On Dec. 10, Classic Homes held a town hall meeting at Grace Community Church in Falcon seeking input related to a proposed development on the Sterling Ranch property. ìThe Ranchî is planned for the 610 acres surrounding the church to the west, south and east.Loren Moreland, vice president and project manager of Classic Homes, and Andrea Barlow, principal planner with N.E.S. Inc., presented the plans and took questions from the 150 community members in attendance.Barlow said the property is currently zoned RR-2.5, residential rural with a minimum lot size of 2.5 acres. But the sketch plan calls for rezoning, likely to planned unit development, which allows for smaller lot sizes and more flexibility. Per the sketch plan, the total number of homes in this development could be between 1,321 and 2,261 and could include town houses or patio homes, she said.ìWe sought to provide buffers and put the lower density at the perimeters to respect the Falcon/Peyton Small Area Plan and the Black Forest Preservation Plan,î Barlow said. ìWe are concentrating the higher density in the middle.îAdditionally, the sketch plan includes a network of trails, a community park with a neighborhood commercial/community facility and an elementary school in El Paso County Colorado School District 49, she said.The sketch plan was submitted in December 2018, with a goal to have both the El Paso County Planning Commission and the El Paso County Board of County Commissioners hearings in late spring 2019, Barlow said. Assuming the plan is approved, grading and infrastructure construction will begin in early 2020, with the first homes available in late 2020, she said.The subdivision will be constructed in phases, with phase 1 likely to be the northern-most area of the property, Barlow said.Community membersí main concerns were increased traffic, housing density, water sufficiency and accessibility.Kevin Curry, community member and volunteer on the EPC planning commission, said he will recuse himself from voting when the plan reaches the planning commission. Curry asked about the fate of the development if the rezoning request is not approved.ìI really do not see this property staying zoned entirely at 2.5 acres,î Moreland said. ìWe have to have a certain amount of units to support the cost of the infrastructure. Classic Homes has already bought the property, and we are trying to be responsible in what we are doing.î
