[4:59] Good morning and welcome to the Board of
County Commissioners meeting, uh,
[5:04] land use meeting. Today is Thursday,
September 10th.
[5:07] We do begin each of our meetings with an
invocation,
[5:10] and this morning we have Pastor Jason
Brockman from Colorado Springs Baptist
[5:14] Brockman from Colorado Springs Baptist
Church.
[5:15] We invite you to stand and join us.
[5:17] Thank you, Commissioner Geitner. Thank you
for the opportunity this morning.
[5:21] Let's go ahead and bow our heads in
prayer.
[5:24] Father, we thank you for the privilege it
is to be able to have meetings like this.
[5:29] I know many times we Amen.
[5:31] Lord, I pray that as we come and there are
people here that have maybe a little bit
[5:36] of angst, a little bit of pressure,
stress, understanding,
[5:39] something that wants to be done, but Lord,
[5:42] I pray You'd help us to remember how
blessed we are to be able to have this
[5:46] blessed we are to be able to have this
method.
[5:47] Lord, thank You for the fact that each and
every person here has the ability to have
[5:52] a personal relationship with You.
[5:54] Lord, I pray that each and every person
here serving or being served would
[5:58] here serving or being served would
determine
[5:59] to make that decision to put their faith
and trust in you.
[6:03] Lord, for those who are leading in this
capacity, thank you for the work,
[6:07] the effort, and the service they provide
to our community.
[6:11] Lord, I pray everything that is done today
would be done in the right spirit and the
[6:16] right tone. I pray that each of us here
would realize that we're here to serve one
[6:21] another and the great privilege it is to
be servants.
[6:24] Lord, thank you for those who have really
gone out of their way.
[6:28] I know many times we don't Think of people
in leadership many times,
[6:32] of how they sacrifice for us.
[6:34] Lord, I pray for each person who has a
need here today.
[6:37] I'm confident someone in here is going
through a struggle and a difficulty.
[6:42] Lord, I pray that you would meet their
needs.
[6:44] For those who have ailments or sickness,
[6:47] for those who are dealing with other
issues that are not described, Lord,
[6:51] I pray that the decisions that we made
today and the conversations that happened
[6:56] would honor you. In Jesus' name we pray.
Amen.
[6:59] Commissioner Wysong,
[7:05] if you'd lead us in
[7:11] the Pledge of
[7:16] Allegiance, please.
[7:22] Item 3.
[7:24] Item number 3 is staff emergency items,
[7:27] and I'm unaware of any staff emergency
items today.
[7:31] Item 4.
[7:33] Item number 4 is changes, postponements,
and notice of the next meeting.
[7:38] I'm unaware of any changes or
postponements to today's agenda,
[7:41] and the next meeting will be September
15th at 9:00 AM.
[7:45] Item 5.
[7:47] Item number 5 is the land use consent
calendar, including items 5A and 5B.
[7:52] And Madam Chair, there's one exhibit that
has been handed out that was received
[7:56] after the packet was published to the web.
[7:59] Okay, thank you. Uh,
[8:00] is there anyone here who wishes to speak
on an item on the consent
[8:06] calendar? Okay, seeing none,
[8:08] I will bring it up here to commissioners
for any comments or motion.
[8:14] Commissioner Wysong.
[8:16] Thank you, Madam Chair. Uh, just a, a
couple of comments.
[8:21] Um, Under the Kyle Reese Zone 5A, I was
reading through all the documentation.
[8:27] It was just the traffic study alluded to
another potential development tie-in.
[8:34] And I, I kind of asked the, the question
of, of our executive director of planning.
[8:41] And since it's, it's been approved, but
there's nothing there yet.
[8:47] It just seems that if traffic study
mentions it, there should be follow-up,
[8:53] and that kind of defines what potentially
could be there.
[8:58] Right in, right out only on a
55-mile-an-hour highway just makes me a
[9:04] 55-mile-an-hour highway just makes me a
little
[9:04] nervous, is all. And that I just wanted to
kind of address that.
