Colorado Springs council postpones Kettle Creek district plan consideration
The City Council voted 9-0 on Aug. 11 to postpone consideration of the proposed metropolitan district’s service plan to Aug. 25 because the related annexation plat had not been recorded.
Colorado Springs City Council postponed consideration of the proposed Kettle Creek Metropolitan District service plan to Aug. 25 after learning that the related annexation plat had not been recorded. The council voted 9-0 to postpone the item during its Aug. 11 meeting; it did not approve the service plan on its merits, according to the meeting video.
City Planning Director Kevin Walker told the council the annexation had been approved, but the plat had been routed for signatures and had not yet been recorded. He expected recording within a few days. The available record does not establish whether that occurred.
The Aug. 11 council agenda listed the service plan as a proposed resolution for a district in Council District 2 and identified Aug. 25 as the next formal meeting. The record does not establish that the Aug. 25 hearing has occurred or that the council has approved the plan.
The related project would annex 19.88 acres near Old Ranch Road for a residential development of up to 123 homes, with R-Flex Medium zoning and Streamside and U.S. Air Force Academy overlays. The July 28 meeting agenda lists the proposed annexation, zoning amendment and land-use plan for Kettle Creek Addition No. 1. The site is northeast of Kettle Creek Road and Old Ranch Road, east of Voyager Parkway. The cases are ANEX-25-0002, ZONE-25-0028 and LUPL-25-0014.
City materials describe attached and detached single-family units, two access points, proposed green space and buffers along Kettle Creek. Traffic Engineering accepted the project’s traffic-impact study as complete and adequate, the zoning and land-use materials say. Proposed conditions would require a 155-foot eastbound left-turn lane and 160-foot transition taper at Old Ranch Road and Kettle Creek Road, along with dedication of 13 feet of right of way and an 8-foot public-improvement easement along Old Ranch Road.
The materials record six public comments, including concerns about traffic and pedestrian safety for students walking to Challenger Middle School and Pine Creek High School. They do not include detailed trip-generation figures or establish whether other off-site improvements would be required. The Streamside Overlay calls for additional review of site design, natural features, grading, wildlife habitat, trails, impervious surfaces and stream-bank stabilization. The materials do not provide a parcel-specific environmental impact determination.
The proposed metropolitan district would cover about 20.601 acres. Its July 27 work-session materials estimate 122 residential units — 82 detached and 40 attached — and $5,155,119.66 in public improvements, with up to $8 million in debt authorization.
If the annexation is recorded and the service plan is later approved, the district could finance and maintain listed improvements and services, including streetscaping, sidewalks, stormwater and detention maintenance, snow removal, landscaping, parks and recreation, trash removal, public art and mosquito control. A financing exhibit lists maximum residential-property levies of 50 mills for debt and 20 mills for operations and maintenance, plus a $1,500-per-unit facility fee. Its adjusted target debt levy of 51.102 mills is a financing target, not the stated maximum.
The service-plan resolution says the district could not operate or maintain improvements beyond its listed services without later city approval. Service-plan approval would not complete the district’s formation or authorize bond issuance; court proceedings and an election process would still be required.