Colorado Springs commission recommends Lowell Commons rezoning for up to 220 homes
The 5-4 recommendation would cap buildings at 65 feet and six stories. City Council’s next step is a first reading to set a public hearing for Oct. 27.
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Colorado Springs’ Planning Commission voted 5-4 on Sept. 9 to recommend rezoning 1.2 acres near South Nevada Avenue for up to 220 homes, with a height cap of 65 feet and six stories. The commission minutes record separate 5-4 votes on the rezoning and a related modification to the Lowell Neighborhood plan. The votes were recommendations, not final City Council decisions.
The site includes 202, 251 and 252 East Las Animas Street. The proposed zoning would allow up to 184 homes per acre and 950 square feet of ground-floor commercial space. It would remove proposed height bonuses and lodging uses, narrow which projects could qualify for parking reductions, and incorporate the neighborhood’s architectural guidelines.
The applicant told commissioners that units would be classified below 90% of area median income and that financing would run for 40 years. The revised land-use statement and draft rezoning ordinance do not set an affordable-unit count, income eligibility, affordability duration or enforceable covenant. The applicant’s statements therefore are not affordability conditions in the proposed zoning.
Parking and traffic details would be reviewed with a later development plan. The applicant described a goal of about one parking space per home, with roughly 80% in a structure; police parking concerns remained unresolved at the hearing. Residents and commissioners also raised traffic-safety concerns near Las Animas and Nevada.
City staff said the submitted traffic study found the street system adequate for estimated project traffic, but recommended an updated analysis with the development plan to identify any needed street changes, such as turn lanes or crosswalk modifications. The staff presentation also calls for city-standard curb, gutter and sidewalk upgrades, storm-drainage compliance and detailed utility review. Utilities said a water-main connection between South Nevada Avenue and East Las Animas Street would be needed for system redundancy.
City Council’s next step is a first reading to set a public hearing for Oct. 27, 2026.