[9:10] Um, is, is a kind of a concern that has it
truly been evaluated from a safety
[9:16] perspective? I'm assuming it has from
CDOT. It just made me really nervous is
[9:23] CDOT. It just made me really nervous is
all.
[9:23] Yeah, I appreciate you bringing up that,
um,
[9:26] given that this is in my district and this
is an intersection that I drive
[9:32] regularly, um, always concerned about. I
drive it regularly, and so do my children.
[9:38] And so, you know, these are things that I
think we all want to make sure things are
[9:44] safe. But I will say, going through the
notes,
[9:47] looking at some of the comments from the
Planning Commission,
[9:52] and this was also discussed, I do agree
that this is the map amendment stage,
[9:57] and we have further things down the road.
[10:00] And while that is the current
recommendation or requirement that is
[10:05] recommendation or requirement that is
being
[10:06] recommended, um, that we will see in far
more detail as we move through this
[10:11] more detail as we move through this
process
[10:12] and have the opportunity to ensure that
safety moving forward as well.
[10:17] So I too am comfortable with this, but
thank you for bringing up those concerns.
[10:23] Okay, do we have any other comments or a
motion on the consent calendar?
[10:28] Move to approve the consent calendar.
[10:32] Second.
[10:33] Okay, that has been moved and seconded,
[10:35] and I will call the roll beginning with
Commissioner Wysong.
[10:39] Aye.
[10:39] Vice Chair Nelson?
[10:40] Aye.
[10:40] Commissioner Applegate?
[10:42] Aye.
[10:42] Commissioner Williams?
[10:44] Aye.
[10:44] And the chair votes aye. That passes 5-0.
Item 6.
[10:48] Item number 6 is the called-up consent
calendar, and there are no items called
[10:53] calendar, and there are no items called
up.
[10:54] Item 7.
[10:55] Item number 7 is department and committee
reports, non-action items,
[10:58] and there are none.
[11:00] Item 8.
[11:01] Item 8 is the addendum, and there are no
addendums today.
[11:05] Item 9.
[11:05] Item 9 is the executive session, and there
is no request for executive session.
[11:09] Okay, with that, this, uh,
[11:16] we've come to the end of
[11:23] this agenda, and this
[11:28] meeting is adjourned.
[11:34] Good morning and welcome to
[11:41] the Board of Adjustment
[11:48] meeting. Today is Thursday,
[11:55] September 10th. We'll begin
[12:02] with item 1.
[12:06] Item number 1 is changes and
postponements,
[12:08] and I'm unaware of any changes or
postponements.
[12:11] Item 2.
[12:13] Item number 2 is the consent calendar,
including item 2A.
[12:16] Okay, is there anyone here who wishes to
speak on an item on the consent
[12:24] calendar? Please come down, sir.
[12:27] And just as a reminder, this is the
minutes— uh, we—
[12:32] this is the approval of minutes on the
consent calendar. Okay. Okay.
[12:39] Um, so I will ask if there are any
comments from commissioners.
[12:46] I move approval of item 2A.
[12:49] Second.
[12:50] All right, that's been moved and seconded.
[12:52] We'll begin the vote with Commissioner
Wysong.
[12:54] Aye.
[12:55] Vice Chair Nelson.
[12:57] Aye.
[12:57] Commissioner Applegate.
[12:59] Aye.
[12:59] Commissioner Williams.
[13:00] Aye.
[13:01] And the chair votes aye. That passes 5-0.
Item 3.
[13:04] Item number 3 is a dimensional variance,
[13:07] 16990 Cherry Creek Crossing Drive side
setback relief,
[13:11] a request by James Lucas for approval of a
dimensional variance to allow a 10-foot
[13:18] side setback where 35 feet is required in
the Cherry Crossing PUD,
[13:23] Planned Unit Development zoning district,
[13:26] for the proposed placement of a detached
garage.
[13:29] The 2.66-acre property is located at 16990
Cherry Creek Crossing Drive,
[13:35] approximately 3,000 feet northwest of the
intersection of Hodgdon Road and Highway
[13:41] 83. Parcel number 6122008022, Commissioner
District 1. File BOA-26005.
