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County commissioners reject Baptist Road Wal-Mart

View photos of the BOCC Wal-Mart Hearing

On July 15 at the end of an 11-hour hearing, the El Paso County Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) voted 4-0 in favor of Commissioner Wayne Williams’ motion to reject the rezoning and preliminary plan requests for construction of a Wal-Mart supercenter on a 27-acre parcel on the south side of Baptist Road directly across from the King Soopers shopping center. Commissioner Tom Huffman was absent. The unanimous BOCC vote was consistent with the county planning commission’s 7-1 vote on May 11 recommending rejection of Wal-Mart’s requests. The planning commissioners voting against the project cited inconsistency with the comprehensive plan, too intense a use, inadequate buffering from the adjacent residential properties, a better alternate site at the Monument Marketplace, and that the wrong type of zoning was being requested. All those issues were revisited during the BOCC hearing.

Toward the end of the hearing, principal concerns cited by Williams were flaws in the traffic impact analysis and insufficient effort by Wal-Mart in seeking annexation to the Town of Monument.

Williams first moved to continue the hearing for eight weeks to allow the Town of Monument and Wal-Mart to negotiate an annexation agreement on the parcel and for Wal-Mart consultant CLC Associates to update the traffic impact analysis. The motion to continue failed by a 2-2 vote with Williams and Commissioner Jim Bensberg in favor and Commissioner Chuck Brown and Commissioner Jeri Howells opposed. Brown said he voted against the motion to continue because the room was filled with citizens and they deserved an answer.

According to the county’s Land Development Code, Wal-Mart cannot come back with the same rezoning request within a year unless "there has been a substantial change in physical conditions or circumstances" such as requesting different zoning or reaching a written agreement with the town for future annexation. Carl Schueler, manager of the county planning division, said a revised plan would be treated as a new application and would again be heard by the planning commission before being heard by the BOCC.

Parcel owners Ken Barber, Uwe Schmidt, and Beverly Miller requested the rezoning and preliminary plan on behalf of Wal-Mart. Only Barber spoke in favor of rezoning the parcel while 26 residents spoke against the proposal. Throughout the hearing, the number of concerned citizens in the audience varied from 150 to well over 200. The three local TV stations covered the hearing. The hearing room was still filled at 10:25 p.m. when the final roll call vote was taken. Many residents commented to television and newspaper reporters that the result was a surprise turnaround based the tenor of the hearing.

Schueler summarized the project:

In response to a question from Williams, John McCarty, director of the county department of transportation, said the latest plan produced by PBS&J for the Baptist Road Rural Transportation Authority, shows access to the Lutheran church being provided via a road through the lots to the east of the church. That road would connect to Leather Chaps Drive.

McCarty noted that if Jackson Creek Parkway is connected to Northgate Road, the northbound I-25 off-ramp at Baptist Road could be moved east to the current Struthers frontage road. That would improve road alignments at the intersection. McCarty said CDOT supports the idea of doing it and it is one element of CDOT’s plan for improving the interchange. McCarty said that if the Wal-Mart plan were approved, the county would work with the PIC to move the off-ramp rather than widening the existing off-ramp.

Steve Wilson, President of CLC Associates, was the representative for Wal-Mart. He introduced Denis Kelsch and Kevin Picanco of CLC Associates and Michael Semrick of Boice, Raidl, and Rhea Architects. He said Kelsch is the project engineer, Picanco is the traffic engineer, and Semrick is the architect for the project.

Highlights of Wilson’s presentation:

Architect Semrick showed an artist’s rendering and said the building would feature a high-end design similar to King Soopers with two colors of masonry brick and stucco. The design has a varied roofline. The highest point of the roof at the front would be 30 feet.

Peter Susemihl, attorney for the Triview Metropolitan District, presented the following background on Triview and the proposed Public Improvement Corporation (PIC):

Williams said that one of the issues is that this is a private corporation without public scrutiny. He asked if the BOCC or BRRTA could designate one or two people to sit on the PIC board. Susemihl replied, "We are totally open to that."

Williams asked who paid for Jackson Creek Parkway? Susemihl replied that it was a district responsibility.

Williams asked if the PIC could be extended to pay for the other two lanes of Struthers Road south of Baptist Road.

Susemihl replied that there would have to be an agreement with Wal-Mart to keep the 3 percent fee in place. He also raised questions as to the source of the funds. He said, "The district has an interest in that connection. When that is done, it will carry as much traffic as the interstate." Audience members and Williams expressed doubt that it would carry anywhere near that much traffic.

Wilson added that it is not presently feasible to construct Jackson Creek Parkway as a 4-lane road but Wal-Mart would be willing to extend the PIC and collection of the 3 percent fee if funding were available from others. He said, "We are willing to allow that funding mechanism to continue."

Picanco described the road improvements to be implemented by the PIC as listed earlier.

Picanco said a three-quarter intersection would be allowed at the church: Right-in/right-out turning movements would be allowed from eastbound Baptist Road and left-in movements would be allowed from westbound Baptist Road. Drivers who want to go west upon exiting the church or the houses to the east of the church would have to turn right, go east to Leather Chaps Drive, and make a U-turn.

Williams stated that at the time the church was granted access to Baptist Road they agreed that at some point they would be restricted to right-in/right-out access. He expressed concern that those leaving the church when services are over could create significant congestion with people making the U-turn. Picanco said their study had not looked at the specific situation.

McCarty said the existing Jackson Creek box culvert under Baptist Road just west of Jackson Creek Parkway could handle a 5-10 year storm but a 20-25 year storm could overtop Baptist Road and take out the road and utilities.

Bensberg asked whether Wal-Mart would be willing to improve the culvert.

