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Monument board approves Sanctuary Pointe

Photos by John Heiser

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Below: Douglas Stimple, CEO of Classic Homes, developer of the Sanctuary Pointe project. Behind Stimple are Town Clerk Scott Meszaros and Town Manager Cathy Green. 

Below: (clockwise) Town Attorney Gary Shupp, Mayor Byron Glenn, Trustees David Mertz, Tommie Plank, Timothy Miller, Gail Drumm, Travis Easton, Steven Samuels. 

Below: Sanctuary Pointe Sketch Plan approved Nov. 20.

the sketch plan as a PDF file. This is a 6.1 Mbyte file and will take about 35 minutes to download at 28.8. To view and print the file, you will need to download and install the free Acrobat Reader Program.

The continuation of the hearings on Classic Homes’ Sanctuary Pointe development was held at the regular Monument Board of Trustees (BOT) meeting Nov. 20. About 50 citizens attended the meeting. All members of the board were present.

Before the continuation of the Sanctuary Pointe hearings began, Mayor Byron Glenn advised the audience that he would limit comments or expel audience members if there was unruly behavior.

Tom Kassawara, director of Development Services, presented the report by principal planner Karen Griffith, who was on vacation. The report highlighting the changes since the Nov. 6 hearing noted:

The revised land use summary:

As at the Nov. 6 hearing, John Maynard, a land planner for NES, Inc., and Jeff Hodsdon, a traffic engineer with LSC Consultants, gave the developer’s presentation in support of the annexation and sketch plan.

Hodsdon presented the following measurement of existing traffic (in average vehicle trips per day):

He then said that based on the prior plan of 640 houses, the project would generate 6,220 additional trips. He said the distribution of those trips would be:

Hodsdon concluded:

Hodsdon noted that many of the intersections will operate at LOS C or better. Hodsdon added, "LOS C is good." The Colorado Department of Transportation defines LOS C as follows: "Represents a constrained constant flow below speed limits, with additional attention required by drivers to maintain safe operations. Comfort and convenience levels of the driver decline noticeably."

LOS D is defined as follows: "Represents traffic operations approaching unstable flow with high passing demand and passing capacity near zero, characterized by drivers being severely restricted in maneuverability." Hodsdon noted that LOS D is considered acceptable according to town regulations.

In response to criticisms of the volume of traffic he had assumed would go east and use Roller Coaster Road and Highway 83, Hodsdon reported the results of a sensitivity analysis in which half of the eastbound traffic from the project was redirected to go west on Baptist Road. He said that even with that change, the intersections operated at LOS D or better.

In addition to the points made earlier by Kassawara, Maynard noted the following:

Maynard concluded, "We have addressed your concerns."

Glenn opened the public hearing with a request that only new issues be brought up.

Ridge at Fox Run resident Jim Finwick gave a presentation urging the BOT to require that:

Kingswood resident Lewis Farmer expressed appreciation to the developer for his willingness to make the connection to Kingswood Drive discontinuous but noted that it might become a continuous connection, with attendant increased traffic, to satisfy concerns of other entities such as the fire protection district.

Ridge at Fox Run resident Steve Waldmann said Hodsdon did not explain the assumptions that produced the projected traffic counts for the development. Waldmann noted that 85 percent of the existing Baptist Road traffic goes to and from the west and only 15 percent goes to and from the east, yet Hodsdon said 33 percent of the new traffic would go east.

Kingswood resident Mike Wermuth expressed concern that the Triview Metropolitan District, which would supply water, sewer, and road service to the proposed development, is "on the cusp of what it can handle." He added that Triview is $46 million in debt and has consistently underestimated costs and over-estimated revenue. He also noted that the proposed annexation area is not shown as a potential annexation area on the land-use maps in the town’s comprehensive plan.

Ridge at Fox Run resident Kelly Christner said that the second high school and I-25 Baptist Road interchange projects were "late to need" and illustrate that much of the infrastructure is already at capacity.

Hodsdon said he is a registered professional engineer with 13 years of experience in traffic engineering. He said that the variables in modeling traffic are "difficult to predict" but that in the sensitivity analysis with only 16 percent of the traffic traveling to and from the east, the intersections were still no worse than LOS D. He added that a more detailed traffic analysis would be done at the site-plan stage.

In response to Trustee Tim Miller’s question regarding the split of northbound vs. southbound traffic, Hodsdon noted that there is employment in Monument and north of Monument such as the Denver Tech Center that would account for traffic in that direction. He said the 28 percent of the new traffic projected to use Higby Road is a "reasonable amount."

