As shown in Diagram 1, the identification of community issues began the comprehensive planning process in Monument. Community issues are conditions for which specific decisions and actions need to be discussed and debated. As the preparation of the comprehensive plan proceeded and additional information was gathered, some of these community issues were refined.

Once community issues were identified, a list of community objectives (see Appendix A) was developed from the issues. These community objectives cover a wide range of functional areas, including land use, transportation, education, historic preservation, open space and recreation, public utilities, and the natural environment. The land use planning concepts within these community objectives formed the basis for the broad statements of planning issues in this chapter.

A single planning objective has been developed in response to each issue statement. This objective presents a general action which will lead to a desired end, relative to the planning issue.

Series of planning policies and programs establish more specific actions which will help reach this objective. These policies and programs are the basis for the implementation framework in Chapter 6.

To facilitate their use, the planning issues, objectives, policies and programs for Monument are grouped into three general categories: image, role, and function. The policies and programs which respond to the planning issues in all three categories are interrelated, with some of the planning policies and programs helping to implement more than one planning objective. Each policy and program, however, is listed under only the one planning objective from which it is most clearly derived.

Image - Issue

A community is defined as an area having a common character or likeness. Monument does not fit this definition since the community projects an unclear physical image. In order to establish its role in the Tri-Lakes area and to provide an optimum living arrangement, the Town must improve its physical image and strengthen its community identity. Moreover, such a step will assist in attracting residential and commercial activity which will, in turn, stimulate the local economy.

Image - Objective

Clearly define an image for Monument and provide for the enhancement and projection of that image.

Image - Policies and Programs

1. Derive the image of Monument from its physical setting, history, and future role in the Tri-Lakes region.
2. Define edges and boundaries for the Town. Use natural and manmade boundaries, including those which clearly define a visual edge or boundary, to define an urban service area.
3. Establish distinct community entrances which clearly communicate entry to and departure from Monument. Use street design, landscaping, compatible land uses, entry signs, and innovative architecture to convey the desired character of the Town. Particular attention should be given to entrances on Second Street, Highway 105, Beacon Lite Road, and South Mitchell Avenue.
4. Enhance the image of the Downtown by implementing the design elements of the Downtown Revitalization Concept.
5. Establish Monument Lake as an external focal point for the community by providing visual and physical access. Consider an extension of Second Street around the lake.
6. Strengthen local design standards in order to encourage new development and redevelopment to be harmonious in a visual and physical sense with the Town’s desired image.
7. Allow for architectural flexibility while providing for visual and functional continuity through landscaping requirements, sign code provisions, access limitations, incentives for common off-street parking, the design of street furniture, and other urban design considerations.
8. Preserve and enhance natural and historic landmarks which help distinguish Monument’s image.
9. Investigate the potential for a coordinated advertising program to attract travelers from I-25 and to replace individual billboards and signs. Integrate this advertising into a well landscaped community edge bordering I-25.
10. Develop a landscaping plan and phased implementation program (incorporating the existing landscaping regulations) which will provide design standards and criteria for both public and private improvements. Use the plan and program in negotiations with the State for improvements to Highway 105 and with private developers in the review of development proposals, including changes to existing development. The plan should provide standards for street furniture (light fixtures, street signs, trash receptacles, etc.), as well as landscaping.

Role - Issue

The future of Monument is closely tied to that of Palmer Lake and the entire Tri-Lakes area. The level of population growth and commercial and industrial development in Monument will he determined in part by the level of the same activities in the Tri-Lakes area. In terms of assuring that Monument determines its own future, the Town needs to evaluate the potential for accommodating development relative to the advantages and disadvantages of doing so. The Town should then determine the level of desired growth and establish mechanisms for attaining that development while optimizing positive impacts.

Role - Objective

Determine the role of Monument in the Tri-Lakes area and establish mechanisms for effectuating that role.

Role - Policies and Programs

1. Plan and develop water resources in direct proportion to projected future demand levels. The Town should continue its policy of providing water on a first-come, first-served basis rather than committing water for specific future developments.
2. Consider water line extensions to developing areas currently within the corporate limits as first priority. The second priority for extensions should be given to contiguous annexations. Lowest priority for extensions should be given to discontiguous development within the urban service area, even though the development agrees to future annexation.
3. Establish a phased water and sewer plan and timetable to serve various types and intensities of development such as residential, commercial, and industrial. Using this plan, the Town should encourage the kind of development which best meets local needs.
4. Develop a capital improvements program (the phased water and sewer plan would be a part of this program) which projects capital facility needs, sets priorities for these improvements, and projects the Town’s financial ability to provide the needed facilities. The capital improvements program should provide relatively detailed information for a five-year period and more generalized information for the subsequent five years. Capital improvement designs should be based on community objectives and plan-ling policies.
5. Promote Monument as the commercial center for the Tri-Lakes region. Work with the County to implement the Tri-Lakes Comprehensive Plan policy that "new regional commercial development should be located in municipalities where appropriate infrastructures exist to accommodate such development." This can be implemented by encouraging the County to limit commercial zoning outside Monument’s corporate limits.
6. Enhance the role of the Downtown as the central focal point for the community. Encourage neighborhood commercial development to concentrate in the Downtown or to cluster along entrances to the Downtown. Provide incentives for new businesses or offices to locate in these areas.
7. Provide distinctiveness from other areas in Tri-Lakes by encouraging well-planned high density housing, alternatives to conventional housing, and pedestrian-oriented development. Pedestrian-oriented commercial development will establish Monument as the local commercial center for visitors, as well as for Tri-Lakes’ area residents.
8. Set a standard percent of the total housing stock which the total number of mobile homes should not exceed. This standard should bear a direct relationship to the role and character the Town wishes to present and the current demand for housing.
9. Actively recruit industrial uses for the industrial park and conduct an industrial siting preference study, including a labor market study and an identification of potential industries. These actions will identify Monument as a progressive growth center.
10. Work with the County and Palmer Lake to establish an urban service area, in which the Town would phase the provision of services, establish urban standards for development, and prioritize potential areas for annexation. The extent of the urban service area must be based on the Town’s ability to provide services, natural and manmade boundaries, County policies, and the Town’s desire to grow.
11. Work with the County to assure that new development in the recommended urban service area will be of urban densities or will include provisions allowing for the resubdi~vision of larger parcels at the time of their annexation to the Town.
12. Develop criteria for annexation. The Town needs to evaluate and determine the financial responsibility for providing public services and the process for reviewing annexation proposals.
13. Work toward a long-term solution for providing water. Join with other residents of the Tri-Lakes area to establish a water conservancy district, which can act as a mechanism for acquiring, managing and selling water.
14. Establish a real estate transfer fee (e.g., $50 per transfer) which would be placed in a planning and engineering fund for developing additional water sources.
15. Encourage the consolidation of the Monument Water Department and the Monument Sanitation District into one organization to achieve economies of scale in construction and savings in operational and maintenance costs.
16. Adopt a user pay philosophy for the provision of public facilities and services, including roads, water, sewer, and drainage.