Wilson replied that the improvement is part of CDOT’s planned interchange improvements. He characterized it as "an incredibly big project."

Bensberg asked if Wal-Mart would be willing to partner with CDOT.

Wilson said he did not believe CDOT wanted to partner with anyone.

McCarty said CDOT has a partnering/reimbursement program. He estimated the cost to be similar to what the county constructed on Sand Creek and would be $500,000 to $1 million dollars.

Bensberg characterized it as a benefit to Wal-Mart and the community.

Wilson said, "I can’t commit to that today. We are already making a $4 million commitment to offsite infrastructure improvements."

Bensberg replied, "It is your customers who are making that $3.8 million commitment. It is not coming out of Wal-Mart’s coffers."

Williams noted that the replacement of the culvert is part of CDOT’s environmental assessment (EA).

McCarty said the EA process could take 6 months or more.

Monument Mayor Byron Glenn, who noted that he is also a member of the BRRTA board and the Tri-Lakes Economic Development Committee, presented the town’s position. Some highlights were as follows:

Williams asked whether there is another drive-through pharmacy located nearby. Glenn said no.

Williams asked whether commercial was planned for east of King Soopers. Glenn replied that 6 acres of neighborhood commercial was being considered.

Williams asked whether when King Soopers came in, did they do any off-site road improvements? Glenn said, "I don’t believe they made any off-site improvements."

Williams asked about Glenn’s proposal for a ballot measure to annex within one year and have sale tax revenue go to the PIC. Glenn characterized Wal-Mart representative Roger Thomas’ response as, "I didn’t like your letter because you sounded too intimidating and I don’t want to take that from a small town if I don’t have to." Glenn added, "I am upset with the lack of commitment from Wal-Mart prior to last night and that paying off the PIC debt is going to cost us 6 years of no revenue."

The only person who spoke in support of the project was developer Ken Barber, one of the three owners of the property. He gave some history of the ownership of the property and concluded, "I’d love to see it sold."

Kingswood resident Phil Weinert said, "This is not a campaign against Wal-Mart." He said the proposal is development with a general disregard for community concerns. He added, "The existing roads are completely inadequate. Right now the road system stinks. Adding more demand with Wal-Mart is completely unpardonable." He asked how maintenance of the pond would be done. He suggested that a better use could take advantage of the natural terrain rather than the massive cut and fill required for the supercenter.

In rebuttal to Weinert’s skepticism about needed road improvements being constructed, County Attorney Bill Lewis stated that construction of the proposed improvements would be guaranteed prior to the store opening.

Williams added that the improvements are in agreement with BRRTA plans. He also said additional roadwork funding could come from the proposed Pikes Peak Rural Transportation Authority if that is approved by voters in November.

Thirteen speakers from the Coalition of Tri-Lakes Communities made a 55-slide presentation summarizing many of the major community concerns with the project. Those slides can be downloaded at www.coalitiontlc.org/wmbocc040715.htm. The summary of objections is as follows:

During the opponents’ presentations:

After the coalition’s presentation, thirteen more residents spoke in opposition. One of those, Gwen Weinert, submitted petitions with more than 8,000 signatures of those opposed to the proposed Baptist Road store.

Some of Wilson’s points were as follows:

Williams asked Lewis about the consequences of approving the rezoning but not the preliminary plan. Lewis said, "If you approve the PUD rezoning then it is not logical to disapprove the preliminary plan." The preliminary plan is an intrinsic part of the PUD zoning.

Williams said he is concerned about the outdated traffic impact analysis and the issue of annexation to the Town of Monument and made a motion to continue the hearing on the project for eight weeks at which time there would be a public hearing limited to just the traffic and annexation issues.

Howells said, "I am not in favor of the project. One part of me would very much like to see the road improvements, but not at the expense of the immediately adjacent property owners. Supercenters are very busy places. I don’t believe it is an appropriate location. Other alternatives need to be looked at. It is not fitting with the comprehensive plan or the community."

The vote on the motion to continue was 2-2 (Williams and Bensberg in favor, Howells and Brown opposed) so the motion failed.

Williams said, "Annexation needs to be resolved prior to this vote." He then made his motion for disapproval referencing the motion on page 52 in the BOCC packet that reads,

In making his motion, Williams noted that the annexation issue triggered non-conformance to the master plan. Williams’ motion was unanimously approved.

Williams then made a motion to reject the preliminary plan. That motion also was unanimously approved.

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Links to the BOCC packet for this project, opponents’ slide presentation, and computer audio file of the hearing are available at www.coalitiontlc.org/wmbocc040715.htm.

Additional information on the project is available at www.ourcommunitynews.org/top_stories.htm#wal-mart and www.CoalitionTLC.org/wal-mart.htm or by calling John Heiser at 488-9031.

View photos of the BOCC Wal-Mart Hearing

The 12-hour session on July 20 and the second session on the 27th involved a number of items of interest to residents of northern El Paso County.

1. Final plat for the Gilbert Addition. This 10.9-acre parcel in the central Black Forest area, zoned RR-3 (5-acre lots), is being subdivided into two lots. The subdivision was recommended for approval.

2. A request by Voice Stream, dba as T-Mobile, for a variance to allow an 80-foot stealth pine commercial cell phone tower at the southeast corner of Highway 105 and Sierra Way. This is the high point as you head east on 105. Area residents gave good presentations. The variance was denied, and the applicant directed to look at alternative sites that are less obtrusive.

3. A special district service plan for the Cathedral Pines Metropolitan District. This would be a separate taxing district. Cathedral Pines is the development just north of Black Forest Regional Park where the Milam Road extension is in litigation. This was a "skeletal" plan, with many unanswered questions. It was recommended for denial. The applicant was requested to "fill in the blanks" so the plan would be more complete.