Douglas Stimple, CEO of Classic Homes, stated:

In response to a question from Miller about Finwick’s figure of .64 dwelling unit per acre average in adjacent developments, Kassawara said the concern was about directly adjacent densities, not overall averages. He said the concern has been addressed. He added that the developer could have proposed clear-cutting and eliminating the open space and achieved the same average density with larger lot sizes.

In response to a question from Trustee David Mertz, Maynard said Classic would equip the parks with playground equipment. Triview would maintain the parks.

Glenn noted that the town is considering increasing park improvement fees.

Responding to a question from Glenn, Maynard said the project will be phased, starting in the east where the collector road intersects Baptist Road.

Miller asked what the likely development of this land would be if it weren’t annexed to the town. Town Manager Cathy Green replied that if it were developed in accordance with the county’s Tri-Lakes comprehensive plan, it would be at lower density and would use individual wells and septic systems or would be served by the Donala Water and Sanitation District. She said that although the town would lose property taxes, it would still receive sales tax from purchases by residents.

Trustee Gail Drumm said, "I hate to put Jackson Creek people more in debt." He added, "I wonder if this is a bridge too far to be going that far east."

Trustee Tommie Plank said, "When the county approved Fox Run, they increased the density considerably."

Trustee Travis Easton said, "Look at the multifamily off Higby. There is no way to know what the county would do with this."

Trustee Steve Samuels said the developer should take care of the main arteries first and phase the construction traffic.

Mertz thanked the citizens for getting involved and the developer for making concessions to the citizens’ concerns.

Glenn thanked the residents for the respect they had shown and thanked Classic for its patience.

On the separate motions for annexation of each of the three additions, the vote in each case was 5-2, with Drumm and Miller voting no.

The sketch plan was unanimously approved after adding the following conditions:

Eight payments over $5,000 were unanimously approved:

The meeting adjourned at 10:03 p.m.

A time for sharing

Below: Ron Lance rings the bell for the 2006 Salvation Army Red Kettle Champaign. The bell ringers at Safeway, King Soopers, and Wal-Mart in the Tri-Lakes area are volunteers from Monument Hill SERTOMA and the Lewis-Palmer SERTEENS. Last year contributions from the Tri-Lakes area Red Kettles was $33,000. 100% of the contributions are used to help people in need in the El Paso County community. Photo and information by Mike Wicklund.

Below: During the Nov. 6 BOT meeting in the D-38 Learning Center, Kingswood resident Carol Farmer explains that proposed Sanctuary Pointe lots adjacent to her property are much smaller than her lot and asks the Monument Board of Trustees to require Classic Homes to modify their sketch plan. At the Nov. 20 continuation of the hearing, Classic Homes presented a revised sketch plan with reduced densities near Farmer’s home. Photo by Jim Kendrick

Below: Monument’s Principal Planner Karen Griffith explains Sanctuary Pointe annexation proposal to Monument Board of Trustees on Nov. 6 in the Lewis-Palmer D-38 Learning Center. Seated next to her is Monument's Director of Development Services Tom Kassawara. Photo by Jim Kendrick

Below: Kingswood Drive as seen from Baptist Road. Photo by John Heiser

A large crowd attended the Nov. 6 meeting of the Monument Board of Trustees (BOT) for hearings on annexation, rezoning, and sketch plans for Classic Homes’ Sanctuary Pointe development. The board also approved a resolution giving a 10-year rebate to Team O2 Investments LLC for sales tax, user’s fees, building materials tax, and personal property tax for its proposed development of the Outrageous Oasis water park next to the Air Force Academy, between I-25 and the railroad tracks. All members of the board were present.

Mayor Byron Glenn said that Our Community News had published information regarding the agreements reached by the board and Team O2 Investments during and after an executive session at the BOT meeting on Oct. 16 that was not entirely correct. Glenn said the board had accepted the concept of an incentive package but had not officially approved anything. He said the resolution for the incentive package would be considered later in the evening.

Green reported the following regarding tax collections within Piñon Pines Metropolitan District 3:

"At their regular meeting on October 16, the Board voted 6-0 to approve an agreement between the Town of Monument and the Team O2 Investments LLC. This agreement contains an economic incentive package for the development of a destination family resort. This resolution containing the same basic agreement will provide better record keeping for the Town of Monument. The resolution also provides more detailed information for the use of the incentives. In summary, the incentives include:

1. Ten-year rebate of the Town’s share of sales tax.

2. Rebate must be used on site improvements and not on the building itself or on inside furnishings.

3. Ten-year rebate of Town’s share of personal property tax.

4. Rebate of user’s tax fee (one time).

5. Property tax will be collected and used for increased law enforcement to be reviewed annually.

Financial Impact: The Town is rebating sales tax for ten years; however, it is sales tax that is not currently being collected and will not be collected unless and until development takes place on this site."

