The Winsome development, located at the northwest corner of Hodgen and Meridian roads, will include 760 acres, with 143 residential lots, roads, trails and commercial property.On July 9, 2019, the El Paso County Board of County Commissioners approved rezoning and preliminary plans for the subdivision The bulk of the property was rezoned to allow for residential lots of 2.5 acres or larger. The board also rezoned 7.88 acres of the property for commercial purposes. The commercial property is located at the intersection of Meridian and Hodgen roads, where the Black Forest Master Plan calls for commercial development.On July 23, 2019, the commissioners approved the formation of Winsome Metropolitan District for street improvements, safety protection, acquisition and maintenance of drainage and recreation facilities, mosquito control and covenant enforcement. Andrew Biggs, chief operating officer, and Joe Desjardin, director of entitlements for ProTerra Properties, sat down with the NFH and provided the following information on the Winsome development.Developer ProTerra Properties recently filed for final plat approval for filing 1, which calls for 47 residential lots of about 2.5 acres each and 19.8 acres of open space, trails and drainage. Filing 1 is located directly across Hodgen Road from Bison Meadows. Each lot will have its own well and wastewater treatment system. Water rights for individual lots have been secured from the original property owner.Until they receive final plat approval for filing 1, the developers are limited to doing preliminary grading. By the end of the year, they expect final plat approval, which must be secured before lots can be sold. They expect to have the streets paved by next spring.Preliminary plans call for a detention pond to slow the release of stormwater and two water quality control ponds, which will allow sediments to settle before the water is released, a community fire pit and centralized mailboxes. The parking lot for the mailboxes will also serve as a trailhead. Ultimate plans include trails on both sides of West Kiowa Creek, which bisects the property. Many of the trees in filing 1 will be preserved within the open tract and will provide a buffer area for wildlife. The community will not be gated so the recreation facilities will be available to the public.As sales of lots progress in filing 1, the developers will begin work on filing 2 to the west and then filing 3 across West Kiowa Creek. Filings 2 and 3 will contain some lots of 5 acres or larger.Water intensive irrigation will be discouraged and water conservation measures will be implemented. A Dark Skies initiative will be maintained, requiring minimal outdoor lighting. There will be no streetlights. A limited number of horses and cattle will be allowed on the 5-acre lots, and smaller animals will be allowed on the smaller lots.The property is located in Falcon School District 49. In lieu of donating land for a school, developers will pay a fee to the school system. Winsome is within the boundaries of the Falcon Fire Protection District.
