On April 30, Classic Homes and N.E.S. Inc., held another town hall meeting at Grace Community Church in Falcon, seeking input from the community about a proposed development called The Ranch. The 610-acre property surrounds the churchís property to the west, south and east.About 53 community members attended and heard a presentation from Andrea Barlow, principal planner with N.E.S., about the progress of the proposal initially submitted in December 2018 to the El Paso County Planning and Community Development Department. She said N.E.S. and Classic Homes have responded to comments related to that submittal.The property is currently zoned RR-2.5, residential rural, with a minimum lot size of 2.5 acres. The sketch plan for The Ranch calls for rezoning, likely to planned unit development, which provides more flexibility and allows for smaller lot sizes. The sketch plan also indicates there could be between 1,321 and 2,261 homes in the development, possibly including town houses or patio homes.Many attendees said they were concerned about the higher density areas of the plan, including Roy Garcia, a property owner who lives adjacent to the proposed development. He said he did not want his property value to decline because of the urban density the developer has proposed. ìI moved out here to be away from the city, and it is moving into my backyard,î he said.Barlow said the developmentís plans have changed in small ways in response to concerns voiced by community members at previous town hall meetings or through comments on the initial submittal. Those changes include moving the site for an elementary school in El Paso County Colorado School District 49 to a more central location; requiring a minimum lot width for plots along the borders of the development; and adding a southern access point that would not be emergency access only, as originally proposed.Community members were able to ask questions and voice concerns to Barlow and Loren Moreland, Classic Homes vice president and project manager. While they were able to address some of those concerns, they also pointed out that the project is still in the early stages of planning.ìThis is a really high-level view of the plan,î Moreland said. ìWe will get more refined as we keep working.îBarlow said the developer hopes to resubmit the plans with the changes and responses to the comments to the county soon. According to the EPC electronic development application review program, as of May 21, no such submittal has been made.
