Chapter 1 Introduction

Transcription

1 Chapter 1 Introduction 1.1 Preface 1.2 Legal Context Authority to Prepare Relationship to the Overall County Master Plan 1.3 Planning Context 1.4 Planning Process Citizens Advisory Committee Citizen Surveys Plan Update Chapter Plan Organization

2 1.1 PREFACE The 2003 Update to Highway 94 Plan represents the culmination of a five-year process to provide a framework for future growth and development in the 120-square mile Highway 94 Planning Area. Map 1.1 (page 3) depicts the Planning Area. The Plan was developed through an analysis of the area and input from County decision-makers, landowners, and the community at large. It provides a comprehensive land use plan with goals, policies, and actions to guide future public and private land and resource management planning. Overall, the Plan is an advisory document designed to inform policy-makers and the public of various issues and their future ramifications and to guide area growth in a manner that respects the vision of the community. 1.2 LEGAL CONTEXT Map 1.2 Colorado Counties SEDGWICK LOGAN MOFFAT JACKSON LARIMER PHILLIPS ROUTT WELD MORGAN RIO BLANCO GRAND BOULDER BROOMFIELD WASHINGTON YUMA GILPIN ADAMS DENVER CLEAR CREEK GARFIELD EAGLE SUMMIT JEFFERSON ARAPAHOE DOUGLAS ELBERT KIT CARSON PITKIN LAKE PARK MESA LINCOLN DELTA TELLER EL PASO CHEYENNE CHAFFEE GUNNISON MONTROSE FREMONT KIOWA CROWLEY OURAY PUEBLO SAN MIGUEL SAGUACHE CUSTER BENT PROWERS OTERO DOLORES SAN JUAN HINSDALE MINERAL HUERFANO RIO GRANDE ALAMOSA MONTEZUMA LA PLATA COSTILLA LAS ANIMAS BACA ARCHULETA CONEJOS Authority to Prepare El Paso County is a statutory government. Statutory governments have only those powers explicitly given to them or implied by State statutes. If there is no explicit or implied grant of power, the government cannot engage in the activity (Colorado Revised Statutes (CRS) (2) and 103). Among the explicit powers of the county are several regarding master plans, also referred to as comprehensive plans. Pursuant to State statute it is the duty of the County Planning Commission to make and adopt a master plan for the physical development of the unincorporated territory of the county (CRS ). 1

3 State statutes also mention that [t]he county or regional master plan shall be made with the general purpose of guiding and accomplishing a coordinated, adjusted, and harmonious development of the county or region which, in accordance with present and future needs and resources, will best promote the health, safety, morals, order, convenience, prosperity, or general welfare of the inhabitants, as well as efficiency and economy in the process of development (CRS ) While State statutes recognize the essential role of the master plan, the plan is generally held to be advisory, not the equivalent of zoning, nor binding on the zoning discretion of the legislative body (CRS (3)(f)). So while the master plan embodies policy determination and guiding principles, zoning ordinances provide the detailed means to give effect to those principles (Theobald v. Board of County Commissioners, 644 P.2d 942 (Colorado 1982)). Despite the general advisory nature of the master plan a county has the authority to require compliance with a master plan when the county includes compliance with the master plan in its legislatively adopted subdivision regulations so long as the master plan is drafted with sufficient exactitude that proponents of a subdivision are afforded due process, the county does not retain unfettered discretion, and the basis for a county s decision is clear for purposes of a reasoned judicial review. (Board of County Commissioners v. Conder, 927 P.2d 1339 (Colorado 1996)) Additionally, the Highway 94 Plan has no formal jurisdiction in those parts of the Planning Area within either the City of Colorado Springs or Schriever Air Force Base (AFB). The expectation is that those entities will recognize the Highway 94 Plan in a spirit of cooperation and coordination. Unlike areas within Colorado Springs or Schriever AFB, the Highway 94 Plan applies to areas owned by the State of Colorado. El Paso County has land use jurisdiction in these areas by reciprocal agreement with the State of Colorado. Relationship to the Overall County Master Plan State statutes further allow the County to adopt a master plan in whole, in parts, or by functional subject matter (CRS ). El Paso County s approach is to adopt an overall Countywide Policy Plan augmented by a series of small area plans that respond to conditions and circumstances unique to different areas of the County. The expectation is that private and public bodies will rely on small area plans for site-specific land use guidance. The Highway 94 Comprehensive Plan is further supported by and related to a series of topical Master Plan elements. These include the Major Transportation Corridors Plan (1987), the El Paso County Parks, Trails and Open Space Plan (1997), the Master Plan for the Extraction of Commercial Mineral Deposits (1996), and the El Paso County Wildlife Habitat Maps and Descriptors (1996). Sub-Area 3 of the Highway 94 Plan also overlaps with a portion of the Ellicott Valley Plan, which was approved by the El Paso County Planing Commission in In cases where these documents conflict with one another, the more recent or specific document normally applies. Potentially competing policies or direction must be balanced for the ultimate betterment of County inhabitants. Decisions-makers must recognize the externalities associated with policy decisions. 2

