NES Inc. has requested to rezone property west of Meridian Road and North of Woodmen Road to make way for a new subdivision, the Bent Grass development.John Maynard, NES planning director, said the development includes 425 single-family residential lots slated for 135 acres.NES is currently in the zoning process with El Paso County for the preliminary plan, and then the final plan will be submitted, Maynard said. “There will be about a nine month to 15 month review period,” he said.Zoning recommendations were made through staff review, the El Paso County planning commission and the board of county commissioners, Maynard said.Kevin Klein, an Elkhorn Estates homeowner, lives north of the proposed development. Klein said the area is currently zoned as RR3, PID (Planned Industrial District), and developers want to rezone it as a PUD (Planned Unit Development).NES recently sent certified letters explaining specifics of the project to residents adjacent to the proposed development. “I know they were sent out,” Maynard said, “because I have been getting calls about it.”He said if homeowners have questions, he will send them a copy of the plan.Klein said he received a certified letter.”I’m not against the residential development. The biggest things are the density, and there is no transition,” Klein said. “I would have a wall of houses around me.” He also said that building on larger lots that border existing property, gradually becoming denser in the middle, is more appealing.Maynard said the initial plan was denied at the hearing process. After discussing the density issues with adjacent homeowners, an agreement was reached and NES has requested rezoning again. “They had density issues with lot sizes, especially north,” Maynard said.Klein said homeowners did not agree to the 35-foot transition currently proposed by NES. Residents would like the transition, or no-build zone, to consist of a 50-foot barrier. Developers suggested a fence. “Residents can still make suggestions to improve the plan,” Klein said.”We want to be reasonable,” Klein said of the homeowners, “I understand builders have to buy land, and there are a lot of infrastructure costs, and they have to have a certain density to make the project worthwhile for them. At the same token, at what point does it get to be too much?
