Compromising the planning process

On Aug. 27, the El Paso County Board of Commissioners voted 4-1 to overturn staff’s administrative determination, clearing the way for a 74,000-square-foot mega-travel center to proceed under C-1 neighborhood commercial zoning. Having attended and spoken at the appeal hearing, I watched with growing concern as standard principles of quasi-judicial land-use review were set aside.

Sincere appreciation belongs to Commissioner Bill Wysong for casting the sole principled “no” vote. Commissioner Wysong was the only board member who acknowledged the practical, common-sense meaning of a neighborhood and the core purpose of neighborhood-scale zoning. Most importantly, he reminded the room that property rights are a two-way street. One landowner’s desire to develop cannot run roughshod over the property rights, safety and investments of surrounding neighbors who purchased their homes relying on the rules established in the Land Development Code.

The arguments advanced by the majority in support of the appeal simply do not hold up under standard land-use principles. When sitting in a quasi-judicial capacity, a commissioner’s legal duty is to apply the code as written, not rewrite it from the dais.

Vice Chair Lauren Nelson argued that government should not put developers in a box just because the code did not conceptualize a megastore decades ago. But if a proposed use does not fit the code, the lawful remedy is a formal legislative rezone or a code amendment, not stretching an administrative definition until it breaks. While Chair Carrie Geitner insisted the code must be read “literally,” Nelson’s justification did just the opposite.

Commissioner Holly Williams openly admitted that the existing code is obsolete, that a 75,000-square-foot store stretches the definition of a convenience store and that cut-through traffic on Beacon Lite Road is a serious threat. Most astonishingly, she rationalized the project’s massive scale by pointing to a draft land-use code that has not even been adopted. A quasi-judicial body cannot base decisions on future, unapproved rules, especially while simultaneously stripping away the public’s right to enforceable conditions through a formal rezone.

Chair Carrie Geitner insisted on a hyperliteral reading, arguing that because C-1 has no explicit square-footage cap, size cannot be restricted. But land-use codes must be read in context and as a whole. If a 74,000-square-foot travel center with over 100 gas pumps qualifies as a neighborhood convenience store simply because the code does not specify a maximum square footage, then heavier commercial zoning categories like Commercial Regional become meaningless. Furthermore, Geitner shared a personal anecdote about convenience stores she visits outside her own area. Deciding what fits in a neighborhood based on personal driving habits, rather than the local community the zoning was meant to serve, completely undermines the purpose of these districts.

Finally, Commissioner Cory Applegate seconded the motion and voted to overturn staff without offering a single word of land-use justification or legal reasoning. Casting a decisive vote while offering only pleasantries undermines the transparency the public expects in a quasi-judicial proceeding.

Zoning codes exist to provide predictability and protect our communities. Forcing a regional interstate travel center into a local commercial category compromises the integrity of our planning process and sets a damaging precedent for all of El Paso County.

Diana O’Toole

Monument

Stop politicizing the conversation

I don’t understand the hypocrisy of the average citizen protesting the data center if their issue is water.

Where were they, or where are they, to protest the Coke Bottling plant located near the airport?

The data center uses 200,000 gallons of water one time.

The bottling plant uses 400,000 gallons of water every day! That’s every day!

If the issue really is water, let’s be fair-minded and start protesting the real consumption pig.

Honestly, most of the protest against the data center is because hyperscalers denude the landscape, cause excess noise and consume volumes of electricity.

The data center proposed is nominal in comparison, has no known negative consequences for the environment or city and provides nearly $125,000,000 million in new tax.

It’s time to stop politicizing the conversation

It’s time to get over the data center conversation and move on to larger, more important conversations.

Tim Leigh

Colorado Springs

Opposition to Amendment 84

I’ve hunted and fished in Colorado for over 50 years, and I have an elk tag this year. I’ve been a member of a number of sportsmen organizations and worked closely with Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW). I’ve also worked on the protection of public lands and rivers during these 50 years, and I oppose Amendment 84.

Amendment 84 and its supporters are crying that the PETA folks are anti-hunting. But 84 is not about anti-hunting. A Sportsmen Party survey shows 84% of Americans say it’s OK for other people to hunt. A new national survey of more than 2,200 Americans found that 84% believe it’s OK for other people to hunt legally, even if they don’t personally hunt.

Amendment 84 is being promoted by an individual who is a trapper. This individual is in a street fight with Colorado Parks and Wildlife on the reduction of trapping of furbearers where there is very little scientific information on populations and habitats. As a sportsman, I have never supported trapping; it is a waste of key wildlife species and public wildlife resources.

Jerry Mallett

Salida

Not a reason to overshoot

I live in Buena Vista. I’m a husband and a dad, and I help owners run short-term rentals in this part of Colorado.

Teller County’s Ordinance 23 is back for second reading, with a public hearing September 10. First reading passed August 6. If adopted, it takes effect December 1.

The county says this is its first countywide STR ordinance, and that Teller is the last in Colorado to regulate them, but being last is not a reason to overshoot.

The draft requires a license and building-code inspections. It caps STRs at 10 percent of the properties in any subdivision. One license per property. Guest houses, ADUs, campers and tents don’t qualify. You have to own the place a full year before you can even apply. Occupancy is tied to septic capacity differently than long-term rentals. There are other double standards.

Some of this is sound. Commissioners have pointed to the March 2024 storm and gaps in wildfire notification, and the ordinance would require rentals to register for emergency alerts. Registering people is about safety and I’m for that.

A 10 percent cap and a yearlong wait to use your own home are entirely different. That is the county deciding who may rent and who may not. Early applicants get 60 days outside the cap. Everyone else waits in line.

Commissioners Bob Campbell, Erik Stone and Dan Williams campaign on small government and property rights. There is nothing small about telling an owner how he may use what he already owns.

It’s also bad for Teller. When stays drop, so does the work — for cleaners, maintenance crews, restaurants and shops. The one-year rule is aimed at out-of-state investors, but the local who bought a cabin to work himself hits the very same wall.

The hearing is September 10. If you own property in unincorporated Teller, be there. A safety alert and a cap on your own house are not the same thing.

Jacob Mueller

Colorado Springs