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Neighbors raise traffic, parking and notice concerns over Windermere preliminary-plan amendment
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Summary
Residents told the El Paso County Planning Commission that a proposed preliminary-plan amendment for Windermere may worsen traffic and parking and that they had limited access to site plans; staff and engineers said minimum traffic and notification standards had been met but that further studies and escrow for a future signal are anticipated.
At the July 17 meeting of the El Paso County Planning Commission, a Windermere neighborhood resident and homeowner raised concerns about traffic, parking and public notice for a preliminary-plan amendment that would add multifamily housing to the subdivision.
Ben Vogelsong, a Windermere homeowner, told commissioners the neighborhood was designed for fewer units than the amendment anticipates and said adding 150 multifamily dwellings could strain two existing access points, worsen an already severe parking shortage and increase congestion during peak hours. Vogelsong said the developer’s traffic study did not fully account for existing overloaded conditions and that he could not find building drawings in the county’s EDARP system; he said he learned only eight of the 62 properties notified were inside Windermere and that a mailed notice on July 1 arrived fewer than 30 days before the hearing.
Staff and engineering response County traffic and engineering staff said the developer’s traffic impact study used standard methods and concluded the access points meet level-of-service D or better for the study horizon. Gilbert LaForce, engineering manager, explained the study anticipates off-site improvements and identified when escrow and additional counts might trigger a signal at a nearby intersection; he noted the city of Colorado Springs controls the signal warrants and timing and the developer provided escrow for the future traffic signal.
Planner Kylie Bagley told the commission that site-development-plan materials are on file (file PPR2442) but that EDARP does not always link related applications under different file types, so drawings may be harder to locate without a parcel search. Bagley also said staff notifies properties within 500 feet for rezones and preliminary plans and that statutory minimum public notice is 15 days, which staff said was met.
Public and commission context During public comment, the resident described on-street parking conditions including multi-vehicle households and rental occupancy patterns that, he said, already strain local streets. Commissioners questioned the changes in project unit counts from an older letter of intent (which referenced up to 277 units) to the current preliminary-plan application. Commissioner Marais and staff explained that trip-generation assumptions used in rezoning are often conservative and that the preliminary plan’s unit count can be different once a site layout is finalized.
How it moves forward Commissioners recommended the preliminary-plan amendment for approval (motion by Commissioner Byers; second by Commissioner Marais) with conditions and notations; staff will continue detailed review of site development, drainage and parking during subsequent plan review cycles. The applicant’s site-development application (PPR2442) is the record to consult for detailed drawings.
Ending: Commissioners recorded a unanimous 5–0 recommendation to the Board of County Commissioners; public comment and the engineering review will inform conditions and follow-up during the preliminary and site-plan review stages.
