El Paso County planning commission member Bob Null blames low attendance at planning commission meetings as the main reason people misunderstand the rezoning process and mistrust the decisions made by the planning commission.The process of rezoning is cut and dried, he said. It’s “pretty well defined,” said Null, who also sits on the county code committee.Null said his goal is to educate citizens about the rezoning process, so they are more trusting of the decisions made.Carl Schueler, long-range planning division manager for the El Paso County Development Services Department, defined the process.The first step in the rezoning process is to submit an application and fee to the planning department, Schueler said. He added that a justification for rezoning needs to be included.”The basis has to be primarily consistent with the county master plan, which includes the general health, safety and welfare of an area,” he said.”You don’t need specifics (a Wal-Mart, for example, does not have to be named during the initial process) for standard rezoning, but usually the more information provided the better.”The application is then processed and evaluated, Null said, adding that the planning department is a staff agency of the county, and it provides guidelines to applicants. Those guidelines must be met. For example, if a plan entailed building residential homes in a heavy industrial area, Null said they wouldn’t approve it.After the application is processed and presented, the planning department makes a recommendation to the planning commission, which is comprised of nine members appointed by the county commissioners.During a rezoning meeting, the applicant may add information to the planning commission’s recommendation. Meeting attendees are allowed to provide input for support or opposition of the project. Following the comments, Null said the applicant has another opportunity to make a case for the plan. The planning committee then discusses the plan and votes.The supporters or the opposition can appeal a decision to the county commissionersSchueler said after the plan is reviewed by the planning commission for recommendation, it goes to the county commissioners for approval. The commissioners have the final say, unless the plans end up in court, Null said.It can take four to five years, depending on the speed a developer builds on a property, from the time a sketch plan is submitted to the final plan, he said.There are usually three phases: a sketch plan, a preliminary plan and a final plan, Null said. The sketch plan is like a “dream sheet,” he said. If the zone change is approved, then the preliminary plan is developed and issues, such as water, transportation, utilities and density, are addressed.Schueler said large project builders often submit plan changes periodically to request rezoning, and they may have to alter an overall plan to accommodate school sites and new roads.Currently, the county is working with a rezoning plan along Judge Orr Road and Highway 24, he said. An approval of the plan could pave the way for a new runway for Meadow Lake Airport on the southeast corner and five-acre lots on the southwest side and further east, toward the planned Santa Fe Springs development.And if anyone has issues, speak now or forever hold your peace.The planning representatives meet the third Tuesday of every month, Null said, and the meetings are open to the public. Null encourages everyone interested in development on the eastern plains to attend. “If someone has questions, we’ll get you the answers,” he said.Thus far, representation from the plains has been slight.”Not many people from Peyton, Ellicott, Calhan and Falcon attend meetings,” Null said.”People are very seldom interested in the process until it is the moment of truth.”
