Highland ParkIn September, the El Paso County Board of County Commissioners approved a preliminary plan and final plat for Highland Park filing 3, located near the intersection of Vollmer Road and Poco Road.The developer, Little London LLC, plans to subdivide the 163-acre parcel into 37 single-family lots with a minimum lot size of 2.5 acres.Big ValleyThe BOCC also approved the sketch plan for the Big Valley development at the southwest corner of Highway 94 and East Ellicott Road. Donald Booker plans to develop the 228-acre parcel in four phases.The first phase will include 19 acres of commercial development along East Ellicott Road, said Craig Dossey, project manager for the county’s development services department.The plan also calls for single-family residential construction, ranging in density from 11 dwelling units per acre to one dwelling unit per 5-acre parcel.Density will move from higher to lower as the project develops toward the south and the west, Dossey said.Under the sketch plan, construction was supposed to start last spring; phase 2 in 2012 and phase 3 and 4 in 2013. No new information is available.The project also calls for high-capacity wells to provide the initial water supply.John Romero from LDC, the land development company representing Booker, said the first phase will include a new type of gravity-fed septic system that eliminates the need for leach fields.Effluent will be pumped to the Sunset Metropolitan District sewer facility.The new systems are cheaper than standard sewer system infrastructure, he said.Falcon Hills resident Tom Kirby said he opposes the development.”Why are we letting the developer put more sewage into a facility that’s poorly maintained?” Kirby asked.It’s also an evaporative system; all the water evaporates into the air, so there’s no ground recharge, he said.Romero said, according to the sketch plan, the developer intends to build a central sewer system at some point. “You don’t want to put it in right away,” he said.Commissioner Wayne Williams said sewer issues can be addressed later in the planning process.
