In a Nov. 15 public hearing, the El Paso County Board of County Commissioners approved a sketch plan for Flying Horse North by a vote of 3-1, with one commissioner recusing herself. The development is located at the southwest corner of Hogden Road and Black Forest Road, extending southward to both sides of Stagecoach Road.The commissioners who voted for the sketch plan felt it conformed to the county’s master plan, but based on the vote and the people who spoke against the development at the hearing, there are varying interpretations of the master plan.The El Paso County master plan was adopted May 26, 2021. It replaced about 12 small area plans, rolling those plans into one. Terry Stokka, the chairman of the Black Forest Land Use Committee, said the Flying Horse North sketch plan was the first to test how the county commissioners would apply the master plan to a new development.The proposed project consists of 846 single family residential lots, about 59 acres of commercial space, including a 225-room luxury hotel and about 204 acres of open space on a total of 912 acres. The developers state that the size of the lots on the perimeter of the development will conform to the minimum 2.5-acre average lot size specified in the master plan for Black Forest. The interior area was approved for 0.9-acre lots. Filings 1 and 2 plus are completed, with 2.5-acre lots.The Nov. 15 hearing lasted about five hours during which time 13 people spoke in person (one weighed in online) against the sketch plan. Several of the speakers had power point presentations. One person said the sketch plan made a ìmockery of the El Paso County Master Plan.îPhil Shector, a retired attorney who lives in Flying Horse North, Filing 1, said he feels the developers took advantage of him. The purchasers of the 2.5-acre lot were required to sign a disclosure agreement in September 2018. The disclosure stated that Flying Horse North could someday be annexed by Colorado Springs, which could create ìhigher density lots and some commercial parcels.î According to the agreement, annexation by the city would be the only criteria for the higher density lots and commercial development. ìI hate being conned,î Shector said. Obviously, the sketch plan as it was approved includes higher density lots and a hotel without annexation to the city.In an email to The New Falcon Herald, District 2 Commissioner Carrie Geitner said, ìIn this application, the evidence presented showed that criteria were met, and therefore it would have been an inappropriate overreach of government power to deprive the applicant of the use of their land.î She said the commissioners were acting as impartial judges, evaluating facts as they pertain to established criteria without the influence of ìpopularity, conversations outside of the public hearing, or personal preferences.îìThe master plan is meant to be an advisory guide,î she said. ìThe outer properties (sketch plan) were specifically formed with larger lots so that existing and adjacent property owners are insulated.î She said the master plan is intentionally broad to meet changing conditions.However, statements in the master plan could be interpreted to mean something entirely different.The master plan appears to favor large lots for Black Forest. It discusses various ìplace typesî for development, providing criteria for how each place type could be developed. According to Page 26 of the master plan, ìThe Large-Lot Residential place types consists almost entirely of residential development and acts as the transition between place types. Development in this place type typically consists of single-family homes occupying lots of 2.5 acres or more and are generally large and dispersed throughout the area to preserve a rural aesthetic.îThe Black Forest area is specifically discussed on Page 57: ìThis area is built around protecting the forest and preserving its rural quality. Ö The County should maintain existing and expand the Large-Lot Residential place type in this area in a development pattern that matches the existing character of the developed Black Forest community.î The 0.9-acre lots in the sketch plan do not match the existing character of Black Forest.As for providing ìbroad guidance,î on Page 3, the master plan is described as ìa document that effectively communicates county goals and identifies specific actions to achieve both county wide and local area objectives.îìExisting land use and development patterns are one of the most influential and key planning considerations that sets the context in which planning takes place,î as stated on Page 8.The last paragraph on Page 12 starts with the sentence, ìTogether, the vision, core principles and goals provide specific direction and provides the broad picture of what El Paso County wants to accomplish through this master plan.îCommissioner Holly Williams, who represents District 1, including Black Forest, recused herself on advice from the county attorney. Williams said she had been involved in a previous conversation that might have disclosed how she would vote. She said if that conversation came up in the future, it might cast doubts on the legality of the vote. She noted that before the project is finalized, there would be several more votes before the commissioners, and she plans on participating in those votes.The lone vote against the sketch plan came from Longinos Gonzalez Jr., who said he felt the increased density and the hotel did not comply with the master plan. ìI was trying to support the master plan,î he said.Stokka addressed the compatibility of existing developed areas in Black Forest in an email to thousands of people who support efforts to quash higher densities. ìThe existing developments surrounding Flying Horse North consist of lots 2.5 acres to 40 acres. While Flying Horse North has buffers and larger lots around the perimeter, the surrounding developments of 5-acre or larger densities are totally incompatible with densities of eight to 10 homes per acre in parts of the new Flying Horse North.îCommissioners Bremer, Geitner and VanderWerf are all on record stating that they believe in private property rights. Stokka said if owners can do anything with their properties, ìit begs the question ó why have the master plan or the land development code?îAs Williams said, the sketch plan vote is one of many to come. Stokka said this original decision was ìflawed ó the commissioners completely ignored compatibilityî issues. Stokka and his committee are not giving up. ìWe would like to fight once more.îCami Bremer, county commissioner for District 5, and Stan VanderWerf, commissioner for District 3, can only be reached by written requests. There is no contact information for them listed on the county website. After two written requests to Bremer and one to VanderWerf, and a conversation with a person who called the NFH asking for more information on the requested information, neither Bremer nor VanderWerf replied.
