Developers weigh in with Falcon/Peyton planning committee

The Falcon/Peyton Small Area Master Plan Advisory committee met Sept. 12. Carl Schueler, manager of the county’s long-range planning division, and Aaron Briggs, a consultant from HB&A and committee member, reported on the individual stakeholder meetings conducted with Falcon Highlands developer Greg Timm, Meridian Ranch developer Doug Woods, Santa Fe Springs developer Ray O’Sullivan and Cherokee Metropolitan District general manager Kip Peterson.Highlights from the stakeholder meeting with Greg Timm:

• Retail stores south of Highway 24 are not a good idea and retail development along Woodmen Road might not be workable
• Falcon Highlands has city wells with rights to roughly 400 acre-feet of water.
• Falcon Highlands has been approved for a wastewater treatment plant that will be used for commercial and retail irrigation and treat sewage from the development to a non-potable standard; construction could start next year.

Highlights from the stakeholder meeting with Doug Woods:

• Woods has a 50 percent interest in the Cherokee Metropolitan District’s wastewater treatment plan and plans to use that interest to provide wastewater treatment services to other developments in the area.
• Woods may apply for a surface water diversion permit to capture surface water from Meridian Ranch and offer it to another developer or provide it for recharging multiple aquifers.
• Woods supports a requirement that new developments demonstrate availability of water, sewer, roads and other services because such a requirement would ensure all developers contribute to impacts. The current methods do not require small developments, such as a 40-acre parcel divided into eight five-acre parcels, to share in the cost improvements like roads.

Highlights from the stakeholder meeting with Ray O’Sullivan:

• O’Sullivan would like all of the Santa Fe Springs development to be in the Falcon fire district.
• The wastewater treatment facility planned for Santa Fe Springs will be expandable and could serve other developments, but O’Sullivan does not want to be in the water and sewer business.
• The master plan could set thresholds for certain types of development based on the provision of services. For example, if no central services are provided, the minimum lot size might be 5 acres. If central water but not sewer is provided, the minimum lot size would be two and a half acres, and if central water and sewer are provided, the minimum lot size could be less than two and a half acres. This kind of system would allow developers to make decisions based on the options available to them.

Highlights from the stakeholder meeting with Kip Peterson from the Cherokee Metropolitan District were reported in the Sept. 15 issue of The New Falcon Herald.Schueler said all wastewater treatment facilities in the planning area will connect to the Cherokee wastewater treatment facility. “There is lots of support to do some kind of plant in the northern part of the Upper Black Squirrel district because of the recharge issue,” Schueler said. “Cherokee is supportive of doing a plant in the northern part.”The committee discussed lot sizes. Schueler said density must be defined in the plans. “There is a logical link between higher density for rational development of sewers and schools,” he said. “Five acres has been the traditional lot size for the last 40 years. We can’t have lots smaller than two and a half acres without central sewer.”Sandra Martin agreed that lot sizes had been 5 acres, but she said two and a half acre lots were allowed, so now everything is two and a half acres. “There is a strong desire in Falcon to keep the 5-acre lot size,” said Mark Shook, a member of the School District 49’s long-range planning team who stood in for committee member Henry Reitwiesner.The committee also discussed development along Highway 24. Many committee members said they believe Highway 24 will be all commercial. “Who wants their back yard to back up on Highway 24,” asked one committee member.Schueler said the key to development along Highway 24 is the number of access points the state will allow.The committee also discussed sub-areas and the location of the border between Falcon and Peyton. “To some extent, school districts create community. I’ve always felt you were going into Peyton when you cross the green bridge on Highway 24,” Shook said.”The heart of the debate is what is going to be urban and what is going to be rural and how to transition between the two,” Schueler said.The Falcon/Peyton small area master plan advisory committee meetings are open to the public. The next meeting is Oct. 10 at 3 p.m. at the Pikes Peak Regional Development Center in Colorado Springs.