The resolution states, "The Town will not rebate the town’s portion of property tax, and will instead apply these funds to the Monument Department of Law Enforcement for the purpose of public safety. If calls originating from the Resort District exceed three-hundred fifty-seven calls per year, an amount of funds equaling the cost of additional calls will be withheld from the sales tax rebate. The calls will be monitored on an annual basis."

The resolution also states, "The ten year time frame will begin the day the Outrageous Oasis Water Park Resort opens for business."

Green said the rebated tax revenue would be used for construction of curbs, gutters, sidewalks, and road improvements.

Glenn opened a public hearing for citizen comments on Green’s proposed resolution due to recent newspaper articles on the issue. There were no citizen comments, however.

Trustee Tommie Plank pointed out that this was a rebate for the purpose of improvements, not a tax waiver. Developers are normally required to install trails, landscaping, and curbs and gutters during the site plan approval under design guidelines recommended by the town staff and imposed by the BOT.

Trustee Gail Drumm said the resort would provide jobs to local youths.

Trustee Steve Samuels said that the region has no comparable family-oriented resort.

Glenn said the proposed rebate was not favoritism for Team O2. He also said he had written a letter to area residents that was published by OCN (Nov. 4 edition, page 35) that emphasized that this proposed rebate had nothing to do with the BRRTA sales tax ballot question. His letter said, in part, "The portion of the sales tax that is rebated (2 percent) must be used on the ‘public face’ of the project: landscaping, road enhancements, street lighting, decorative fountains, etc."

The tax rebate incentive resolution was unanimously approved.

Before the Sanctuary Pointe hearings began, Glenn advised the audience that he would control comments to prevent the unruly behavior exhibited at the Sept. 13 Planning Commission hearings on this land use issue. He said that if similar unruly behavior occurred again, individuals, or if necessary, the entire audience, would be removed by Monument police.

The land owner is Pulpit Rock Investments of Colorado Springs. The developer is Classic Homes of Colorado Springs.

Serial annexation procedure proposed: The Sanctuary Pointe parcel is long (east-to-west) and narrow (north-to-south). The narrow western boundary of the 460-acre parcel is contiguous with the town. The other boundaries are not.

To meet the state’s one-sixth contiguity requirement, the western 12.7-acre portion of the Sanctuary Pointe property, called Addition 1, would have to be annexed first. The western boundary of Addition 1 is contiguous with the northeast corner of the recently annexed Promontory Pointe parcel, as well as the southeast corner of the recently annexed Home Place Ranch parcel.

The middle 240.1-acre portion of Sanctuary Pointe, Addition 2, which has at least one-sixth contiguity with Addition 1, would become eligible for annexation after the western portion becomes part of Monument.

After the middle addition is annexed and is also a part of the town, the eastern 206.6-acre portion of the parcel, Addition 3, could be annexed in the same fashion due to its contiguity with the new town boundary on the east side of Addition 2.

This method is called serial annexation, from the first to the last addition in a specific series so as to meet contiguity restrictions in state statutes.

The entire project is bordered on the north by the Higby Estates development (county RR2), on the east by Fox Run Regional Park (county), on the south by the Ridge at Fox Run, Fox Pines, and Kingswood Estates (county RR3), and on the west by Promontory Pointe and Home Place Ranch (Monument PD).

Hearing process defined: Green gave an overview of the staff’s proposed hearing process.

First to be discussed would be three annexation resolutions, one for each of the three Sanctuary Pointe additions, which would declare that the developer’s serial annexation requests were in compliance with legal requirements of state statutes and eligible for subsequent hearings by the board.

If the board were to find each of the three additions to be eligible, Classic Homes would then ask the board to annex and assign town planned development (PD) zoning to each addition by a separate ordinance in turn.

If the board were to pass these three annexation and zoning ordinances, it would next be asked by Classic to determine whether or not to accept the proposed PD sketch plan for the entire parcel.

Town Attorney Gary Shupp noted that the first three resolutions required a public hearing under state statutes, unlike most resolutions presented to the board. He also noted that comment letters submitted to the town staff by some citizens had questioned the legality of serial annexations, as proposed by the Sanctuary Pointe developer. Shupp stated that serial annexations are an accepted practice and comply with Colorado statutes.

Glenn said all citizens wishing to make comments on any aspect of this process were to be sworn in by a court reporter hired specifically to document the Sanctuary Pointe hearings. Numerous citizens then stood and were sworn in.