[13:46] Second.
[13:47] Lacey Dean, Associate Planner, Planning
and Community Development.
[13:50] Good morning.
[13:52] Good morning, Commissioners. Um, this is
for BOA 265.
[13:56] Um, this is requesting a setback relief
for a detached garage at 16990 Cherry
[14:02] for a detached garage at 16990 Cherry
Creek
[14:02] Crossing Drive. I'm the planner assigned
to this, um,
[14:07] along with Joe Sandstrom from Department
of Public Works.
[14:11] If you're watching remotely and have not
provided a name and reliable phone number,
[14:18] please email that information now to
pcdhearings@elpasoco.com.
[14:23] The procedure today will basically be my
presentation followed by the applicant's
[14:29] presentation. If there are citizens in
favor, um, they will be called up,
[14:35] followed by citizens against.
[14:38] The applicant will have a chance to rebut
the citizens against,
[14:43] followed by questions for staff, and then
you all will make a determination.
[14:49] I'll give you a moment to read through the
criteria of approval for Board of
[14:55] Adjustment. This is some additional
criteria, um, to consider.
[15:00] So the request today is by James Lucas,
[15:03] and he would ask for a 10-foot side
setback where 35 feet is required in the
[15:09] setback where 35 feet is required in the
Cherry
[15:10] Creek Crossing PUD. It is for a detached
garage.
[15:13] The 2.66-acre property is located here,
[15:17] which is approximately 3,000 feet
northwest of the intersection of Hodgen
[15:22] northwest of the intersection of Hodgen
Road and
[15:23] Highway 83. The zoning, as I stated
earlier, is a PUD.
[15:27] This whole section here is the same PUD,
Cherry Creek Crossing,
[15:32] but you can see surrounding it is other
RR-2.5 zoning.
[15:37] This PUD also has a 2.5 minimum lot size
requirement.
[15:41] A little bit of background for you.
[15:44] The zoning was established on the property
in 1955,
[15:48] and in 1997 it was rezoned to planned unit
development for Cherry Creek Crossing.
[15:54] They platted it in 1999, and the existing
home was built in 2004.
[16:00] The position of the home on the land,
[16:03] as you'll see as I get through the PUD
guidelines in a moment,
[16:08] it was built the way that it is based on
the natural features of the, of the site.
[16:14] Currently, the most western corner of the
structure is only 10 feet from the setback
[16:21] line. So when he's proposing a detached
garage on that side,
[16:26] he's going to need more than the 10 feet
that is remaining before he encroaches
[16:32] that is remaining before he encroaches
that
[16:32] setback. This is the PUD here, the
entirety of the PUD.
[16:37] This, um, blue square is indicating his
lot.
[16:40] This is A piece pulled from that PUD
document showing the topography on his
[16:46] document showing the topography on his
land.
[16:47] You can see it slopes down as you go
further south,
[16:51] and he actually has a no-build area all
along this southern portion.
[16:56] It's hard to see on this image here, but
this part as well slopes down.
[17:02] And I— this is a street view looking
toward the house from Cherry Creek
[17:08] toward the house from Cherry Creek
Crossing,
[17:08] and you can see it slopes down over here.
[17:12] Over here is where he intends to put the
detached garage.
[17:16] This yellow line, I'm sorry, indicates the
setback line,
[17:21] and that red square indicates where he's
wanting to put the garage.
[17:26] In terms of zoning compliance, um, with
the specific PUD, um,
[17:31] a planned unit development zone is
basically a very specific set of design
[17:37] basically a very specific set of design
standards
[17:38] that are put in place for a certain area.
[17:41] And in the Cherry Creek Crossing They
wanted to maintain sensitivity to the
[17:47] characteristics of the site. They have
dimensional standards here for you.
[17:53] Like I said, a minimum 2.5-acre zone or
lot size.
[17:57] The 35 feet on the sides and the rear is
where he's going to be asking for relief
[18:03] because he needs 10 feet on the west side
of his property.