4. Preliminary Plan Woodmoor Vista Professional Park. This 8.23-acre property is located on Monument Hill Road approximately 3,000 feet south of County Line Road. It is zoned C-1 (commercial district). The proposal is for six commercial lots and is consistent with the 2000 Tri-Lakes Comprehensive Plan. It was recommended for approval.

The July 27 meeting was the last planning commission meeting at the downtown county office building. Future meeting will be held at the new regional "one-stop" center at 2880 International Circle off Union Boulevard and Printers Parkway.

The quarterly meeting of the Baptist Road Rural Transportation Authority (BRRTA) was held at the County Commissioners Hearing Room on July 9 at 2:30 p.m. The members reviewed plans for widening Baptist Road between the interstate and Jackson Creek Parkway to better handle the traffic that will be generated by the Monument Marketplace. There was also a review of tentative plans for improvements west of the interstate. The board went through an extensive review of needed upgrades east and south of Jackson Creek Parkway that would have been made if the Baptist Road Wal-Mart had been approved by the Board of County Commissioners at the rezoning hearing on July 15.

Claims: The board unanimously approved payment of eight claims totaling $59,531.87.

Financial Report: The board accepted the financial report for the second quarter and then unanimously approved new payments of $1,377.55 to RS Wells LLC and $51,342.23 to PBS&J engineering consultants. These two claims arrived in early July and were not included in the quarterly report. The total amount spent by BRRTA for engineering design as of June 30 was $159,249.

Planning and Development Activities: Commissioner Wayne Williams reviewed the issues regarding the July 15 Wal-Mart hearing. He announced the decision by the City Council to move forward with the countywide RTA ballot issue for November. Portions of Baptist Road would be improved under this ballot initiative, although the specific improvements and their relative priority continue to change. No final decision has been made on these issues.

Triview Metropolitan District General Manager Ron Simpson announced that Jackson Creek Parkway had been opened on June 30 between Lyons Tail and Higby. Leather Chaps was also extended to Jackson Creek Parkway at the traffic light by the new Home Depot store. Simpson said these new roads cost $7.5 million. Simpson said that the creation of the Eagle Pines Metropolitan District in Black Forest, north of the intersection of Milam Road and Shoup Road, would have no negative impact on his district or BRRTA.

Baptist Road Engineering Design Survey: Andre Brackin of the El Paso County Department of Transportation gave an overview of the recent design survey work for Baptist Road, performed by PBS&J. Steve Sandvik, project supervisor for PBS&J, distributed and discussed a number of maps that showed existing, intermediate, and final design plans for near- and long-term improvements from Tari west past Hay Creek. While BRRTA is not responsible for the major long-term improvements to the I-25 Exit 158 interchange, it will coordinate with the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) for interim widening of the two off-ramps when funding becomes available. Funds to construct these interim off-ramp improvements would have loaned by Wal-Mart had the project been approved.

Sandvik said PBS&J is collecting information to facilitate application for federal funding to help pay for construction of a longer, wider bridge for grade separation over the railroad tracks. The new bridge would be built just north of the existing bridge west of the tracks. These funds would supplement countywide RTA funds if that ballot initiative passes in November. Sandvik added that all available traffic studies concerning the future of the Baptist Road area were reviewed, and all confirmed the need for two through-lanes east and west plus dedicated turn lanes and acceleration/deceleration lanes at the major intersections with Jackson Creek Parkway and Leather Chaps.

When Jackson Creek Parkway is extended south of Baptist Road to connect with Struthers Road (which runs from Northgate Road to the southern boundary of the Struthers Ranch development), the existing Struthers Ranch frontage road can be closed. Then the northbound I-25 off-ramp could be rerouted to that two-lane frontage road and use the existing traffic light. This would simplify timing and flow problems at the existing intersection.

Two issues remain unresolved regarding the widening of Baptist Road between the interchange and Jackson Creek Parkway. One is that the actual gradient of the steepest portion of that segment is about 9 percent and should be reduced to less than 5 percent to meet design standards. The other problem is that the existing drainage culvert under Baptist Road in this section is only 48 inches and cannot handle a 10-year storm flow, much less the required 100-year storm flow—making it likely that this portion of Baptist Road could be washed out by a major storm once all the parking lots are built out at the Marketplace. CDOT, not BRRTA, is technically responsible for upgrading the culvert to 60 inches but not until the interchange is improved. There is no funding on the horizon for the interchange to be upgraded for up to a decade or more. Even if BRRTA replaced the culvert as a safety measure during lane widening for the Marketplace traffic, CDOT is not obligated to reimburse BRRTA.

Williams asked Mayor Byron Glenn to discuss the proposal to build another like-sized strip mall just east of the King Soopers shopping center on the north side of Baptist Road. Glenn said that Monument has not given the retail center proposal any approvals and that a traffic study is under way to determine if the existing right-in/right-out access road from Baptist Road can fully service both centers. Williams suggested that further discussion of design planning priorities and construction sequencing be postponed until after the Wal-Mart hearing. A special BRRTA meeting was scheduled for Aug. 6 for this purpose.

Forest Lakes Inclusion: There was no public comment before the Forest Lakes development, which is located west of Baptist Road and north of Hay Creek Road, was unanimously accepted for inclusion.

