Planning commission recommends Rising Moon preliminary plan after Habitat for Humanity outlines long-term affordability

The El Paso County Planning Commission unanimously recommended approval of the Rising Moon preliminary plan (file SP243) and forwarded the item to the Board of County Commissioners after hearing details of an affordable‑homeownership program with Pikes Peak Habitat for Humanity.

The commission’s approval came after the applicant described a plan that would designate at least 14 of the 41 single‑family homes to be prioritized for School District 3 employees, and after the Habitat representative outlined deed restrictions and resale limits intended to keep the homes affordable.

Chris Lewis, CEO of Pikes Peak Habitat for Humanity, told the commission that Habitat will place long‑term limits on resale to preserve affordability. “We will have a 90 year deed restriction,” Lewis said. He added that the program will sell homes to qualifying families at up to 80% of area median income and that buyers also must complete Habitat’s sweat‑equity requirement and qualify for an affordable mortgage.

Lewis described additional mechanisms to limit speculative resale. He said Habitat typically places a second, silent mortgage on its homes so that proceeds required at sale include repayment of both the buyer’s first mortgage and the Habitat second mortgage. He also described an annual equity cap intended to prevent rapid flipping, saying Habitat caps how much home equity a seller can retain so the homes remain affordable for future buyers.

Lewis said the homes designated for School District 3 employees are homeownership opportunities, not rentals. “We’re a homeownership program,” he said, adding that “rentals are not allowed.” He said that if a qualifying school employee later leaves district employment, they may remain in the house under Habitat’s deed restrictions; the designation is for a minimum of 14 homes but the program will continue building and assigning homes as employees qualify.

Andrea Barlow, representing the applicant engineering team (NES), answered a neighbor’s question about fences, saying, “there will be new fencing as part of the lot development” and that staff and the applicant can coordinate timing with adjacent property owners.

Commission discussion focused on whether the application met technical standards and on neighborhood concerns that had been raised in written comments. County staff advised the commission that the preliminary plan included required findings for water quality and dependability and that recommended conditions addressed outstanding technical items.

A planning commissioner moved to approve the preliminary plan “in accordance with the attached resolution with 3 conditions and 2 notations, with a finding of sufficiency for water quality and dependability” and to forward the item to the Board of County Commissioners. The motion was seconded and passed unanimously; the commission’s recorded vote was all ayes.

The commission’s approval is a recommendation to the Board of County Commissioners; final approval and any permitting will be decided by the board at a later hearing.

Details clarified at the hearing include that Habitat will own the homes during construction and will record a 90‑year deed restriction limiting resale and rental, that qualifying buyers must meet the program’s income and sweat‑equity requirements, and that at least 14 homes will be prioritized for School District 3 employees but the program is not strictly limited to exactly 14 homes.