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Commission recommends conversion of 3627 W. Colorado Ave billboard to electronic display, 6-0
Summary
The Planning Commission unanimously recommended approval of Lamar Advertising's request to convert an existing single-sided billboard at 3627 West Colorado Avenue to an electronic message display; the county will forward the item to the Board of County Commissioners on Sept. 11.
On Aug. 21 the El Paso County Planning Commission recommended approval, 6-0, of a special-use application for Lamar Advertising to convert an existing single-sided billboard at 3627 West Colorado Avenue to an electronic message display (EMD). Miranda Benson presented the staff report and said the proposal would not change the billboard's height, size or location but would require the Board of County Commissioners' approval because the site is along a restricted corridor.
The applicant said the existing billboard would remain in the same place and be converted to an EMD; the lighting plan shows worst-case property-line foot-candle exceedance relative to the county's 0.1 foot-candle standard but would remain within CDOT's 0.3 foot-candle standard along the right-of-way. Joe Sandstrom (Public Works) noted the site-specific differences from the earlier Highway 24 conversion: this billboard sits within a regulatory floodplain but staff characterized drainage impacts as negligible for the conversion.
Public comment again focused on scenic and safety concerns. Larry Barrett of Scenic Colorado and other nearby residents repeated testimony similar to the earlier case: concerns about driver distraction, corridor character and brightness levels along Highway 24, plus the request that the county consider broader sign-code clarifications as part of its land development code update. The applicant said nighttime brightness had been reduced in the plan for this location because the area is darker.
The commission found the proposal consistent with the county's land-use rules for conversion of existing billboards on restricted corridors and voted to forward a recommendation of approval to the Board of County Commissioners. The final decision will be made by the BOCC at its upcoming hearing.
Votes at the Planning Commission: Miss Britton Jack — yes; Miss Fuller — yes; Mister Marais — yes; Mister Schutzplatz — yes; Mister Whitney — yes; Chair Tim Trowbridge — yes (6–0).