[18:08] These are some development guidelines I
pulled from the PUD as well that I think
[18:14] pulled from the PUD as well that I think
are
[18:15] relevant to his request.
[18:17] The buildings shall be situated to
maximize the amount and quality of views
[18:23] maximize the amount and quality of views
and
[18:23] natural light. The plan utilizes the
floodplains, drainage structures, slopes,
[18:29] and existing vegetation to their best
advantage and further enhances the
[18:35] advantage and further enhances the
elements to
[18:36] create a quality environment in which to
live.
[18:40] They minimize damage to the existing
vegetation maintained in a natural state
[18:46] vegetation maintained in a natural state
as
[18:46] nearly as possible. So again, as I
mentioned prior, the house was put where
[18:52] mentioned prior, the house was put where
it is,
[18:52] so close to that other setback.
[18:55] Right.
[18:55] Because of the other natural features that
are on the site.
[18:59] One of the requirements as well in the POD
is that both the Cherry Creek Crossing
[19:05] Design Review Committee as well as our
department needs to approve the variance.
[19:11] He has already received approval from his
property owners association for the
[19:17] request. Another, um,
[19:19] piece that limits his placement of it is
that accessory buildings should not be
[19:24] located closer to the street frontage than
the main building.
[19:29] Analysis of the approval of criteria.
[19:32] It is not exceptionally narrow or shallow
or oddly shaped.
[19:36] However, with the exceptional topographic
conditions—
[19:40] I wouldn't say they're exceptional,
[19:42] but the specific design was based on the
PUD requirements, um,
[19:47] which again is limiting options for him of
where to put this accessory detached
[19:53] garage. The variance would provide
permanent relief in speaking to this
[19:58] permanent relief in speaking to this
additional
[19:59] approval criteria to consider.
[20:01] Um, it does not include an alternative
plan,
[20:04] and it is intended to preserve the natural
features of the site,
[20:09] which I think are again limiting where he
has options to put this structure.
[20:15] 2 alternatives that I came up with in
reviewing this is that he could put it
[20:20] elsewhere, but as I've already discussed,
that would require a lot of grading,
[20:26] which I think goes against the intention
of the PUD. He could also possibly rezone.
[20:32] That does not seem feasible though,
[20:35] given that it would not then be harmonious
with the rest of the surrounding
[20:40] properties in the PUD.
[20:42] The next couple slides I'm going to go
through, um, if you have questions on
[20:47] through, um, if you have questions on
them,
[20:48] I will call up Joe Sandstrom from
Department of Public Works.
[20:52] There were no concerns with drainage and
erosion.
[20:56] Um, it's not in a regulatory floodplain.
[20:59] It is part of the West Cherry Creek
drainage basin.
[21:03] Um, there was no drainage report or
grading erosion control plan required due
[21:08] grading erosion control plan required due
to
[21:09] minimal disturbance. Traffic study was not
required.
[21:12] It's not going to generate any additional
trips,
[21:16] and the road impact fees are not
applicable.
[21:19] Our department notified 21 adjoining
neighbors on August 25th.
[21:24] We have had zero comments in opposition
returned.
[21:27] We'd had one comment in support posted to
the public eDARP file.
[21:32] And this is just a poster of, uh,
[21:35] or a picture of where he posted the
notification on his site.
[21:39] This blue car right here is where the
garage will be if it is approved.
[21:44] Okay.
[21:45] The applicant himself also reached out,
um,
[21:48] took it upon himself to reach out to his
neighbors and got, um,
[21:53] several of them to sign a petition stating
that they're in approval of his request
[22:00] to put the garage where he's proposing.
[22:03] And then this is just an email from the,
um, Property Owners Association.
[22:09] I also went ahead and looked around the
surrounding properties to see if anyone
[22:15] surrounding properties to see if anyone
else
[22:15] had been granted a BOA in this PUD, and I
only found one down here in this blue, um,
[22:22] outline. They were granted a Board of
Adjustment 2004 for their lot width,
[22:28] which is required to be 200 feet,
[22:31] and they were granted 133 Commissioner
Wysong has a question.
