Six residents challenge Colorado Springs research park approval
The appeal seeks to overturn approval of two buildings totaling 220,000 square feet. City planners say drainage and related reviews were resolved before approval; the Planning Commission is scheduled to hear the appeal Nov. 12.
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Six residents have appealed Colorado Springs’ approval of a 220,000-square-foot research park on Janitell Road, asking the Planning Commission to reverse the development plan or send it back for a new hearing.
The project, called Vineyards Research Park or Project Primestone, would include two 110,000-square-foot buildings for light industrial and office uses, with outdoor storage, on a 33.79-acre site. The city approved the development plan Sept. 21 and a related final plat Sept. 22.
In their Oct. 1 appeal, the residents argue the approval did not make required findings or adequately define the site’s use and intensity. They say the project was described as a graphics-processing-unit testing laboratory, while its noise analysis modeled 84 air-cooled chillers and four 500-kilowatt diesel generators. The residents argue the city did not adequately assess noise or compatibility with nearby homes, Harrison High School, a youth sports complex and the county jail. They also challenge the drainage, water-quality and geologic-hazard reviews.
The appeal asks the commission to reverse the development-plan approval or, alternatively, send it back for a public hearing and findings on each approval criterion. It does not seek to overturn the related plat, which was recorded Sept. 29, before the appeal was filed. City staff has treated the plat approval as outside the commission’s appeal jurisdiction.
The appeal is scheduled for a Nov. 12 hearing. In its hearing report, city planners say the residents qualified as affected parties, filed on time and perfected the appeal, which stays the development-plan decision. The applicant’s attorney has asked the city to dismiss the appeal, arguing the residents lacked standing and did not submit required materials on time. The commission had not ruled on that request as of Nov. 4.
City planners say drainage, water quality, geologic hazards and Streamside Overlay issues were resolved before plan approval, and that the Stormwater Enterprise accepted a final drainage report. The report describes an on-site retention facility and a private storm drain discharging to Fountain Creek. Channel improvements remain required before the project can receive a certificate of occupancy.