Dellacroce Parcel Inclusion: The Dellacroce parcel lies just south of Baptist Road on both sides of Woodcarver Road, south of the Santa Fe Trailhead. Parcel owners Ray and Robert Dellacroce, of Dellacroce LLC, attended the meeting and informed the board that they had just learned of a slight error in the legal description of the property in the inclusion documentation. The board determined that the error was minor and that there was no need to republish the hearing announcement. The description of the parcel had been taken by BRRTA staff from the county assessor’s property description, which had a slight error in it. The inclusion was unanimously approved, with corrections to the parcel’s legal description.

The meeting adjourned at 4 p.m. The special meeting on Aug. 6 will be at Town Hall in Monument at 2:30 p.m.

The regular meeting of the Monument Board of Trustees was delayed 45 minutes due to an earlier special executive session to receive legal advice for the Transit Mix lawsuit. Mayor Byron Glenn then surprised the owner of the Wahlborg addition, his developer’s representatives who had flown in from North Carolina, and neighboring citizens by continuing the annexation hearing until Aug. 2. due to the absence of Trustees George Brown and Gail Drumm. Glenn said Brown and Drumm had serious concerns about the special metropolitan district that was part of the proposal and should be present for consideration of that aspect of the hearing. When offered the opportunity to discuss their annexation, rezoning, and site plan portions of their proposal, the applicant declined, saying they preferred to present the entire proposal just one time.

The board selected two new planning commission (PC) members to fill vacant positions and also selected an alternate. Michael Maloof of Monument’s Boy Scout Troop 17 led the Pledge of Allegiance.

125th Birthday Celebration: Former Mayor Betty Konarski and business owner John Dominowski reported on the success of the 125th Anniversary and Fourth of July parade. Konarski thanked Trustees Tommie Plank, George Brown, and Gail Drumm for their daylong help, ranging from selling lemonade and potatoes to setting up and taking down chairs, and she thanked Mayor Byron Glenn for his presentation at the Frontier Families Awards. Dominowski thanked the town staff, Police Department, and Public Works for their help. He noted there were no injuries on July 3 and only one injury on July 5. Members of Frontier Families came from as far away as Wyoming to receive their certificates. Overall attendance was about 3,000, and Tri-Lakes Cares Building Fund received $14,000 ($5,500 of that from ads in the Historic Brochure). The "Historic Downtown" banners will be used in future events, and a new stage will become permanent in Limbach Park.

Sundance Center Expansion: The board unanimously approved a major amendment to the Sundance Center PD Site Plan to allow a 55 percent expansion in square footage. The approval was conditional, based on guarantees that Woodmoor Water and Sanitation could provide adequate service and that the addition passes fire code inspections by Woodmoor/Monument Fire Protection District. The addition will look like the existing facility, according to Victor Chapman, architect for owners Steve and Kathy Clowes. The added floor space will enhance the ability of the center to hold small gymnastics competitions. The added landscaping will be similar to that currently in place, with some improvements and parking spaces will be added.

The right turn lane from eastbound Highway 105 to southbound Knollwood, which the owners have paid to have installed to improve traffic flow, has not yet been constructed because the owner of the affected property is not giving up the right-of-way. Business owners at that intersection have paid for a traffic light to be constructed, but it is also being held up by the road construction.

Sully’s Windshield Repair Kiosk: The applicant’s request that the board continue the proposal to operate a windshield repair business out of a minivan on the vacant lot between the Starbuck’s building and the closed Burger King building was approved unanimously. The application was subsequently withdrawn.

Soc-N-Roll Expansion: The Monument company, TTGY requested a major amendment to the final PD site plan to add another indoor sports facility (22,000 square feet) and a future storage building (12,000 square feet). The rink building would be directly west of the existing rink on the L-shaped property that wraps around Monument Storage. The proposed warehouse/storage building would be west of, and directly behind, the Monument Storage property near the railroad tracks. The applicant also requested that the board add a note to the amended site plan allowing for administrative approval of a future storage building by the Planning Department without a PC or BOT hearing.

The board discussed changes the applicant had made to satisfy the neighboring property owner and the county, which were also satisfactory to the town’s engineering and traffic consultants. Most current and planned additional traffic onto the adjacent county-owned portion of Old Denver Highway occurs at other than rush hours. However, the current traffic designation for the change in traffic results in a higher-than-appropriate traffic impact fee ($16,000 versus $5,000), according to the town’s traffic consultant who recommended creation of a new designation that would fit this type of business.

El Paso County Department of Transportation would like Soc-N-Roll and Monument Storage to have a common entrance at some time in the future. The neighboring property owner to the north, Mike Watt, and TTGY agreed to install a new wire fence between the two properties to prevent drivers from going through Watt’s property to access the rink’s parking lot and to prevent off-lot parking on his ranchland. The fence satisfies the county’s concerns. However this created a concern for Glenn regarding emergency vehicle access to the new building and new parking lots.

There is a gate in the new fence for emergency access to the parking lot that will be built between the old and new rinks. The new lot will have a drive-over curb in front of the gate. Glenn asked that a second new gate be installed to provide additional emergency access to the other new parking lot (between the new building and the railroad tracks), even though this is not required by the fire codes or recommended by the fire marshal.

Steve Yates, one of the TTGY owners, said he would ask for permission from Watt for installation of another gate, but expressed concern about the additional cost for a gate that is not required. Glenn said the lot is narrow with a single in-out access driveway that would likely be blocked by emergency vehicles, preventing evacuation of vehicles during an emergency. Trustee Dave Mertz stated the same concern later in the discussion.

Glenn asked that dead landscaping be replaced with plantings to match the landscaping of the new building. He also wanted the signs on the building replaced by fewer and smaller, more attractive signs—with this change made a condition of approval for the amended site plan.

