In August, The New Falcon Herald published an article on the rezoning plans for Meadow Lake Industrial Park. The OíNeil Group, owners of the property, had requested that the county rezone the development into three sections: Commercial Service (CS), Limited Industrial (I-2) and Heavy Industrial (I-3).The 254-acre property is located at the northwest corner of the intersection of Falcon Highway and Curtis Road.A public meeting was held June 29, with about 40 people in attendance, according to the article. The rezoning plans were met with skepticism by attendees and others like John Helmick, the chief executive officer of Gorilla Capital, one of the developers of Saddlehorn Ranch, an adjacent development. The skepticism surfaced because of one rezoning category: Heavy Industrial (I-3), which allows for commercial operations such as manufacturing, oil and gas, steel production, chemical production ó and cement batch plants. The idea of a batch plant is the concern of many, including Helmick.In the August NFH article, Helmick and others said there are already plans on the table for a cement batch plant. At the June 29 public meeting, N.E.S., consultant for the OíNeil Group, placed balloons on the site representing the tallest anticipated structure within the I-3 area, and one of the balloons was specific to the height of the batch plant, Helmick said.However, Craig Dossey, the former executive director of El Paso County Planning and Development who is now the projects director for the OíNeil Group, insisted there are no plans for the cement plant. Natalie Sosa, deputy director of communications for the county, said there is no ìhard and fast agreement in place for a concrete batch plantî (a separate application would have to be submitted to the county for a batch plant project).On Sept. 6, the El Paso County Board of County Commissioners approved the rezoning of I72.4 acres from planned unit development to Commercial Service, I-2 (light industrial and I-3 (heavy industrial). All five county commissioners voted in favor of the rezoning request.Following the approval, the NFH contacted John Helmick. ìWhen we found out the process that this went through, it raised a lot of concerns to us about processes being used to make these zoning changes,î Helmick said. ìThereís a number of facts related to this process that create questions for me. I want to raise concerns.ìMore importantly, Iím adamant that certain I-3 uses are incompatible with the surrounding property, including Saddlehorn Ranch and all pertinent surrounding areas.îHelmick is also adamant that the I-3 heavy industrial use approval means a cement batch plant is still in the plans, and he is concerned about the high traffic it would create and how it would affect Meadow Lake Airport. It is a ìtrue danger to the pilots who own and fly out of Meadow Lake Airport due to the dust and other conditions created by the batch plant,î he said.Dave Elliott is president of the Meadow Lake Airport Association, and he has his own concerns about the rezoning approval for Meadow Lake Industrial, especially the I-3 heavy industrial zoning. Meadow Lake Airport is one of 19 private airports in the country and is the largest pilot-owned airport in Colorado. It also serves as a reliever airport to the Colorado Spring Airport.ìLight industrial activity that would be contained within the building is compatible land use,î Elliott said. ìWe draw the line at heavy industrial, as does the Federal Aviation Administration.î He said emissions from I-3 heavy industrial buildings could affect flights and visibility at Meadow Lake Airport.Now that the county has approved the rezoning for the Industrial Park, all eyes are on the next step from the OíNeil Group. Presently, there is no application before the county for a cement batch plant.Editorís note: If there is not a batch plant coming to Meadow Lake Industrial, why request the I-3 (heavy industrial) zoning? Maybe something else is planned for this area. Weíll keep on it.
