2026-07-02 - City Planning Commission Work Session
Summary
Built from the official minutes (Legistar status: Final). No video is posted. A work session: staff briefed the Commission on items coming to the July 8 meeting and no votes are recorded.
- All nine members present: Chair Hensler, Vice Chair Slattery and Commissioners Robbins, Willoughby, Engel, Case, Gigiano, Clements and Cecil.
- Hensler recognized Slattery at her final work session and welcomed incoming commissioners Aaron Egbert, Daniel Way and Henry Reitwiesner.
- Kevin Walker said City Council took its second June meeting off, so there were fewer updates, and previewed major policy matters such as accessory dwelling units (ADUs) coming forward.
- Consent items briefed: Liberty Logistics conditional use (54 acres, 5930 to 6180 Airport Road), the La Kitchen parking variance, 752 Clark Place heavy vehicle storage, Karl Malone Polaris vehicle sales and repair, the 5325 Mark Dabling Boulevard rezoning, the Buckingham Drive rezoning (identified for fuller review and pulled from consent) and the Galley Road conditional use.
- Banning Lewis Ranch Village B2 and Village C: Tamara Baxter introduced the coordinated applications (master plan, concept plans, rezonings, adjustments and right-of-way vacations); hearing dates for the rezonings were set for September 8.
- AnnexCOS, the 2026 Annexation Plan: Walker presented the draft.
- A July 23 special appeal hearing on the Project Taurus data center development plan was previewed by Daniel Sexton, with the hearing expected to run 8 to 10 hours at the ENT Center for the Arts.
Consent Calendar items (briefings)
- Liberty Logistics, CUDP-26-0002 (Planner Kerri Schott presented): warehousing/wholesaling with accessory office and light industry in the Airport Planned Development zone with Airport and Streamside overlays. The Streamside Overlay triggers the conditional use process; agency reviews showed no objections except Space Force concerns about aircraft wildlife hazards; no public comment.
- 752 Clark Place, CUDP-26-0010 (Council District 5; Drew Foxx): heavy vehicle storage on 2.29 acres in a Business Park zone with Streamside and Airport overlays; previously approved outdoor storage, but heavy vehicle storage needs new review; pollutants discussed; no public comment.
- Karl Malone Polaris, CUPD-26-0005 (Council District 4; Allison Stocker): vehicle sales, rental, repair and outdoor display at 1883 S. Chelton Road in MX-M with Airport Overlay; more than 150 notices mailed; no public comment.
- Galley Road, CUDP-26-0003 (Council District 5; Chris Sullivan): light industry, warehousing/wholesaling and accessory outdoor storage on 2.63 acres at 4725 Galley Road; Space Force wildlife concerns; no public comment.
La Kitchen Parking Variance
- Item 4.B, NVAR-26-0005 (Council District 3): William Gray outlined the variance for one off-street space for a small restaurant with outdoor seating at 2001 West Colorado Avenue (seven required), site constraints, the development plan required for the residential-to-commercial conversion, and one written comment in opposition.
Mark Dabling Boulevard Mixed-Use Rezone
- Item 4.E, ZONE-25-0037 (Council District 1): Sullivan described the rezone of about 5.41 acres at 5325 Mark Dabling Boulevard from MX-N/SS-O to MX-M/SS-O, intended to restore development rights from pre-UDC zoning; one tenant contacted staff uncertain but not opposed. First reading would set the August 25 hearing.
Buckingham Drive Industrial Rezone
- Item 4.F, ZONE-26-0012 (Council District 1): Sullivan explained the rezone of about 7.79 acres on Buckingham Drive from Business Park to Light Industrial, both with conditions of record. He noted differing stakeholder opinions, including use intensity; commissioners discussed the use table, conditions of record and compatibility, and the item was pulled from consent for a more thorough review.
Banning Lewis Ranch Village B2 Zoning
- Items 5.A to 5.F: Baxter introduced the 511.9-acre proposal north of Tamlin Road (major master plan modification, PDZ rezoning of 501.99 acres to residential at 3.5 to 7.99 units per acre and 35 feet maximum height, a 9.2-acre MX-M rezoning, a commercial concept plan, a PDZ concept plan and a 35.86-acre right-of-way vacation). She recapped a large December 2023 neighborhood meeting, about 18 written comments and concerns of nearby residents; commissioners asked about density ranges, transition areas, historic PDZ entitlements and master plan evolution. Ordinance first readings would set a September 8 hearing.
Banning Lewis Ranch Village C Zoning
- Items 5.G to 5.P: Baxter presented the 658-acre Village C under the Unified Development Code: land use plan, MX-M rezoning of 111.54 acres, R-Flex Medium rezoning of 546.79 acres, a 25.85-acre right-of-way vacation and five development standards adjustments (density range 3 to 16 units per acre where 5 to 16 is required; 1,000 square feet of lot area per unit where 1,500 is required; second and third floor front setback encroachments of up to 2 feet; a 10-foot corner side setback where 15 is required; 5-foot side yards for lots without street frontage; covered porch encroachments up to 5 feet). She highlighted parks, school sites, a public safety site, the Rock Island Trail and open space. Commissioners asked about density transitions, streamside overlays, utility corridors and park dedication. Six written comments were received, with traffic concerns near Woodmen Road; Traffic Engineering was to attend the hearing.
AnnexCOS Annexation Plan
- Item 5.Q, NPLN-26-0002: Walker presented the draft AnnexCOS update, noting changes since the 2006 plan (economic shifts, updated Banning Lewis Ranch agreements, city-county coordination, recent annexation controversies) and key policy points: contiguity, infrastructure extension, fiscal impact, housing diversity, compatibility with adjacent jurisdictions and special-circumstance flexibility. He stressed that annexations remain property-owner-initiated and listed coming tasks: templates for annexation reports, fiscal impact analyses, annual monitoring and updates to intergovernmental agreements.
Project Taurus Data Center
- Special appeal hearing preview (July 23): Sexton described the appeals of the administrative approval, issued June 11, of a development plan modification for a data center at 1565 High Tech Way (21.96 acres, Business Park zone, Council District 1; files DEPN-26-0039 and APPL-26-0003 to 0007). Five appeals were filed, one with three primary appellants and 26 co-appellants. The project held two neighborhood meetings with about 400 and 600 attendees, drew about 1,000 public comments during administrative review and many more afterward.
- Procedure: appellants and the applicant get 60 minutes each; public comment is in person only, 2 minutes per person, 3 hours total per side; the hearing is expected to take 8 to 10 hours at the ENT Center for the Arts, with security checkpoints. Trevor Gloss of the City Attorney's Office explained that the Commission's role is to decide whether the administrative decision was in error, not to re-review the whole development plan.
Sources
- Minutes: https://legistar2.granicus.com/coloradosprings/meetings/2026/7/2758_M_City_Planning_Commission_26-07-02_Meeting_Minutes.pdf
- Related: 2026-07-08 - City Planning Commission (the regular meeting where these items were decided) and 2026-07-23 - City Planning Commission (the appeal hearing).