The following item appeared in the October 2001 issue of the Gleneagle Eagle's View:
by Jacques Adnet
Following requests from the Schuck Corporation on behalf of Forest Lakes, LLC, the El Paso County Planning Commission will consider the rezoning and approval of a Preliminary Plan for the residential portion of the Forest Lakes development.
The area under consideration consists of approximately 990 acres located at the western end of West Baptist Road, primarily on the former Beaver Creek Ranch. This development was first proposed in 1984 and a Sketch Plan was first considered and approved the same year with the provision that the Preliminary Plan was to be submitted and approved within two years. An extension of that Sketch Plan approval was granted in 1986.
The new sketch plan differs widely from the original sketch plan as it includes an additional 80 acres in an adjacent property not previously covered and no longer includes the construction of two additional artificial lakes. The identification of large areas of Preble’s meadow jumping mouse habitat also alters the original Sketch Plan. Nevertheless, the El Paso County Planning Department, in a memorandum addressed to Jacques Adnet, states that “the Planning Department has made the interpretation that the existing Sketch Plan is adequate to use as a basis for consideration of this rezoning action, despite the significant departures from the original plan caused mostly by changed conditions (lakes, mouse, desire for more of a mix of densities).” The Planning Department does not refer to the inclusion of additional land to the original Sketch Plan.
The interpretation of the Planning Department was made without the benefit of a public hearing or without consulting adjacent property owners.
The approval request is for 467 dwelling units on a total of approximately 990 acres, including lake surface areas, roads and utilities areas, and acreage declared unsuitable for construction by the Corps of Engineers.
Under the provisions of the 2000 Tri-Lakes Comprehensive Plan, this area “should remain primarily rural residential with lot sizes averaging five acres, exclusive of roads and tracts not devoted to open space areas. Large lot clustering options, utilizing minimum 2 ˝ acre lots would be considered only if there is a strict adherence to this overall density approach and if adequate mechanisms for implementation are available.”
The new Sketch Plan includes the following:
163 Patio Homes, each on a 4,050 square-foot Minimum Lot Size
46 Patio Homes, each on a 3,200 square-foot Minimum Lot Size
79 Single-Family Homes, each on a 9,600 square-foot Minimum Lot Size
179 Single-Family Homes, each on a 20,000 square-foot Minimum Lot Size.
Therefore, the proposed development violates not only the intent of the Comprehensive Plan compiled and prepared by residents of the Tri-Lakes Area, but also the specific limitations of that plan. This plan was approved by the El Paso County Planning Commission one year ago.
In the opinion of adjacent property owners and of the residents both north and south of the proposed development, approval of the Sketch Plan, of the Rezoning Application, and of the Preliminary Plan would permanently change the character of that large portion of the Tri-Lakes Area.
During several meetings with the developer, several suggestions were made by nearby residents but the developer has chosen to ignore them.
Opponents of the project also feel that the original zoning should have been automatically applied by the County, particularly in view of the fact that the original two-year extension was granted more than 15 years ago, far beyond the original two-year limit.
Opinions and comments concerning this project should be sent to the El Paso County Planning Department (Attn: Carl Schueler), 27 East Vermijo Avenue, Colorado Springs, CO 80903, by November 6th, 2001.
The hearing is scheduled for 9:00 A.M., on Tuesday, November 20th, 2001. Citizens interested in the Tri-Lakes area are invited to attend this hearing, as it is crucial to the future of the development of one of the few remaining rural areas in the northwestern section of the county.