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5 1.3 PLANNING CONTEXT The County adopted the original Highway 94 Plan in Compared to other unincorporated County areas, the Highway 94 Planning Area has experienced relatively modest land development activity over the past 18 years. Much of the Area remains undeveloped. With the exception of the Colorado Centre development, few privately initiated development plans have been implemented. Nevertheless, several factors justify re-evaluating and modifying the Plan. Since the original plan was adopted, a number of changes have occurred: Schriever AFB expanded to the point where it now employs a total of approximately 4,500 military, civil servant, and contractor personnel. Base expansions to 6,000 personnel are planned. Further expansions to 10,000 personnel are possible. Since its opening in 1985, the original 640-acre, or one square mile, Air Force property expanded six-fold to 3,840 acres of owned and leased land. Congress funded a second limited access road connection to Schriever, known as Bradley Road or the Defense Access Road (DAR), which was completed in 2000 with County participation. Although the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) made several modifications to State Highway 94 and its connecting roads, automobile safety and peak-hour congestion concerns remain. With the exception of a portion of the Colorado Centre area, all urban density projects proposed at the time the original Plan failed to materialize. Altogether, these development Photo Schriever AFB proposals would have added approximately 110,000 residents and 235,000 jobs to the area. Since 1985, Colorado Centre has developed as an urban density unincorporated satellite community with 727 platted residential lots and an estimated 2,201 residents. In 1991 the County approved a major and controversial expansion of the Colorado Springs Landfill northeast of the existing site on Blaney Road. The current landfill is projected to close in 2007 and operations shifted to the expansion site. Photo Waste Management Landfill Photo Junkyard and Landfill The approximately 21,400-acre Banning-Lewis Ranch property was annexed by the City of Colorado Springs in 1988 with accompanying urban density zoning. Included in the action was most of the 4,000-plus-acre Colorado Centre property. Although City of Colorado Springs plans and models suggest that the majority of the Banning-Lewis property will not be developed prior to 2020, various portions could be developed well before that time. 4

6 The City of Colorado Springs made major changes to the Colorado Springs Municipal Airport including the addition of a 13,500-foot runway and a new terminal. The Falcon area, northwest of the Highway 94 Planning Area, is developing into a major exurban satellite community. Low density development is now reaching south from Falcon into the Planning Area. The Ellicott area, east of the Planning Area, is developing as a rural community with proposed urban density developments. As with Falcon, development from Ellicott is now reaching into the Planning Area. In 1999, after an extended and Photo Colorado Springs Airport controversial process, the remaining unzoned areas north and east of the Planning Area were zoned, primarily to the A-35 (Agricultural) District. The Southern Delivery System, a major water delivery project designed to provide additional water to Colorado Springs, Fountain, and Security, was proposed. The project entails the construction of a 43-mile raw water pipeline, a water treatment plant, and two storage reservoirs. The pipeline and treatment plant are to be completed by 2006 and the reservoirs after Overall, parcelization continues in the Planning Area as large parcels are divided into five-acre lots and 35-acre tracts with impacts on County infrastructure, drainage, agricultural operations, and natural resources. 1.4 PLANNING PROCESS To assess and respond to these changes, the Board of County Commissioners directed the Planning Department to update the Highway 94 Comprehensive Plan in Key to the Plan s development was the identification of citizen concerns and the creation of a citizen vision for the area s future. The Planning Department determined a number of steps to integrate citizen ideas and concerns into the Plan and to ensure that the Plan represents the needs and values of the general public. Within this framework, public input was encouraged from the start of the planning process. These included the appointment of a Citizens Advisory Committee (CAC) to oversee development of the Plan, a survey of County residents and landowners to identify key issues and attitudes, and research and analysis by the County Planning Department to gain insight into various facets of the Planning Area. The following is a general synopsis of the steps taken by the CAC and County Planning staff to develop the plan: Develop initial approach, planning assumptions, and focus Form Citizens Advisory Committee Complete survey of area residents and landowners Draft and review background chapters Develop Planning Area and Sub-Area preferred growth scenarios Conduct public meetings for Plan review Present Plan to Planning Commission for review Present Plan to Board of County Commissioners for review Present Plan to County Planning Commission for adoption Implement Plan recommendations 5