Town Planner Mike Davenport had not been asked to determine if the signs were larger than the town code allows and could not say whether or not Glenn’s condition was legal. Glenn asked that the banners be taken down. Yates said there were no banners, just permanent signs. Davenport asked if Glenn wanted the signs to meet standards or his own personal standard. Glenn said both.

Glenn said that the number of conditions was becoming too high and that several of them should be taken care of before town approval of the amendment. Mark Ennis of Access Construction Company said that even a two-week delay for continuation of the hearing would likely preclude building completion in November, which was necessary to make the development economically feasible. He noted that he and the owners were made aware of most of the large number of concerns only three hours before the hearing and could not resolve them with such short notice.

After a lengthy discussion, the amended site plan was approved unanimously with eight conditions, including a second gate and a requirement that the warehouse go through a normal hearing process for approval.

RTA: Town Manager Rick Sonnenburg said that Palmer Lake had decided not to seek formation of a Rural Transportation Authority (RTA) with Monument. Creation of this RTA would have required a ballot issue in November to authorize a sales tax for road construction and repair. The board then unanimously rejected being included in the countywide RTA ballot initiative also scheduled for this November’s election. The latter initiative includes the county, Colorado Springs, and several other municipalities in the county. Some road improvements on Baptist Road would be paid for by this RTA, however the number of improvements and the priorities have not been finalized.

Skate Board Helmet Rule Dropped: CIRSA, the town’s insurer, advised the town that its liability coverage for the town’s skateboard park would be unaffected by dropping the current helmet requirement, which Police Chief Joe Kissell said is unenforceable. After also deciding to take down the fence, which had been a target of vandalism, the helmet requirement was deleted by a new ordinance which passed unanimously. Signs will be changed to say that wearing a helmet is recommended.

Disbursements over $5,000: The board unanimously approved a payment of $17,658.18 to the Lewis-Palmer School District for cash-in-lieu fees that had been collected on the district’s behalf. The district must use the money to buy land for school facilities, preferring cash to an open land dedication in a development where no school will be built. Also unanimously approved was a payment of $15,620.92 for John C. Halepaska and Co. for water consulting fees.

Other matters: Trustee Gail Drumm was unanimously appointed as town representative on the Advisory Committee to the Regional Building Commission.

Police Chief Joe Kissell presented the Police Department’s Strategic Plan 2004-2009 for trustees to read and comment upon at a future meeting. The liquor licenses for Conoco and Cork’n’Bottle were renewed.

A proposal by Monika Markey, a Parks and Landscape Committee member and Toys 4 Fun business owner, to solicit tree donations for Second Street between Beacon Lite and Highway 105 was sent back to her committee for further refinement and definition.

Sonnenburg reported the installation of the traffic light at Safeway and said a light will eventually be installed at Jackson Creek Parkway and Lyons Tail when traffic justifies it.

The board then went into executive session to discuss a negotiation and subsequently adjourned at 10:22 p.m.

The Monument Board of Trustees (BOT) held a special meeting to finalize the position Mayor Byron Glenn would advocate at the July 15 Board of County Commissioners hearing on the Baptist Road Wal-Mart. Glenn briefly reviewed his negotiations with Wal-Mart to date, then the board decided that the town should continue to oppose Wal-Mart’s "big box" regional commercial rezoning request.

Glenn said he had communicated with Wal-Mart’s community relations manager Keith Morris and real estate manager Roger Thompson. Glenn expressed concern that the town should derive some revenue benefit from Wal-Mart sales and property tax to pay for downtown improvements, purchase of open space, and construction of a new police station—even with the problems that might come from the store’s presence.

Two options he offered Wal-Mart were annexation of the Baptist Road property or relocation to the Monument Marketplace, which has one "big box" pad available. He stated that it is the responsibility of the BOT to serve the residents and secure the financial stability of the town.

Glenn read a letter he had sent to Wal-Mart, dated July 8, that said that if voters approved a referendum to annex the Baptist Road parcel, the town would give 80 percent of its portion of the sales tax to Wal-Mart’s public improvement corporation until its bonds to pay for Baptist Road and Jackson Creek Parkway improvements were paid off. The town’s contribution would thus accelerate paying off those debts. The other 20 percent of Monument’s tax would partially offset revenue lost from the town businesses competing with Wal-Mart.

John Heiser, coordinator for the Coalition of Tri-Lakes Communities, distributed a prepared two-page statement. He said that in letters to the county, the town repeatedly said its recommendations for denial of the Wal-Mart proposal were based on concerns about:

Heiser said those issues have not changed and that it is illogical to now drop objections to the plan just because Wal-Mart is saying it might annex to the town at some future date. He added that it sets a bad precedent and would encourage other developers to go to the county instead of the town in order to exempt themselves from the town’s regulations and land use planning process and then extract additional concessions from the town later in return for annexation.

Heiser asked if the town was prepared, if necessary, to pursue a lengthy and expensive lawsuit to enforce the agreement. He also said that if the town were to come out in favor of the project or didn’t object to the project, it would allow the county commissioners to say the town approves of the project even though its land use review process has not been followed and no public hearings or formal votes have been held on this land use application.

Glenn agreed with these arguments and said that the Monument Marketplace location would not provide a funding mechanism to pay for Baptist Road improvements east of Jackson Creek Parkway or for extending Jackson Creek Parkway south to Northgate. Heiser said that the town should require Wal-Mart to pay for widening Jackson Creek Parkway to four lanes all the way to Higby if they move into the Marketplace.

Resident Tim Schutz said that the short notice of the meeting had caught all area residents off-guard and that no one had seen Glenn’s letter of July 8 to Wal-Mart until this evening, precluding needed public comment. He said Glenn’s offer to give back 80 percent of the town’s portion of the sales tax didn’t make economic sense. He said that Glenn’s actions were circumventing the town’s planning and approval process for annexation and that residents had no opportunity to comment or study the financing proposal. He said Wal-Mart was using the allure of additional revenue as a big hammer to get the town to accept a bad proposal. He asked "Why should they [BOCC] give the proposal a critical review when you won’t bother?"

Gleneagle resident Bill Carroll said Wal-Mart had put the town between a rock and a hard place. He said that if Wal-Mart would not go into the Marketplace, then another big box would—and would provide equal, if not more, revenue without undermining the town’s Mom and Pop stores. He said Glenn’s last-minute approach was "underhanded, whether it was legal or not."

Resident Rich Muni said he believed that the majority of town residents were opposed to the Baptist Road location. Resident Jackie Berhans said the Baptist Road bridge over I-25 is overloaded by traffic now and could not handle additional Wal-Mart traffic.

Trustee Tommie Plank asked what the impact would be on the Baptist Road Rural Transportation Authority (BRRTA). Glenn said that BRRTA didn’t have money to build improvements and that the county had taken improvements between Leather Chaps and Jackson Creek Parkway out of their budget and countywide rural transportation authority proposal. He added that the road was a "death trap" and that the I-25 interchange would not be improved for at least six to eight years. He reiterated that the town didn’t have money for curbs, gutters, sewers, parks, trails, open space, or a new police station.

Trustee Gail Drumm expressed concern over lost revenue without annexation. Trustee Dave Mertz said the town had run out of time for an open forum, this was a lose-lose situation, and the board must choose the lesser of two evils and not gamble on the town’s behalf. He said citizens would still have their say via the referendum on giving back 80 percent of the town’s tax share in exchange for annexation.

Plank said Wal-Mart did not have a good reputation for honoring agreements and asked Town Attorney Gary Shupp for his legal opinion whether the July 8 letter’s proposal was legally binding. Shupp said he had not seen any contracts from Wal-Mart for his review. Mertz said that unless the board had a signed agreement, he could not support the proposal. Glenn said that Thomas had been pretty aggressive and abrupt in saying he could not respond to the town’s proposal before July 15. Plank said this meant that supporting the rezoning was too big a gamble without a written binding approval from Wal-Mart.

Several trustees said they had heard that the commissioners would approve the proposal and this was the only way the town could get any revenue from Wal-Mart. Heiser asked if there was credible evidence that any of the commissioners had stated their intention to vote in favor of Wal-Mart. All the trustees acknowledged that they had no evidence of this. If a commissioner had voiced an opinion on the rezoning prior to the hearing, this would be a violation of law, which Heiser said would be valuable evidence in appealing a BOCC vote of approval in court.

The trustees voted unanimously to maintain the town’s original position to oppose the Wal-Mart rezoning request and site plan.

The Planning Commission’s vacancies were filled and an alternate was appointed at the Monument Board of Trustees meeting on July 19. Trustee Gail Drumm was absent.

John Heiser, coordinator for the Coalition of Tri-Lakes Communities, thanked the board for its support in opposing the rezoning request for the Baptist Road Wal-Mart that was unanimously defeated by the Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) on July 15. He thanked Mayor Byron Glenn for his statement and subsequent remarks during the question-and-answer period.

However, with three seats on the BOCC up for re-election in November (Commissioners Brown, Howells, and Hoffman), Heiser said Wal-Mart may re-apply for rezoning even though the motion Commissioner Wayne Williams made was a strong indictment of the proposed plan. Heiser warned, "If you enter into any sort of side annexation agreement with Wal-Mart, they will immediately return to the county for approval and you will have again lost almost all control of what happens with this project."

Marion Clark presented a letter to the board and said her sister had been run over by a tractor at the town parade on July 5 due to negligent driving by an unlicensed 14-year-old. She said unlicensed drivers should not be allowed at parades. Clark’s sister was visiting from New Jersey to recuperate from cancer and chemotherapy and was run over twice and badly burned when the driver stalled the tractor on top of her while operating the steering wheel with only her left foot.

Clark thanked the local police and firefighters for their assistance and asked that town regulations be changed so this type of accident does not happen again. Board members expressed their concerns and regret to the victim, Mary Rasmussen, who also asked that the rules be changed and that the driver perform some kind of community service. Police Chief Joe Kissell said the driver had been charged with careless driving and will be appearing in Monument Municipal Court.

Planning Commission Candidates:

Rick Sonnenburg introduced three candidates. Tim Davis is a five-year resident and currently serves on the Chamber of Commerce. He said he wants to positively affect the growth of businesses and commerce in the area.

Eric Johnson said he moved to Monument in April 2003 for the culture and small-town feel. He said he wanted to be the "young person" on the board to help interest others in government service at a younger age and help the town preserve its identity as it rapidly grows.

John Kortgardner has lived on Mitchell Avenue for one year, working at Synthes as a project engineer. He said his strength is planning, both short and long term, which he thought would be useful in Planning Commission deliberations.

The BOT elected Davis and Kortgardner; Johnson accepted an offer from Glenn to be an alternate commissioner, after being told there is often turnover on all town committees. Town Planner Mike Davenport told them the next Planning Commission meeting was on Aug. 11 at 6:30 p.m. in Town Hall.

Davenport said Paul Banks, of Banks and Gesso, has requested that the town consider an application to build a concrete batch plant at the south end of the Forest Lakes property, between I-25 and the railroad tracks, next to the northern Air Force Academy glider runway. Banks was requesting a combined site plan and final plat review simultaneously with a PD amendment to the existing Forest Lakes site plan and final plat.

Banks was also requesting rezoning of the parcel from planned development (PD) to planned heavy industrial development (PHID). Glenn asked the applicant to provide elevations of the proposed structure and preliminary plans regarding grading, drainage, traffic, landscaping, etc., as soon as possible if he wants the entire issue resolved with single Planning Commission and BOT hearings. Davenport estimated that Bank’s rezoning request could be heard in about three months at the earliest. The applicant had waived the right to a sketch plan phase process. The request for a combined review was approved unanimously.

The applicant was not present, and his proposal was tabled. However, the revision to the kiosk business regulation that would have been required to approve Wild Bob’s business license request was discussed.

Karen Evans, owner of the Chick and a Windshield auto glass repair and replacement business spoke about her desires to also get an amendment to the recently created kiosk and parking lot business regulations. Evans assisted the town in developing and approving these regulations a year ago. She suggested a revision that would strengthen the traffic flow provisions based on experience Colorado Springs has had in shopping centers and restaurants. She suggested that the fee for a site plan amendment and business license be low enough to avoid being an obstacle to business creation but large enough to weed out people who weren’t serious.

Evans also indicated that she wanted to move one location of her business from the Big O parking lot to an unpaved dirt lot between the Burger King and Starbucks. She had to move from the original Safeway parking lot location that the BOT had approved when construction began on the fuel center. Business at Big O fell off by 75 percent due to poor traffic flow in the Big O lot at this time. Evans said that this kind of relocation pattern for a parking lot business is normal and town regulations need to be revised to make it easier. She offered to work with the town on a revision that was an effective compromise

After discussion about how to handle paving requirements, a motion to approve the change in regulation for allowing kiosk businesses to move around town from one location to another failed due to a lack of a second. The ordinance change was continued to Aug. 2.

Three ordinances passed with five votes in favor and Trustee George Brown abstaining because he had been absent for all three hearings. The Sundance Center and Soc-n-Roll expansions were approved, along with an ordinance adding unimproved unpaved right-of-way to the list of areas Public Works is responsible for when it cuts grass. Several needed changes in the Comprehensive Zoning and Subdivision Regulation were also approved unanimously. A resolution to close off the north end of Snowwood Drive for a neighborhood party on July 24 passed 5-1

A contract was awarded to T. Lowell Construction Co. for $300,493 to connect town well 9 north of Soc-n-Roll to the well 8 water treatment facility at Beacon Lite and Second Street with water mains. A contract with Triview Metro District for the additional street sweeping for the new Jackson Creek Parkway and Leather Chaps Road extensions for $818 per month was approved.

Sales tax revenue for the year is down $14,000 through the end of July, but the reasons have not been analyzed. A check for sales tax revenue of $18,375.55 for Triview Metro was approved. Three change order payments for well 7 improvements to Am West, Inc. were also approved for $24,173.75, $4,547.00, and $14,950. A liquor license renewal for La Casa Fiesta Restaurant was approved.

A four-way stop sign was approved at Beacon Lite and Third Street.

The meeting adjourned at 8:41 p.m. The next meeting would be held on Aug. 2 at 6:30 p.m. at the Lewis Palmer School District Headquarters Building.

The requested annexation, re-zoning, and master site plan for the Wahlborg Addition were unanimously approved by the Monument Board of Trustees (BOT) on Aug. 2. About 40 people attended the session which was moved to the basement auditorium of Big Red, the headquarters building for the Lewis Palmer School District. The board also heard a request to begin phase II construction at Navsys, located at the south end of Woodcarver. Trustee George Case was absent. Travis Page led the pledge of allegiance.

Bikes in Skateboard Park: Page then presented his request to allow BMX-size bikes to also use the skateboard park. He said that the features of the park gave bike riders sufficient room to safely perform common maneuvers even though the spacing may appear to be tight to a grown-up. He thought his 53-inch long bike could safely land in the "four and a half-foot landing zones" (54 inches.) He also said that skate boarders and bikers could use the park simultaneously, not getting in each others’ way. Riding in the park would be better for business than riding along the sidewalks by the stores. He said that building a bike park would be hard for him and his other 12-year-old friends. The trustees thanked him for his presentation and answers to their many questions.

Public Works Supervisor Tom Wall researched the use of bikes in skateboard parks and could find no instance where a municipality allowed a simultaneous use. In October, 2002 the town’s municipal insurer, CIRSA, had said the town should not allow bike use because the landing areas at the tops of the ramps were too small and that park features were too close together. CIRSA noted that bike use would increase repair and maintenance costs. Wall had conducted a field survey of skateboard users of the park and there would be minimal or no acceptance of sharing the park. He recommended against Page’s proposal. Orten said to Page, "Welcome to government," and made a motion to continue the matter to Aug. 16 for more research and discussion.

Tri-Lakes Cares’ Executive Director Judith Pettibone had asked for a continuation on its request for a waiver of fees for construction of a new facility on Jefferson Street. Town Planner Mike Davenport estimated that the fees would be about $26,000. The board unanimously approved a continuation to Aug. 16.

Navsys expansion: Woodcarver Properties is requesting approval for Phase II construction of a second building of 41,500 square feet on the east side of the property. Davenport said the proposal raises two questions. The current amended PD site plan from 2000 requires that Navsys connect to the Forest Lake Water and Sanitation District, but they will not have either service available to the property through 2006. Davenport also said that this complexity was more than may have been intended when the plat allowed for planning staff approval for Phase II. The existing well has enough capacity to meet the needs of the building, the planned manufacturing inside it, and 55 new employees. He said the county Health Department has approved their plan to expand their septic system. The board agreed that the water and septic plans were adequate for the building but were concerned about the water available for a fire. Owner Allison Brown said the inspector had indicated that there was enough water nearby in the half acre-foot pond on the property and that the fire district could easily form a water shuttle with tenders from local fire agencies. However this was not written on any of the fire documentation.

Mayor Byron Glenn questioned the adequacy of the water supply from the well in case of a fire. The documentation from the Tri-Lakes Fire Protection District was unclear about this matter. Glenn asked Davenport to make getting a satisfactory answer from the fire department on the adequacy of water available without nearby hydrants a pre-condition to staff approval. The board approved the expansion 5-1 with Glenn voting no because of the absence of cisterns and a clear approval by the Tri-Lakes fire marshal.

Wahlborg Addition: Davenport gave a detailed presentation on the process of annexation, rezoning, and master site plan approval for this 140 acre parcel. His presentation was very similar to previous presentations to the BOT and the Planning Commission. The applicant, Dale Beggs of WED, LLC and staff from his developer, Zephyr Development gave a long presentation that was also quite similar to several previous presentations to the board and the planning commission. They showed how the site plan had been modified to address concerns expressed by the planning staff and residents from Woodmoor and Monument Villas. The development has 330,000 square feet of commercial buildings near the southeast corner of Highway 105 and Knollwood and three different residential subdivisions with up to 276 dwelling units with over 20 percent set aside for open space and trails.

Steve Shuttleworth and Jerry Haire of Zephyr Development discussed how the distribution of single family lots had evolved after their proposed 40 foot greenway around the perimeter adjacent to Woodmoor had been criticized by the Woodmoor Improvement Association (WIA.) The developers said they had essentially adopted the WIA covenants and construction guidelines with a few minor changes and limited the number of drive through fast food pads to two. They had also agreed to not having tall houses on lots contiguous to Woodmoor residences to minimize the impact on views of the Front Range and Palmer Divide.

Several residents of the Tri-Lakes region spoke in favor of the project saying that Beggs was a local resident who had built many quality projects in the area, would do a good job, and recommended approval. A few residents spoke neither in favor or opposition expressing the hope that all the proposals would be developed as presented. A few Woodmoor residents spoke in mild opposition expressing concern about CDOT’s ability to manage and control the traffic along Highway 105 and through Woodmoor residential areas. There was also some concern about the control of storm runoffs, drainage, and views.

The major concern was traffic safety for seniors and children who live in Monument Villas and the timing and extent of construction of improvements to Highway 105. There will be a traffic light at the Knollwood intersection and the applicant must build all the acceleration, deceleration, and turn lanes required at the start of the project. However, it will be some time before all the warrants are met for a traffic light at the entrance to the Mormon church on Highway 105 across from which will be one of the two principal accesses to the development. Within the development the extension of Knollwood will curve 90 degrees from south to west and in the future be extended across another commercial property to connect to Jackson Creek Parkway southwest of Monument Villas.

During Trustee questioning, Glenn asked that Beggs consider paying for the construction of an opaque screening fence along the west side of Knollwood to allay concerns of the Monument Villas Association about trash and dust blowing through their neighborhood during construction. Beggs agreed to work out a plan, after noting that a similar fence will also be built on the other side of Knollwood for the same purpose.

There was unanimous approval of the annexation, the rezoning from agricultural to mixed use, and the master site plan. At the next BOT meeting on Aug. 16 the board will address the issue of creation of a metropolitan district which will perform essentially every aspect of town services except police services. This remains controversial to some board members who have expressed concern about the high debt load Triview Metro District has created for residents of Jackson Creek, over $27 million to date for about 600 homes and Monument Marketplace. Also, WED, LLC will have to return to the town for a standard approval process for the area on the northeast portion of the parcel that is planned to be a patio home development.

Due to the length of the Wahlborg hearing the regulation change for kiosk businesses was also continued.

The Trails End subdivision, also called the Labib Property that lies south and west of the adjacent Villages of Monument subdivision was unanimously declared to be eligible for annexation with the first hearings scheduled for Sept. 20.

The business license ordinance for massage therapy was amended to accept national certifications and certifications from Colorado Springs by administrative action by town staff. The town has had difficulty staffing a review board as required by the current ordinance. This revision will allow the staff to act on all the pending requests for licenses at this time.

An intergovernmental agreement (IGA) with the El Paso County Department of Transportation on road maintenance exchanges was approved unanimously. This IGA formalizes long-standing verbal agreements to plow and pave roads such as Old Denver Highway when it makes sense to do a project "straight through" a road segment that goes in and out of the county and town.

A payment of $10,374.14 to GMS, Inc. for various engineering services was approved unanimously. Treasurer Judy Skrzypek provided a spreadsheet titled Planning Escrow Account Billing Project that needs to be reviewed and approved by Davenport and Sonnenburg before bills are prepared and mailed. There is a total of about $66,000 in unbudgeted recoupment that can be collected. A final payment of $24,345.20 and a second payment of $1,575.00 to Layne Western Drilling for well #9 were approved unanimously.

The preliminary design for the entry display for Historic Monument to be built on the southwest corner of Highway 105 and Second Street was unanimously approved including the additions recommended by the Parks and Landscape Committee which included three flag poles, electricity for holiday lighting, and pillar lighting. Davenport noted that the landscape architect had provided unsolicited additional plans for enhancing the entire block of Second Street down to Beacon Lite and beyond. The board rejected plans to add trees between Highway 105 and Beacon Lite at this time.

The board concurred with the county’s plan to give the Woodmoor Veterinary Clinic a variance through the north end of lots between the clinic and Knollwood. County road construction on Highway 105 eliminated the cli