[22:35] Thank you, Madam Chair.
[22:39] Could you go back a couple of slides?
[22:44] Um, yes, I just wanted to read the, um,
[22:49] letter from the HOA. Okay, thank you.
[22:59] Um, if there are no questions, I can bring
up the applicant.
[23:01] Questions before we move to the applicant?
Okay, I think we are ready.
[23:23] Thank you. My name's Jim Lucas.
[23:25] Um, first and foremost, thank you for, uh,
having me here today. I appreciate that.
[23:31] I also want to give a shout out to Lacey.
[23:34] She's been absolutely awesome as I started
this process.
[23:38] The communication back and forth has just
been great. So thank you so much.
[23:43] Um, my wife and I have looked at different
areas on our property to try to build a
[23:49] detached garage.
[23:50] Thank you.
[23:51] to where we wouldn't have to face a
variance ruling.
[23:56] And truly, it's like Lacey said, there's
no really good area.
[24:02] Um, from the driveway down to the east,
the drain, it just drops off.
[24:09] It's quite the incline. And so I'll share
that with you.
[24:14] Lacey, you said scroll down. There we go.
There we go.
[24:20] Okay, this is just a view from me standing
in the street.
[24:25] You can see the asphalt, and as the
asphalt curls back to the right, um,
[24:32] that is where that garage would sit.
[24:35] The house on the far side that you can
see, the tan,
[24:40] that's my next-door neighbors. They fully
endorse this project.
[24:47] That's who it affects the most. Now
listen, I am not good at drawing.
[24:53] That was done by my cursor on the
computer.
[24:57] But in essence, that gives you a visual of
where that detached garage would sit,
[25:05] and that's also behind the, uh, utility
lines of gas and water.
[25:11] Also, the trim of the house is a Dover
white stucco.
[25:16] Black bean is the trim, black shingled
roof.
[25:20] The detached garage would match the
current home.
[25:25] Again, my hand got a little squirrely, but
that is facing our house east,
[25:32] so you can see the house and you can see
the drop-off actually.
[25:38] To the right, and that would be the
footprint of the garage.
[25:44] And there's the 4-sided elevation of it.
[25:53] There.
[25:57] I think that's it. Okay.
[26:01] Do we have any questions for the
applicant? Commissioner Wysong.
[26:04] Thank you, Madam Chair.
[26:07] Um, just find a couple of interesting
things that the, the POA is,
[26:13] is in support of, uh, the encroachment on
the, um, side easement,
[26:20] but they weren't— they didn't appear to
give you an option of
[26:26] encroaching on the 90-foot easement in
front of—
[26:31] between the street and the house,
[26:34] which I just kind of thought was
interesting.
[26:38] And then another is,
[26:40] I believe you said in some of the
documentation that you're adding the
[26:47] garage because the POA requires all cars
to be in a garage.
[26:53] So there's a piece to that. You need
to—I'll give you a little insight to me.
[26:59] I'm a retired educator. They want cars
parked in there. That's a small part.
[27:05] It'll actually—I restore motorcycles, so I
have four motorcycles in our garage,
[27:10] and anytime I want to work on them,
[27:13] I have to pull vehicles out to pull the
bikes out to work on them.
[27:18] And so really, that detached garage is
going to be to put motorcycles over there.
[27:24] And in time, I would like to get a lathe
and do some fabricating.
[27:29] No, they're not loud or industrial. It's
very quiet.
[27:33] And so that's a large piece of it.
[27:35] And then also to get—
[27:37] we have a brush hog that you can see in
the background on one of those pictures.
[27:42] It's orange Kubota. And get that into the
detached garage.
[27:47] So to answer the question, yes, they don't
want cars parked outside.
[27:52] But our cars parked outside, yes, at
times.
[27:55] And then when you purchased the home,
[28:00] you knew what the requirements were for
the side
[28:06] setback?
[28:07] So we did it. We bought that home in April
of 2010,
[28:12] and at that time I wasn't involved as much
with that stuff and was aware
[28:18] of the side setbacks and all the, uh,
[28:21] declarations for the Cherry Creek Crossing
neighborhood.
