In mid-August, Larry Larsen, senior planner for the city of Colorado Springs, led the second neighborhood meeting concerning the proposed Woodmen Valley Community at Woodmen Heights. The mixed-use development is planned for the 113-acre parcel owned by Woodmen Valley Chapel, currently located on the parcel.Les Krohnfeldt of Woodmen Valley Chapel and representatives of various companies involved with the project attended the meeting along with residents living on or near Mustang Road, which forms the eastern boundary of the planned development.When the first meeting was held last May, residents identified traffic, especially related to the Woodmen Heights Commercial Center, as a major concern. The commercial center will be built on a 38-acre parcel west of the Marksheffel Road extension. Plans for the center include office buildings, retail stores and apartments.Eric Smith, from the Matrix Design Group, said the commercial center was included in the traffic analysis for the Woodmen Valley Community at Woodmen Heights development. Smith said studies have shown that one apartment unit typically generates six trips per day and a single-family residence generates nine to 10 trips per day, including deliveries like mail. He said traffic planners use the statistics to determine traffic flow.Smith said the traffic analysis for the Woodmen Heights development concluded that 17 percent of the vehicle traffic would head east onto Mustang Road and 83 percent of the vehicles would head west (to the proposed Marksheffel Road extension). The current plan includes three access points from the Woodmen Valley Community at Woodmen Heights development onto Mustang Road – from Kenosha Drive and the development’s north and south end.Residents also asked about snow removal on Mustang Road. One resident said since Woodmen Valley Chapel was built, snow accumulates on Mustang Road to the point that some are blocked in for days. Smith said Woodmen and Marksheffel roads will continue to have the highest snow removal priority.Blowing sand was another concern expressed by residents. When Woodmen Valley Chapel was built, residents said blowing sand from the construction site was a big problem. Smith cited the city’s erosion control plan and the requirement for silt fences. If exposed soil has not been worked for 30 days, contractors are supposed to reseed the area and water it, he said. Residents asked that the city limit the amount of land that can be stripped at one time.Gill Peace of BVH Architects then spoke about the philosophy behind his company’s plans for the Woodmen Valley Community at Woodmen Heights development. He referred to “new urbanism” – creating a sense of community through a mixed-use development.The design calls for commercial and retail development along Woodmen Road and the Marksheffel Road extension and a new church near the current church, which will be used as a community center. Playing fields and a permanent elementary school are planned as well. The current school is housed in a temporary building, which the city wants to eliminate. Krohnfeldt said Woodmen Valley Church will sell the property designated for the school to a company that will build and operate the school.Townhouses will be built west of the school and single-family homes will be built along the north and east edge of the development “to make the edges consistent with adjacent land uses,” Peace said.Sand Creek on the west edge of the development will be preserved as an open space with trails. Peace said the goal is to use the site’s natural topography rather than leveling the entire parcel.What about water, asked one resident, who said the drilling of the current well made his well water dirty. Virgil Sanchez described the work that has been done in the past 18 months to bring city water to the development along Cowpoke Road. When the development is ready to switch to city water, Sanchez said the city will most likely cap the church’s current well.Although the church will sell the property designated as residential, the builder will have to meet the church’s strict aesthetic guidelines, Krohnfeldt said. “We have a strong sense of responsibility to the community,” he added.Construction will begin in two years, with build out completed in 10 to 15 years, Krohnfeldt said. “The order of development will be determined by the market.”Smith said the Marksheffel Road extension is planned for two or four lanes, with room for six lanes in the future. Marksheffel Road will be connected to Research Parkway but “the pace of development drives the time frame,” he said.Developers still have to get approval to rezone the parcel from public assembly to planned unit development.Larsen said he will write a review addressing the residents’ issues and provide copies of the geologic hazard and master facilities reports, the drainage and grading plans and the traffic impact study to neighborhood representatives Darryl and Della Bailor.Della Bailor said she thought the city had done a good job of addressing the issues raised at the previous neighborhood meeting.For more information, contact Larry Larsen at 385-5090. To view additional reports, contact the Bailors at 495-9346.
