First step in proposed Mesa Highlands development passes Colorado Springs City Council Tuesday
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- A church and an apartment complex are among some of the potential uses for a vacant lot on the city's west side.
The City Council held a public hearing Tuesday afternoon on the Mesa Highlands development, a project to rezone a nearly 29-acre parcel from office space to a mixed development that may include medical offices and private open space.
The proposed location is near the southeast corner of Fillmore Street and Centennial Boulevard, behind the Veterans Clinic and on the southeast side of the Fillmore hill -- an area that has been extensively developed over the past few years.
The city's planning commission recently approved the project, and the city's planning staff recommended its approval by the Council.
Andrea Barlow, of NES, the project planner for the owners of the property, said that there has been a small amount of opposition from citizens who are against seeing more development in the area.
"We're asking for the rezoning to give the property owner more flexibility and more options on what to build there," she explained. "It'll probably take another year to finalize exactly what will happen there."
Barlow and city planning staff said that the relatively little amount of opposition led them to decide that a neighborhood meeting to inform residents about the project was unnecessary -- although several City Council members said that they had received "many" emails from citizens who expressed concern.
City staff said that they're required to notify all residents within 1,000 feet of a project's boundaries.
"That's just not enough," said Dana Duggan, one of three citizens who spoke against the proposal during the hearing. "A lot of the affected residents live beyond 1,000 feet. I, myself, didn't learn about this until this morning."
Another opponent, Alan Strass, asked the Council to delay its vote.
"Direct the Planning Department to hold a neighborhood meeting with all impacted stakeholders," he urged. "So that when you do come back and vote, you have all of the pros and cons in front of you, and can make an informed decision."
Councilman Dave Donelson agreed with the suggestion.
“Can we slow down and have some input here?" he said. "And we have an example where Council did this in the past, and it came out to a very good result. I would request that we do that again.”
Donelson made a motion to delay the vote for a month or two, but got no support from his fellow Council members; the 90-minute hearing ended with the Council voting to approve the rezoning and the land use plan.
Donelson was the only member to vote against the proposals.
Among other concerns expressed by opponents: That the project could slow evacuation times in the event of a wildfire or other emergency; that it would create more traffic congestion and noise; that it would allow a maximum building height of 85 feet -- 20 feet above surrounding buildings -- and would be out of place in the area; and that there would be more than the 200 apartment units planned for the site.
Two Council members explained their reasons for supporting the proposal.
"It's an infill project so it's much cheaper to build," said Councilman Brian Risley. "I also think it's good to have an opportunity to create housing for people that is close to where they work. That definitely reduces traffic congestion. What I see is an empty lot that isn't serving our city in any form or fashion."
Creating affordable housing through an apartment complex was a theme echoed by Councilman David Leinweber.
"Nationally, we just came back from Washington, D.C. and affordable housing is at the top of the list," he said. "One of the things that delays the process is that government keeps delaying the process, and that concerns me a lot. We have a process that seems to be appropriate, and has worked for years. We need to hold to that."
The next step is the submittal of a development plan that must be considered by the city's planning commission and the Council.