[28:25] Okay, thank you.
[28:27] Okay, any additional questions for the
applicant?
[28:36] All right.
[28:36] Oh, sorry, Commissioner Applegate.
[28:38] So I was looking at the pictures and I'm
trying to get like a line drawn so I know
[28:42] where it's at, about how far from this,
uh,
[28:45] on that one side will it be to your fence?
[28:47] Because it—
[28:47] so that was in your kind of near that back
fence there.
[28:50] To the, to the side fence of our yard?
Yeah, side fence.
[28:53] It would probably be 2 to 3 feet from
that.
[28:55] Okay, so pretty close.
[28:56] Yes.
[28:56] All right, thank you.
[28:57] Yep.
[29:01] Okay, all right, I think, uh, thank you
very much.
[29:05] I think we're going to move to the public
input portion of the hearing at this
[29:11] point. So if there's anyone here to speak
in support of this application,
[29:16] I ask you to come forward at this time.
[29:19] And seeing none, I'll ask if there's
anyone here to speak in opposition to this
[29:24] application. Okay, seeing none, uh, this
is generally the rebuttal portion.
[29:30] You don't have anything to rebut,
[29:32] so I'll just ask if you have any
additional comments.
[29:38] Okay.
[29:39] I will tell you all the neighbors—
[29:40] If you would come to the microphone just
so that we could get you captured on the
[29:44] record.
[29:45] I will tell you that, uh, all the
neighbors have been sensational.
[29:49] They all support it.
[29:51] I just saw a thing come through the EDARP
yesterday of Ron Kramer.
[29:55] The mailer was sent back, uh, from the
post office.
[29:59] Long story short, he lives directly across
the street from me,
[30:03] and he was on one of those signed notes I
did early on, uh, to approve it.
[30:09] So just want you to be aware of that.
[30:11] Thank you. Thank you very much.
[30:14] Okay, so with that, um,
[30:16] we have gone through public input and the
rebuttal portion,
[30:21] so I'm going to make sure there aren't any
last questions for staff.
[30:27] Okay, then we will close this portion of
the hearing.
[30:31] We'll move to any comments or a motion
from commissioners.
[30:36] Um, I'm in support of this application,
and unless there's any comments,
[30:41] I'll make the motion.
[30:43] I move to approve item number 3, BOA
26-005,
[30:46] the 16990 Cherry Creek Crossing Drive side
setback variance,
[30:50] incorporating staff's recommended
conditions and notations,
[30:54] and further finding that based on
equitable considerations presented by the
[30:59] applicant, the burdens of strict
compliance with the zoning requirements
[31:04] significantly exceed the benefits of such
compliance for this specific piece of
[31:09] property. I further find that the subject
property has numerous legal restrictions
[31:14] which would make placement of the garage
elsewhere a hardship.
[31:19] This is due to the existence of the
no-build area, the steep slope in the
[31:24] no-build area, the steep slope in the
back,
[31:24] the general configuration of the home on
the parcel,
[31:27] and the PUD guideline requiring that
garages not be prominent along
[31:32] garages not be prominent along
streetscapes.
[31:33] Second. Okay, that's been moved and
seconded.
[31:37] Do I have any further comments this time?
[31:41] Okay, I will, um, go ahead and call the
roll beginning with Commissioner Wysong.
[31:49] Aye.
[31:50] Vice Chair Nelson.
[31:51] Aye.
[31:51] Commissioner Applegate.
[31:53] Aye.
[31:53] Commissioner Williams.
[31:55] Aye.
[31:55] And the chair votes aye.
[31:58] That passes 5-0. Congratulations.
[32:02] Okay, item 4.
[32:04] Item number 4 is the addendum, and there
are no addendums today.
[32:08] Item 5.
[32:09] Item 5 is the executive session, and there
is no request for executive session.
[32:13] Okay, with that, we've come to the end of
this agenda,
[32:16] and this meeting is adjourned.