board of County Commissioners, Nov. 5 and 14 – Approval of two Tri-Lakes developments

El Paso Board of County Commissioners, Nov. 5 and 14 – Approval of two Tri-Lakes developments

By Helen Walklett

During November, the El Paso Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) approved development requests for the Waterside at Lake Woodmoor development off Woodmoor Drive and the final portion of the Settlers Ranch development north of Hodgen Road.

Waterside at Lake Woodmoor

At the Nov. 14 BOCC land use meeting, the commissioners voted unanimously to approve rezone and preliminary plan requests for the 44 single-family townhome development, Waterside at Lake Woodmoor. The property is east of Woodmoor Drive, south of Deer Creek Road, and borders the lake to its east. The applications came to the BOCC from the Oct. 17 county Planning Commission meeting with a unanimous recommendation for approval.

The property is part of a development plan for the Waterside Condominiums, which were approved by the BOCC in 1983. This would have seen 83 condominiums built, but the development never moved forward. In 2023, the current owner proposed a rezone and preliminary plan that would have seen 52 single-family townhomes developed. The application was recommended for approval by the Planning Commission by a vote of 6-1 but was withdrawn by the applicant before the BOCC hearing. This new application proposes eight fewer units.

The rezone application requested that the 7.53-acre property be rezoned from R-4 (planned development) to Planned Unit Development (PUD).

Woodmoor resident Tim Rowan spoke at the BOCC hearing to raise concerns about traffic, particularly around school drop-off and pick-up times. He said, “Somewhere between 44 and 88 vehicles are going to be added at rush hour to Deer Creek Road every day directly across from the junior high.”

He continued, “It’s going to be a miserable impact on the neighborhood.”

“If there is a plan to widen Deer Creek Road and to lessen the impact on the junior high students, my neighbors and I would like to see it,” Rowan said.

Jim White, also a Woodmoor resident, also raised traffic concerns and described the development as “another eyesore within our beautiful community.”

Commissioner Holly Williams said she was satisfied the approval criteria had been met. Approval of the preliminary plan means that subsequent final plats and other agreements may be approved administratively.

Settlers Ranch

Also at the Nov. 14 land use meeting, the commissioners approved requests for a rezone and final plat for the final portion of the Settlers Ranch development. This will see a total of 24 single-family residential lots created. The requests came from the Oct. 17 Planning Commission meeting with recommendations for approval.

The 78.71-acre property is situated north of Hodgen Road, west of Steppler Road, and east of the currently developed part of Settlers Ranch, which consists of single-family detached lots varying between 2.5 and 5 acres. The development adjoins the Abert Ranch and Settlers View subdivisions to the north. The property is in two separate areas that are joined and served by Settlers Ranch Road.

The BOCC approved the Settlers Ranch development in January 2005 for a total of 86 single-family lots. The current application to rezone from PUD to RR-2.5 (residential rural), concerns only the 53.53-acre part of the property to the north and west. It adds six lots to this part of the development, which was originally planned to have 10, therefore increasing the total number of lots to 92.

The 22.51-acre portion of the property to the south and west remains a PUD with eight lots varying from 2.5 to 2.74 acres.

The BOCC heard the requests as consent items, meaning there was no discussion.

Final budget direction

At the Nov. 5 meeting, Nikki Simmons, chief financial officer, attended to receive final direction from the commissioners on the proposed 2025 preliminary balanced budget. The commissioners made no changes to the budget as presented to them at their Oct. 8 meeting. See https://wp.ocn.me/v24n11epcbocc/

The $530.8 million budget is now scheduled to be adopted at the Dec. 10 BOCC meeting.

Chair Carrie Geitner told Simmons, “I think the fact that there is no new direction today is just a testament to the incredible amount of work that has gone into this budget over many, many months from both you and, your team, and our county administrator.”

The preliminary budget and all supporting documents can be viewed on the county website at https://admin.elpasoco.com/financial-services/budget-finance/county-budget/.

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The El Paso County Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) usually meets every Tuesday at 9 am at Centennial Hall, 200 S. Cascade Ave., Suite 150, Colo. Springs. Agendas and meetings can be viewed at www.agendasuite.org/iip/elpaso. Information is available at 719-520-643. BOCC land use meetings are normally held the second and fourth Thursdays of the month (as needed) at 1 pm in Centennial Hall.

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

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