El Paso County Planning Commission, June 19 – Commission recommends disapproval of Flying Horse East sketch plan

By Marlene Brown

At the June 19 meeting of the El Paso County Planning Commission (EPCPC), Ryan Houser, principal planner, Planning and Community Development, presented a request for approval of the sketch plan from applicant HRGreen representing Flying Horse Land Co. LLC for Flying Horse East, Phase 1. The property is located at Highway 94 and Enoch Road, about 7½ miles east of Falcon and adjacent to Schriever Space Force Base.

Flying Horse East is in the initial planning stage and will have future phases and filings, as the filings get built out, if approved. The Phase 1 plan consists of 1,821.3 acres, to include 818 acres of about 4,500 residential units, 31.2 acres for commercial use, 89.9 acres for institutional use, including schools, police and fire department utilities administration, 521.1 acres of designated land for mixed-use, 47.7 acres of right-of-way, 30.6 acres of open space, 96.6 acres of dedicated stormwater detention and 186.1 acres set aside for preservation of natural floodway that flows through the property.

Upon completion, Flying Horse East is projected to occupy 5,500 acres with hotels, restaurants, a resort with golf course, 30,000 residential units, and over 100,000 residents. The timeline would be at least five to 10 years for approval and beginning construction. See www.flyinghorseeast.com.

A resident of the area spoke at the hearing regarding traffic concerns. Just in the last five years, they said, the traffic on Highway 94 has become bumper to bumper going to and from work at Schiever Space Force Base and more complete traffic studies are sought. The Colorado Department of Transportation has had Highway 94 on its list of future projects but has not begun improvements.

Commissioners expressed concern about the mixed-use units being so close to the base, needing a larger land buffer, according to federal mandates. The EPCPC voted 3-5 against the sketch plan being approved at this time and requested that changes be made to follow federal and state mandates and the county Master Plan. See the Electronic Development Application Review Program (EDARP) at https://epcdevplanreview.com for details and supporting documents for project SKP242 Flying Horse East.

The EPCPC staff has been working on and is scheduled to present updates to the Master Plan on July 17.

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The EPCPC normally meets the first Thursday and if required the third Thursday of each month at the Regional Development Center, 2880 International Circle, Colorado Springs. For more information, call 719-520-6300 or to watch the meetings live or recorded go to https://cloud.castus.tv/vod/elpasoco/?page=HOME. Due to vacation schedules, the calendar for EPCPC shows only one meeting in July, on the July 17, and one in August, on August 7.

Marlene Brown can be reached at marlenebrown@ocn.me

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