Annexation eligibility hearing: Shupp asked Monument’s Principal Planner Karen Griffith a series of questions regarding the legality of the developer’s annexation requests. Griffith affirmed that:

Griffith also stated that the Sanctuary Pointe project clearly meets all town annexation policies and that the Planning Commission had unanimously approved the proposed annexation and PD zoning.

John Maynard, a land planner for NES, Inc., gave the developer’s presentation in support of the resolution. He noted that the land is contiguous to the town, is within the three-mile planning area specified in the Monument Comprehensive Plan, the cost/benefit analysis is positive for the town, and utility and municipal services are all available to the site. He added that the developer’s request for PD zoning meets town requirements as well.

Glenn opened the public hearing, but there were no comments on eligibility for annexation. The board unanimously approved each of the three resolutions on the eligibility of the three annexation requests.

Annexation and PD zoning requests discussed: Griffith said each of the three serial annexations and PD zoning requests complied with the Monument Comprehensive Plan:

There were no comments from referral agencies on the proposed annexation and PD zoning. The Planning Commission had unanimously recommended approval on Sept. 13, with conditions requiring Classic Homes to resurface Kingswood Drive to meet town and county approval requirements, that all internal parks and trails will be open to public use, and actual densities will take into consideration topography, natural vegetation, and infrastructure.

Griffith summarized comments in letters from homeowners associations:

Other statements in the letters were:

In addition to her previous statements on some of these issues, Griffith reported that Sanctuary Pointe development would generate over $10.6 million in one-time and use tax fees as well as about $800,000 per year of property and other tax revenues. Development would also provide additional financial stability and excess groundwater to Triview.

Sanctuary Pointe will contribute traffic impact fees to the Baptist Road Rural Transportation Authority (BRRTA) for widening Baptist Road east of I-25, and to a newly formed Triview Metro District special road improvement district for construction on Higby Road and Old Post Road.

Zoning map amendment: Griffith reported Classic’s choices for land use:

Although this table would imply a range of 570-895 dwelling units, the proposed actual maximum of 650 houses on about 460 acres yields a gross density of about 1.42 dwelling units per acre. Griffith said the proposed rezoning to planned development concurs with the town’s comprehensive plan. There were no referral comments from other agencies. Formal comments from neighboring homeowners’ associations and the Northern El Paso County Coalition of Community Associations (NEPCO), a coalition of HOAs, expressed concern over density, deforestation, overlot grading, traffic generated by the site, and water availability.

Griffith recommended approval of annexation and PD zoning ordinances for each of the three additions, with the following conditions:

Glenn opened the public hearing on Classic’s serial annexation and PD zoning requests. There were no public comments on the three separate annexation and PD zoning ordinances for each of the three additions.

Glenn then asked the board to continue the decisions on these two issues for each of the three additions until the Nov. 20 BOT meeting so the board would know the results of the BRRTA sales tax ballot question to improve the I-25 Baptist Road interchange. He noted that the outcome of this mail ballot election would directly affect future Baptist Road traffic and board decisions on development requests. Glenn also asked the board to concur that only new information would be heard from the public on Nov. 20.

The board unanimously continued the decision on annexation and zoning to the Nov. 20 meeting.

Sketch plan proposal presented: Maynard also presented the developer’s Sanctuary Pointe sketch plan. Maynard acknowledged that some citizen comments would note that he had said there would be 450 homes in the development in a presentation to the Ridge at Fox Run Homeowner’s Association at the Baptist Camp center on Oct. 20, 2005. He said however, that Classic had always intended to propose a maximum of 650 homes, which would result in a gross average density of 1.42 dwelling units per acre on the 460-acre property. (Reporter’s note: Maynard actually said there would be a maximum of 460 homes at the Oct. 20 meeting.)

Maynard said the project would be built over several years in phases from the east end of the property to the west end. The highest densities are proposed on the east end of the parcel, and perimeter densities next to built-out developments would be similar.

The developer’s sketch plan analysis indicates that the planned density of 650 houses on 460 acres is low enough to satisfy the county’s 300-year groundwater requirement. The proposed distribution of various types and densities of houses is dictated by the varying terrain, from flat to steeply sloped. Most houses will be detached single-family dwelling units. Attached houses will be at the eastern end of the property next to the access road from Baptist Road to the Donala water tank.

Griffith reported that the sketch plan met the land use principles and policies of the Comprehensive Plan:

Referral comments were:

Traffic consultant Jeff Hodsdon, of LSC Transportation Consultants, briefly discussed his initial traffic study for the year 2030 and noted that all major intersections on Baptist Road and other regional collectors would remain minimally acceptable at completion.

