In mid-April, HB&A consultant Aaron Briggs presented his latest map of the planning area to the Falcon/Peyton Small Area Master Planning Advisory Committee.”We got very explicit direction at the last meeting to go back and redo the graphic to make it more expressive of some of the concerns the committee had and some of the input,” said Carl Schueler, manager of El Paso County’s long-range planning division. “We coordinated with Tim Siebert of N.E.S. Inc. because he represents a number of these projects.””We heard at the last meeting that we need to be a little more nuanced in the way we show future land use areas,” Briggs said. “We wanted to draw a distinction between the areas that are timing driven and the areas where the recommendation is pretty much intrinsic to the area.”The resulting map uses colored hatch marks in certain areas to show that lower-density development is recommended but that a higher level of density is allowed as long as the developer provides the necessary infrastructure, such as wastewater treatment; or includes design elements, such as clustering.For example, designating an area with yellow and green hatch marks would help prevent someone with 40 acres from subdividing the land into eight 5-acre parcels. “He wouldn’t be able to bring in the infrastructure,” Schueler said.”Somebody with 1,000 acres might be able to dedicate the open space, do the buffering right and bring in the services. We don’t want developments that don’t meet a higher standard to happen in this time frame [20 years]. We would rather keep the land open so that something better can happen down the road someday.””The Black Forest plan in 1974 was the first small area citizens-based plan in the state,” said Judy von Ahlefeldt, who attended the meeting as a representative of the Black Forest Land Use Committee.”We were trying to develop something where the people could live with the land without destroying its character. We wanted large acreages, we wanted to protect our wetlands and we managed with a lot of hard work to keep the Black Forest nice. That’s why it’s stayed the way it has since 1974. I think that’s the conundrum you’re facing – whether to be firm or flexible.””We pretty firmly decided to be flexible,” Briggs said.The committee discussed the significance of the circular nodes. The plan forecasts centers of activity along these corridors, which coincide with major transportation corridors, Briggs said.It was suggested that a node be placed at Garrett Road, where Colorado Springs plans to extend Dublin Boulevard.The committee also discussed the importance of buffering in the planning area, especially the buffer between the Black Forest and Falcon/Peyton planning areas, and decided to use the term “transition area” instead of “buffer.”Ahlefeldt recommended changing the map to note the importance of transition areas and identify transition areas where Black Forest, Colorado Springs and other land in the county abut the planning area.”I recommend a statement on the map and in the policy that says transition areas are important throughout the planning area,” said Tasha Norman, N.E.S. representative. “If you make it prominent enough, future county planners will take notice.””A lot of care will have to be taken to explain the map,” Schueler said. “We are setting up a lot of potential for negotiation here. We’re recommending rural residential cluster in a huge piece of this area. There is going to be a discussion of what’s a good enough cluster and what’s not a good enough cluster. We have a responsibility to put some pretty good explanatory language in that plan to help that negotiation.”Schueler said the language outlining the transition areas has to be equally considered.”We have all acknowledged that there are different ways to do them,” he said. “There has to be some pretty clear language as to what works and what doesn’t work in certain cases, but it is still going to create negotiation and the ability to craft individualized solutions.”Briggs said he believes the committee is on schedule to deliver the public review version of the plan to the planning commission in May, with adoption in June. That version should also be available at www.hbaa.com/Falcon-Peyton-MP.Two public hearings are required before the plan can be adopted, Schueler said.
