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Buckingham Drive Industrial Rezone

At a glance

  • What: Ordinance 26-38 rezoning 7.79 acres on Buckingham Drive (Council District 1) from BP/cr (Business Park with Conditions of Record) to LI/cr (Light Industrial with Conditions of Record), with data centers prohibited as a condition of record.
  • Outcome: Council added the data center prohibition on August 25 (5-3-1) and passed the ordinance 7-1-1 that day; the September 8 minutes show the ordinance again at second reading and public hearing, finally passed 7-2. The record does not explain the repeat.
  • Why it matters: Neighbors worried about noise, dust and uses next to homes; Council debated data centers as a permitted use.

Detail

  • Molly O'Brien (Planner II) presented. Donelson learned from Kevin Walker that both the old and new zones permit data centers. Casey asked whether the Fire Department reviewed it (it typically does not for zone changes), whether the applicant responded in writing to public comment (no), and how light industrial fits near residential and mixed-use; O'Brien cited an easement on the south side giving about a 50-foot buffer.
  • Ben Swanson of Buckingham Land Holdings, LLC represented the applicant: the market prefers light industrial for heavy equipment sales and rental and construction services; no tenant is identified; a truck terminal adjoins on the north; a neighbor had a similar plan in 2003; dust will be mitigated; nearby residents' concerns included property condition, trash enclosures, homeless camps and dumping. He said the applicant has no desire to build a data center.
  • Walker said the Garden of the Gods corridor was separate from the City in the 1960s, which allowed industrial development.

Votes

  • August 25: Donelson moved, seconded by Gold, to prohibit data centers as a condition of record. Passed 5-3-1 (Aye: Casey, Donelson, Gold, Henjum, Rainey Jr.; No: Crow-Iverson, Risley, Williams; Leinweber excused).
  • August 25: motion by Risley, seconded by Rainey Jr., to finally pass as amended. Passed 7-1-1 (No: Donelson; Leinweber excused).
  • September 8: Henjum moved, seconded by Casey, to finally pass. Passed with ayes Casey, Crow-Iverson, Henjum, Leinweber, Rainey Jr., Risley, Williams and noes Donelson and Gold (the minutes' vote line reads 8-2-0-0 though seven ayes are listed). Donelson said he would vote no because the property should not be light industrial.

First reading (August 11, 2026)

  • Called off the Consent Calendar at Donelson's request (see the Mark Dabling Boulevard item: he objects to rezoning presentations being deferred to the hearing). Chris Sullivan and Kevin Walker were the listed presenters; attachments included two public comments and a land use plan waiver request.
  • Motion by Leinweber, seconded by Williams, to approve on first reading and set the August 25 public hearing: passed 7-2-0-0 (Aye: Casey, Crow-Iverson, Henjum, Leinweber, Rainey Jr., Risley, Williams; No: Donelson, Gold).

Planning Commission recommendation (July 8, 2026)

Pulled from the Planning Commission consent calendar by Vice Chair Slattery (2026-07-08 - City Planning Commission).

  • Chris Sullivan described five vacant parcels (7.79 acres) bordered on three sides by industrial and commercial uses, with homes in the R-5 zone to the south. The old Business Park conditions required a 100-foot building setback that the Light Industrial zone lacks; the applicant offered to prohibit group living, industrial hemp, marijuana-related uses, natural medicines and kennels. Staff found the rezone criteria met.
  • Ben Swanson (Buckingham Land Holdings): the site is a former gravel mine with uncertain fill that complicates geotechnical work; the rezoning seeks broad flexibility; buildings would sit nearest the homes with parking and more intense uses to the north; he could support a 25-foot buffer and a 45-foot height limit, but wanted conditional use review rather than a ban for junkyards. Residents Barry Wick and Marcia Wick raised years of neglect, drainage in the Holland Park neighborhood, trash from the shopping center, headlights and buffering.
  • Staff (Daniel Sexton, Sullivan): any development needs a development plan, with stormwater, landscaping, buffering and dimensional standards reviewed then (typically a 15-foot setback and seven-foot screening wall); junkyards are already conditional uses in the LI zone.
  • Commissioners Engel, Case and Robbins supported it; Slattery and Cecil said compatibility criteria, especially height and adjacency to homes, were not met.
  • Motion by Willoughby, seconded by Clements, to recommend approval with conditions of record prohibiting household living, group living, industrial hemp, marijuana-related services, natural medicines and kennels: passed 7-2 (No: Cecil, Slattery). First reading before Council was to set the August 25 hearing.
  • Source: City Planning Commission minutes, July 8, 2026: https://legistar2.granicus.com/coloradosprings/meetings/2026/7/2757_M_City_Planning_Commission_26-07-08_Meeting_Minutes.pdf

Sources

Log

2026-09-08 - City Council

Presented again with the Council-requested data center restriction; passed 7-2 (Donelson and Gold opposed).

2026-08-25 - City Council

Public hearing; data centers prohibited by amendment (5-3-1); ordinance passed as amended 7-1-1.

2026-08-11 - City Council

First reading to set the August 25 hearing; passed 7-2 (Donelson and Gold opposed).

2026-07-08 - City Planning Commission

Pulled from consent; recommended for approval 7-2 with prohibited-use conditions.

2026-07-02 - City Planning Commission Work Session

Briefing by Chris Sullivan; differing stakeholder opinions on use intensity; commissioners discussed the use table and conditions of record, and the item was pulled from consent for fuller review.