Triview consultant engineer Chuck Ritter of Ayres Associates reported that the amount of water to be dedicated to Triview by the landowner is more than double that required to meet average Triview service requirements projected at build-out (997 acre-feet per year available vice 442 acre per year delivered at the town’s 100-year requirement).

The many citizen comments included:

Kingswood property owner Carol Farmer stated that the sketch plan called for the highest density of development next to her 5-acre lot.

Maynard’s rebuttal remarks included:

Glenn asked Classic to dedicate the portion of the parcel on the south side of Baptist Road to Fox Run Regional Park to prevent possible claims by the county Department of Transportation that it would no longer maintain this approximately 200-foot-long portion of the county road within the town boundaries.

Trustee Travis Easton expressed concern about Baptist Road traffic but preferred the cluster concept of housing to that used in the design of the Ridge at Fox Run.

Trustee Dave Mertz expressed his long-standing concern that pocket parks are inadequate to the needs of town residents on the east side of I-25 and often remain inadequately furnished by developers.

The board unanimously continued their decision on the sketch plan until Nov. 20.

Director of Public Works Rich Landreth, when asked if there was a timeline for reopening the town’s skateboard park on Beacon Lite Road, said the target date would be spring or summer of 2007. He said he had not yet met with any of the youths or parents who had attended a previous BOT meeting and offered to form a committee for planning future renovation and maintenance activities to help prevent recurrence of loitering and vandalism that led to the park’s closure. Police Chief Jake Shirk said his officers planned to meet with these kids and a youth pastor who was interested in the park’s renovation.

Landreth and Shirk also noted that plans for the new traffic light at Knollwood Drive and state Highway 105 remain stalled due to issues between the Colorado Department of Transportation and Mountain View Electric Association. The light should be installed and operational within 90 days after these two entities resolve their differences.

Glenn asked Director of Development Services Tom Kassawara if the developer of the shopping center just east of the King Soopers center had submitted any grading plans and if the town could apply his surety bond to reseed the vast open areas of dirt that were creating areas of standing water, eroding the property, and creating sedimentation problems. Kassawara said he would again try to get a response from the developer.

Betty Konarski, the town’s representative to the El Paso County Water Authority and Palmer Divide Water Group, discussed near-term plans for both groups and possible town involvement. She also described an economic study prepared by consultant David Bamberger & Associates that evaluated the relative economic contributions that the city of Colorado Springs and its surrounding suburbs make to each other. She said Colorado Springs has asserted for some time that adjacent communities drain revenue and resources from the city, and Colorado Springs Utilities should not deliver water from the proposed Southern Delivery System to other nearby communities.

Konarski stated that the Bamberger study results showed that there is a net $16.8 million benefit to Colorado Springs. While the city spends about $4.4 million per year for services for nonresidents from El Paso County, it gains $21.2 million in sales tax revenue from El Paso County residents who shop in Colorado Springs. The study also concluded that the city and the surrounding communities have and always will "thrive or struggle" together and that regional solutions for water supply problems are more efficient, particularly if they are addressed jointly before the problems occur. Konarski added that a copy of the study had been delivered to the Colorado Springs City Council, which also serves as the board of directors for Colorado Springs Utilities.

Monument resident Lowell Morgan stated that in the past, the Board of Trustees had created a lot of problems and controversy by its "chicanery" of going into executive session, then approving actions after the public and press had left Town Hall. He said he was concerned about the precedent set with Team O2 by renewing a long-abandoned controversial technique. He also said that local residents have opposed incentives in the past and said the board should think very hard about the precedent that would be set by the draft agreement with Team O2 Investments. Green replied that tax incentives had been provided to Synthes.

Police Chief Jake Shirk discussed a few of the slides in a comprehensive formal presentation on recent accomplishments and future plans for the Monument Police Department. His presentation was curtailed due to the length of the agenda and the number of people who were present only for the Sanctuary Pointe hearings. Shirk’s presentation was part of the newly instituted series of department head overviews leading up to the board’s discussion and final approval of the town’s 2007 budget prior to Dec. 15. 

Chief Shirk's presentation as a PDF file. This is a 6 Mbyte file and will take about 35 minutes to download at 28.8. To view and print the file, you will need to download and install the free Acrobat Reader Program.

The board unanimously approved the annual renewal for this restaurant at 271 Highway 105. Monument Police Detective Mark Owens reported that no violations had occurred within the past 12 months.

Seven payments over $5,000 were approved unanimously: