The El Paso County Master Plan, if approved, will replace 10 smaller plans written anywhere from 1977 to 2008. It will also replace 21 sketch plans from 1982 to 1986 that were used as visual aids to accompany specific site plans.†The process of developing an updated comprehensive master plan has been two years in the making; the projected date of approval is the end of May.Mark Gebhart, deputy director of El Paso County Planning and Community Development; Tom Bailey, planning commission member; and John Houseal, principal and cofounder of Houseal Lavigne Associates (consultants), spoke at the March 31 online public meeting. Bailey said one of the challenges of planning during the past few years is having to follow outdated plans.Houseal said the draft master plan has been extensively reviewed by county planning staff, the master plan advisory committee and several county departments.The planning process also engaged the community for their input. Houseal said to date, 3,800 people participated using different social platforms. (According to the United States Census Bureau 2020, the El Paso County population is 737,031.) ìIt has been a real challenge to bring people into the process; 94 people registered for the March 31 online meeting; 44 attended,î Gebhart said.Houseal said three main components are included in the plan: key areas of the county from a land-use perspective, areas of change and place types (data-driven ways to define and visualize the many aspects of land use-transportation interactions embodied in land use plans).The 10 key areas in the county were identified as geographically specific, he said. ìNo matter what happens in or adjacent to those areas, they will have an influence on what growth, planning and development looks like going forward,î Houseal said. Examples include military installations, potential areas for annexation, enclaves or near enclaves, small towns and rural communities, Fountain Creek Watershed Flood Control & Greenway District, forested areas, Pikes Peak influence area, Tri-Lakes area, Colorado Springs Airport and uncommon natural resources.Five key areas of change were identified in the plan. Houseal said even with the anticipated growth of 250,000 more people in El Paso County over the next 25 years, 90% of the county will see little to no change. He said the rest of the land area includes 14% protected/conservation areas, 71% undeveloped areas, 6% current development with little change, 9% new development and 1% transition areas.The last component, place types, serves as the base for long-range planning and classifies specific areas based on character, scale, form and function, Houseal said. Included areas are rural, large-lot, military, utility and incorporated areas, suburban and urban residential, regional and employment centers, regional open space and mountain interface.He said residential areas and schools will be the biggest consumption of land area for new development and also cause the biggest impact on the landscape and environment. ìWhen a new school is located as a land use, it has a huge impact and can take up many acres,î he said.Houseal said El Paso County ranges from mountainous areas to the west to plains on the east; heavily forested areas in the north like Black Forest and desert-like sand conditions in the south.ìThis county has the most remarkable ranges of environmental and ecological conditions of any county in the U.S., he said. The Principal of Conservation Design is incorporated into the master plan because of this to monitor all issues of conservation and environment Houseal said. ìThe conservation design principles have to be incorporated appropriately into new residential development of all the place types going forth,î he said.Several El Paso County departments already have detailed plans in place, such as the Major Transportation Corridors Plan, the Water Master Plan and the Community Health Improvement Plan. ìThe El Paso County Master Plan is meant to dovetail those comprehensive plans to provide a functional network in the decades to come,î Houseal said.He said the military is an important partner in the county. ìThey have influence areas, not just on the base, but extending 2 miles out from the bases that have to be taken into consideration,î Houseal said. ìThis might be the most robust military section of any master plan I have ever seen.îThe master plan is meant to evaluate developer proposals based on recommendations of the document, he said. ìWe prepared a consistency evaluation checklist that can be given to any developer, used by staff, the planning commission and the board of county commissioners,î Houseal said. ìThere are certain questions that should be asked to ensure the plan is serving to guide those recommendations.îGebhart said they will continue to accept comments from the public through the planning commission hearing process; meetings are May 5 at 9 a.m. and May 26 at 9 a.m.For more details of the plan and future meeting dates, visit https://www.elpasoco.comFor status updates or to give comments, visit https://elpaso-hlplanning.hub.arcgis.com
