Plan would separate Springs district and cap debt at $9.538 million
The proposal would keep District 5’s existing services and operations levy limit; city estimates put its 2027 levy about $99 lower for an average Retreat home than under consolidation.
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A proposed plan before Colorado Springs City Council would separate Banning Lewis Ranch Metropolitan District No. 5, which serves The Retreat, from District 1’s consolidated service plan and limit District 5’s debt issuance to $9.538 million. The plan covers about 159 acres southwest of Dublin Boulevard and Banning Lewis Ranch Parkway, the Oct. 12 City Council work-session minutes show.
The proposed debt cap matches the original amounts of the district’s three bond issues: $6.585 million in senior bonds, $1.011 million in subordinate bonds and $1.942 million in junior-lien bonds. The city planning presentation describes the current overall debt limit under Resolution 52-08 as $100 million. The $9.538 million figure is based on original issue amounts, not current outstanding balances. A city response to Council members’ questions reports $9.448 million in bond principal and about $1.509 million in accrued interest outstanding at the end of 2025.
Parcels and associated improvements within District 5’s boundaries are to transfer from District 1 to District 5 as of Dec. 31; the response’s surrounding discussion indicates the transfer is scheduled for year-end 2026. At the end of 2025, District 1 held about $1 million in reserves attributable to District 5 and The Retreat. Some of that money funded District 5’s 2026 operations. The districts will reconcile their accounts at year-end and transfer the proper amount under a Separation Agreement; the response does not say the full $1 million will be transferred.
The proposal would raise the maximum debt levy to 50 mills from the current 30-mill limit, adjusted to Jan. 1, 2008, while leaving the maximum operations-and-maintenance levy at 20 mills. These are levy limits, not rates the district would necessarily collect. The city response estimates the district levy for an average Retreat home at $1,880.62 under the separate plan, compared with $1,979.49 under the consolidated plan — a difference of $98.87, or about 5%. The estimates use assessed values dated Aug. 26, 2026, for taxes collected in 2027, and cover the district levy rather than a homeowner’s full tax bill. The proposal itself would not change residents’ taxes.
Separately, the applicant’s representative estimated at the Oct. 12 work session that the plan would reduce residents’ operating levy by about $60,000 a year. That is an estimate for the district’s operating levy, not a calculated reduction for each property owner. City Planning Director Kevin Walker told Council the change would not make the city responsible for District 5 debt payments.
The Retreat is a 55-and-older community. Under the proposed service plan, District 5 would continue services including private-road and park maintenance, recreation, trash pickup and snow removal. The plan says separation would not change those services or the district’s obligations shared with other districts.
City Council discussed the request at an Oct. 12 work session, where it was listed as an item under study; the work-session video records no vote. The city’s Oct. 12 agenda planner lists a proposed service-plan resolution for the Oct. 27 regular meeting.