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After an initial application was rescinded late last year, a new application from Monument Ridge West, and East, LLC came before the Town of Monument Planning Commission requesting annexation into the town and establishing zoning.
After more than four hours and public input, the Planning Commission voted to approve the annexation but did not recommend the zoning the application was seeking.
The planning commission had its regular meeting June 28 at town hall where its only hearing items on the agenda was to review the applications from Monument Ridge West LLC .
Monument Ridge No. 1 (west) is located on the southwest corner of Interstate 25 and County Line Road. The contiguity required by statute, determined by town planning staff, is achieved and the annexation starts at the town limit including annexation of the I-25 right-of-way to the property. Planning Director Sheila Booth said the town attorney confirmed the reduction of the overall acreage did not negate the petition of the process.
The proposed zoning was for residential attached (RA) and the conceptual plan showed a 115-unit duplex development involving two family housing units.
Monument Ridge No. 2 (east) would not be able to happen without the approval of Monument Ridge No. 1. It is located on the southeast corner of I-25 and County Line Road . The conceptual plan showed 122 duplex units, 36 triplex and 64 fourplex dwelling units on the west side of Misty Acres Road .
More specifically, it involved 14 single-family units on 15,000 square-feet lots, existing closer to Doewood Drive. The Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) had approved a roundabout to be constructed at the intersection of County Line Road and Misty Acres. Booth said the annexations for both were consistent with the town’s 3-Mile plan.
“To emphasize the main issue here is if you want this [land] in the town or you don’t,” town Planning Director Sheila Booth said. “I know there’s a lot of questions about the densities, the uses and noncompliance, but it either develops in the county or develops in the town.”
The development has things to rework once the land is annexed, David Whitehead of Whitehead Engineering, who represented the applicant at the meeting, said.
“The town understandably wanted some control over how that property would develop as a next door neighbor to the Town of Monument and the only way to do that is work through this process,” Whitehead said .
Among the hours of public comment came concerns for the social impact of the development bringing multi-family dwellings to the area without having amenities that far north and what kind of demands it would put on the ones located along Hwy 105. The number of students added to the Lewis Palmer School District’s resources was also an expressed concern, and in general, areas of the development’s conceptual plan didn’t seem to regard land dedication to occupy children.
Many speakers took issue with Monument Ridge No. 1’s multi-family concept making a poor transition from the 5-acre single family dwelling lots to the west of it and that property values may be affected because of it. The stark transition from Douglas County to the land, if developed in the proposed manner, was also brought up.
A handful of speakers expressed support of the annexation but said the conceptual development was “inappropriate” for that area.
With the number of units proposed in the Monument Ridge No. 2 conceptual plan, a shortfall of 16-acre feet of water was determined and some comments were made by the public as to whether or not Woodmoor Water and Sanitation, which would provide services to the east development, truly had the capacity to provide them.
Traffic, trailer trucks, snow removal and emergency fire evacuation concerns were also brought up.
Expressed several times was the potential for increased crime by increasing population, and as citizens stated response times are already lengthy from the law enforcement coverage of the EPC Sheriff’s Office, the increase of population may put an additional strain on Monument Police Department’s resources. Booth, who provided information for several concerns expressed and questions asked, noted in lieu of crime, financial resources for the police department could be generated from a portion of property tax revenue going to the town with the annexation.
Planning commissioners began to echo some of the public concerns including noise abatement.
“Annexation makes sense. We want you in Monument. We want to control it. I tell you that straight up front,” Trujillo said. “The issue is the zoning portion that becomes a concern of the citizens.
“I-25 is a safe haven for human trafficking. It’s a route for commercial chemicals. It’s a route for drugs coming north to south. We’ve got more problems than you and I realize. … As we add more density, we are dealing with those problems. I want to make sure we’re looking at that from that perspective. We want to work with you. The staff wants to work with you, but again, we have to look at that with a heartfelt consideration.”
O’Sullivan said there can’t be any revisions to any plans without public input like what was received at the meeting.
“For a very long time, everybody believed we were going to build apartments and we never got the chance to rebut that,” he said. “It was in the annexation agreement that we weren’t going to do apartments, but the communication didn’t get out and that understanding works both ways. My team and my owners and the Town of Monument have some work to do.”
Commission chair Martin Trujillo clarified to the multitude of Monument and outlying community citizens attending the meeting that the final decision was not being decided that night but rather voting to make a recommendation to the Town Council for it to review during its July 17 meeting. Trujillo urged public comment to attend the upcoming council meeting to have their voices be heard there as well.
Commissioner Cathy Green, who was not in attendance for the meeting but participated online, said, “The public was a part of the comprehensive plan that had a future land use map in it and it did not call for this zoning or anything close to it. It’s fine to annex land but consider annexing it in either a mixed-use PUD zone or a low-density residential and then see what they can do with it.
“Already they are coming in short on water. They are 16 acre-feet short on water. … I am extremely worried about putting this concept plan in an annexation agreement which is a contract.”
O’Sullivan said if there is a shortage of water involved in the final proposal, there would be a condition which would only allow the development to pull only a certain amount of permits. Booth confirmed that condition would exist.
Commissioner Danny Ours said, “[The applicant] heard the people here. [Town staff] heard the people here, so I hope when it goes to town council, it’s an agreement that’s in the best interest of the town, of the citizens and of the applicant.
“If the county ends up being the one that gives them the right to develop then our comprehensive plan means nothing to the county.”
After going back and forth on the legality of how to state what commissions was looking to recommend, the commission approved the annexation 4-3 of Monument Ridge West and approved the zoning of the land to Large Lot Residential (LLR) 6-1.
For Monument Ridge East, the commission voted 6-1 in favor of the annexation and 6-1 to establish the zoning to LLR as well.
At the end of the meeting, Booth announced she is no longer with the Town of Monument as its Planning Director but will remain in a consulting position. Planner I technician Luke Kerr will also be leaving the department to pursue his Master’s Degree, leaving Planner II Jeff Liljegren as the remaining employed member of the planning department.
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