The new shopping center, Falcon Marketplace, at the intersection of Woodmen and Meridian roads, has been in the works for some time. Drainage improvement requirements are holding up progress.The issuance of building permits for some of the lots in the shopping center have been delayed pending Federal Emergency Management Agency approval of the necessary drainage improvements.Keith Curtis of the Pikes Peak Regional Building Department said much of that area was in a flood zone. The builders had to submit a Conditional Letter of Map Revision to FEMA detailing proposed drainage work and how they expected to change the flood plain. Retention ponds and underground drainage pipes were proposed by the builder and approved by FEMA. The retention ponds are designed to release stored rainwater at the historical rate of drainage prior to construction to prevent flooding to the surrounding area. Curtis said the PPRBD then issued a permit for the drainage work, based on the specifications approved by FEMA.Jeff Rice, senior engineer with El Paso County Planning and Community Development, is involved in the engineering review of the retention ponds. He said those ponds have not yet received final approval. Rice also said that FEMA is currently in the process of revising the flood plain elevation and the flood plain map for the area.If FEMA determines the work has been completed according to required specifications, a Letter of Map Revision will be issued by FEMA. Typically, FEMA allows a four-and-half-month period after approval for any appeals. At the end of the appeal period, if there have been no appeals, PPRBD will issue building permits for the lots in the shopping center that were in the flood plain. Some of the lots were not in the flood plain.