Function - Issue

The regional transportation factors exerting major influences on Monument’s land use pattern have changed throughout the Town’s history. The first major factor was construction of the Denver and Rio Grande Western (DRGW) Railroad. The second major factor was the routing of U.S. Highway 85/87 (now called State Highway 105) connecting Denver and Colorado Springs through Monument. The most recent factor has been the construction of Interstate 25 to replace U.S. Highway 85/87 as the principal north-south link on the Front Range. Development has responded to each of these changes, with the result that the Town has several distinct land use patterns including:

In order to attract the quantity and quality of development it desires, Monument needs to establish a land use pattern which corrects existing problems and deficiencies and achieves a high degree of functional arrangement. Such a land use pattern must provide for:

Function - Objective

Adapt the land use pattern to better meet the needs of existing residents and to attract new development.

Function - Policies and Programs

1. Utilize natural and man-made boundaries, including those for the areas most easily serviced by Town utilities, to define the urban service area. Generally, towns are more efficient to serve with utilities if they are compact and nonlinear. For this reason, the Town should consider expansion to the east and west to balance the existing north-south linear pattern of development.
2. Develop mechanisms, as part of the capital improvements process, that will:
   - Assure the Town can pay all costs associated with attracting the quality and quantity of growth it desires.
   - Encourage phased growth allowing for an economical provision of services by discouraging noncontiguous development.
   - Utilize public improvements as incentives to achieve the level, location, intensity, and type of development the Town desires.
3. Provide incentives, such as public improvements and density bonuses, to stimulate the development of sites within the Town which are currently undeveloped or underdeveloped.
4. Encourage the concentration of commercial land uses in order to reduce destinations for pedestrian and vehicular traffic and to reduce the demand and resulting space requirements for off—street parking.
5. Locate major traffic-generating land uses along designated arterials, with access from collectors.
6. Provide an alternative access to the Downtown from Highway 105 by extending Second Street. Take advantage of Second Street as a connection between the commercial uses on Highway 105 and those Downtown by providing for the development of clustered or combined uses along Second Street and creating a strong pedestrian environment. Protect the safety and efficiency of Second Street by restricting access for adjoining uses. (See Design Guideline 1).
7. Consider moving the Park and Ride facility to a site with access from Second Street. Together with the County, encourage redevelopment of its current site with a use which will help enhance and project the image of Monument.
8. Provide alternative access for development on the west side of the DRGW tracks by working with the County to extend Mitchell Avenue to the north and south.
9. Work with the State and the railroad to provide additional railroad crossings for vehicles, bicycles, and pedestrians.
10. Improve the intersection of Third Street and Highway 105.
11. Improve the intersection of Beacon Light Road and Highway 105.
12. Develop a parks and open space plan which establishes criteria and mechanisms for acquiring land, including provisions for dedication, fees in lieu, and purchase. Integrate the recommendations of this plan into the development review process.
13. Develop neighborhood and community parks which are of an economically manageable size. Use open space and pedestrian path systems to link these parks. Connect the pedestrian pathways to the New Santa Fe Trail. Take advantage of Monument Creek drainageways as sites for the Town’s open space system. Map 1, an environmental constraints composite for the Tri-Lakes area, shows the physiographic flood plains in Monument.
14. Continue reviewing the use of Monument Lake as a public asset.
15. Accommodate housing of diverse costs, densities, and types. This should include mobile homes, apartments, and conventional single family homes.
16. Review sign codes used by other towns with similar physical settings and markets and incorporate the best aspects of those into a strong, enforceable sign code for Monument which will help provide visual continuity, minimize visual hazards, and attract business.
17. Investigate the feasibility and procedure for establishing a regional solid waste transfer station.
18. Develop a drainage plan which sets standards and assigns financial responsibilities for implementation. Establish a drainage facilities fund with contributions to the fund based on the impervious coverage of new development.
19. Foster the development of a joint Town/County maintenance yard, preferably in a location south of Monument and separated from residential areas.
20. Plan and assist in the development of a community center.