7 Citizens Advisory Committee The CAC included local property owners and professionals with varying backgrounds so that diverse perspectives could be represented, ideas generated, and planning issues debated. The CAC used a planning horizon of nearly 17 years, though the year Given the inexact nature of land use projections, the Committee anticipates a major revision to the 2003 Plan in approximately ten years. In the course of their work, the CAC held over a dozen informational meetings with 17 agencies and organizations to provide a forum for public input. County citizens, particularly those within the Planning Area, were encouraged to attend. Research and discussion covered key concerns including natural resources, water and wastewater, transportation, and community services. Overall, the Committee met up to twice per month from 1998 to In 1999 the meeting schedule was suspended due to staff shortages in the County Planning Department. The process recommenced in late 2000 with the hiring of a new comprehensive planner. Citizen Surveys To obtain the views of local citizens, the Committee and staff designed a survey and distributed it to property owners and residents within the Planning Area. The survey addressed issues such as land use, recreation, public facilities and services, historic resources, housing, and transportation. The Plan s position statements, goals, policies, and land use scenarios were predicated on, but not limited by, the results of the survey. A total of 1,153 surveys were mailed to property owners in Fall Of this total, 321 property owners completed the survey for a response rate of 28 percent. Approximately 89 percent of respondents reside within the Planning Area. Responses were stratified for two areas due to differences in development patterns. The first area included the original 1985 Planning Area: 100 square miles roughly centered on Schriever AFB. The second area was Sub-Area 4: a 20-square mile area roughly centered on the Colorado Centre development south of the Colorado Springs Airport. Major survey results include the following: The majority of the respondents felt that preservation of the rural character of the Planning Area was important. 91 Percent favored a policy of slow to moderate growth. 56 Percent of respondents cited various historical, cultural, aesthetic, and natural assets in the area that should be protected, including views of the Front Range, open spaces, agricultural operations, and natural landforms. The majority of respondents were generally satisfi ed with current public services and facilities, with the exception of parks and trails. The vast majority of respondents indicated a desire for public trails and recreational facilities. 83 Percent of those responding opposed additional multi-family housing within the Planning Area and 92 Percent opposed additional mobile home parks. Two-thirds wanted small businesses to locate in the area, with gas stations, convenience stores, and neighborhood shopping centers noted. 6

8 78 Percent of respondents opposed any type of industrial or manufacturing in the area. Those favoring industry stipulated that it should be clean and light. A summary of survey responses is included as Appendix A. Plan Update County staff drafted the Plan text and created all area maps. Planning staff incorporated numerous elements of the overall County Master Plan to broaden the scope of the Highway 94 Plan and to ensure that all pertinent issues were included. Throughout the update, the CAC reviewed staff work and offered guidance. The public could review draft documents on the County website, at the Planning Department, at public sites throughout the area, and during public meetings with the Planning Commission and the Board of County Commissioners. Research resulted in a plan that accommodates growth, recognizes a variety of land uses, preserves environmental quality, and protects natural resources. It also considers community services, such as education, open space, and public facilities. The Plan s goals, objectives, and policies are designed to ensure the orderly growth of the Planning Area. The planning process culminated on July 15, 2003 with the approval of the 2003 Highway 94 Comprehensive Plan by the El Paso County Planning Commission as an amendment to the El Paso County Master Plan. 1.5 PLAN ORGANIZATION The Highway 94 Update is a comprehensive, long-range, and area-specific plan. The first section is an executive summary, designed as an encapsulation of the plan. Chapters 1 through 7 are primarily descriptive. Chapter 8 contains a concept map, sub-area scenarios, goals, and objectives. Supporting materials are included in appendices. Chapters in the Plan include: Executive Summary - Includes descriptions of community issues, the planning process, future land use scenarios, and implementation measures. 1. Introduction - Establishes the broad purpose, describes the legislative authority, describes the planning context, and outlines the organization of the Plan. 2. Description and Issues - Describes the location and the general character of the Planning Area, identifies ownership patterns and key environmental factors, describes the major trends and forces affecting the area, and describes each sub-area in detail with special attention to unique assets and characteristics. 3. Community Profile - Describes the present and future population, economy, land use, and the County land development system. 7

9 4. Resource Management - Describes the area s natural and cultural resources, including soils, geology, vegetation, wildlife, hydrology, agriculture, historic features, and open space resources, and assesses the land s suitability for development. 5. Utilities - Describes and assesses the adequacy of existing community services, including water, wastewater, gas, electric, and phone services. 6. Transportation - Describes the transportation network in the area, identifies limitations in the existing system, and discusses future system enhancements. 7. Community Facilities - Describes current and anticipated public and quasi-public facilities in the Planning Area, including schools, fire protection, law enforcement, parks, recreation, open space, and library services. 8. Land Use Plan - Includes a concept map, sub-area scenarios, goals and objectives, and implementation measures. Appendix A, Survey Summarizes survey responses. Appendix B, Planning Commission Resolution - copy of July 15, 2003 El Paso County Planning Commission resolution adopting the Plan. 8