Colorado Springs Planning Commission Meeting - May 14, 2025
STREAMING COPY IN PREPARATION — RECORDING AVAILABLE FROM THE ORIGINAL SOURCE
Colorado Springs Planning Commission Meeting - May 14, 2025
The Colorado Springs Planning Commission convened on May 14, 2025, with 7 members present and 2 absent. Key actions included a 6-1 vote recommending approval of a zone change and land use plan for the Tava Mountain Battery Energy Storage Facility, a unanimous vote to recommend updates to the Public Art Ordinance, and a postponement of a self-storage conditional use item. Public comment was heard only on the Tava Mountain project. The meeting also included communications about a joint training delay and new City Council liaisons.
Consent Calendar
- Approved unanimously (7-0-2) consent calendar with items 5A and 5B pulled. Items approved: 5C (Retail Marijuana Cultivation at 817 Wooten Road), 5D (Retail Marijuana Cultivation at 2211 East Boulder Street), 5E (Use Variance for Revolution Church Child Care Center at 2380 Montebello Drive West), 5F (Nonuse Variance for deck replacement at 6110 Pemberton Way).
Public Comments & Testimony
- Tava Mountain Battery Energy Storage Facility (Items 5A/5B):
- Patrick Meade (property owner): Spoke in support, noting three years of professional work with the applicant and minimal operational impact.
- Joseph Branski (local resident): Spoke in opposition, citing research on battery storage fires and explosions in Germany, Poland, New York, California, and Montana, and expressing safety concerns for nearby residences, parks, and community facilities.
- No online public comments were submitted.
- Public Art Ordinance (Item 8B): No public comments were offered.
Discussion Items
- Tava Mountain Battery Energy Storage Facility (Items 5A/5B): The applicant (esVolta) proposed a 100-megawatt, four-hour battery system on 4.49 acres at 1133 South Royer Street. Staff presented that the zone change from GI to PDZ (non-residential, 180,000 max sq ft, 80 ft height) is needed because battery storage is a major public facility only permitted in PF zone. Community benefits include $4.6 million in taxes over 20 years, reinforcement of local energy reliability, and use of existing transmission infrastructure. Safety features include lithium-iron-phosphate chemistry, NFPA 855 compliance, 24/7 monitoring, emergency response plan, and annual responder training. Commissioner questions addressed contract status with Colorado Springs Utilities (no contract yet, but RFP expected end of 2025), setbacks (10 feet from property lines, 6-foot chain-link fence with barbed wire), explosion mitigation (venting, monitoring, deflagration panels), battery disposal (returned to Chinese manufacturer Sungrow), and incident history (applicant noted improved technology compared to legacy systems). Commissioner Cecil expressed concerns about proximity to rail, health risks from potential fires (citing the Moss Landing incident), and whether the site's use could be more safely located elsewhere, such as the former Martin Drake site. She voted no.
- Public Art Ordinance (Item 8B): Staff presented amendments to the UDC to remove references to the dissolved Public Art Commission and the Public Art Master Plan. New criteria for developer-proposed artwork (used as an offset for development standards) include material review, safe installation, and public visibility. The ordinance does not apply to city-owned art or revocable permits for temporary art on public property. Commissioners discussed the definition of public art vs. artwork, the need for a 10-year durability explanation, and the importance of public process. No opposition was voiced. The motion to recommend approval passed 7-0-2.
- Lot 1 Satellite Square (Item 8A): A conditional use for a self-storage facility was postponed to June 11, 2025, by unanimous vote.
Key Outcomes
- Item 5A (Zone Change): Motion to recommend approval passed 6-1-2 (Commissioner Cecil opposed). Motion by Commissioner Hensler, seconded by Commissioner Casey.
- Item 5B (Land Use Plan): Motion to recommend approval passed 6-1-2 (same vote). Motion by Commissioner Hensler, seconded by Commissioner Casey.
- Item 8A: Postponed to June 11, 2025, by 7-0-2 vote.
- Item 8B (Public Art Ordinance): Motion to recommend approval to City Council passed 7-0-2. Motion by Commissioner Casey, seconded by Commissioner Sipilovic.
- Other: Minutes for April 9, 2025, were deferred to the June meeting. Communications indicated a joint training with City Council on May 20, 2025, is delayed; new liaisons from City Council are Dave Donaldson and Tom Bailey.
Meeting Transcript
Good morning, everybody. Welcome to the Collar Springs City Planning Commission public hearing for May 14th, 2025. The planning commission is comprised of nine members appointed by city council to review various development applications and proposals. Planning commission members are community volunteers with expertise across a wide variety of disciplines. Each member acts independently, carefully assessing all the evidence presented to make their decision. The city planning staff facilitates a process for applications where this body reviews a variety of those applications governed by city code. Some applications require planning commission to be the final decision maker, and for others, planning commission is a recommendation body to city council. Ground rules and procedures. Throughout this hearing, we will require that everyone shows respect for each individual here. Understanding that others may have differing opinions from yours. Unkind actions speaking out of turn or profanity will not be tolerated. For items presented on today's agenda, staff will give a short presentation on the application, followed by the applicant who will have 30 minutes to present the details of the project. Any public comment will be taken after these presentations, and each citizen will have three minutes to speak. Keep comments brief to the point and prepare arguments appropriately. Please respect other attendees' right to both listen and be heard. Melissa, could we go to roll call, please? Vice Chair Foos. Here. Commissioner Hinsler. Here. Commissioner Cecil. Here. Commissioner Rickett. Chair Slattery. Commissioner Robbins. Here. Commissioner Sapilovich. Here. Commissioner Casey. Here. Commissioner Jigiano. Here. Thank you. We have seven present. Thank you. With that, I'll ask if there's any changes to agenda agenda or postponements. None that we're aware of. Communications, Mr. Walker. Yeah, just a couple short things. We talked last week about the possibility of a May 20th training jointly with City Council. I've requested that that be delayed since we don't have the resources particularly to do a good job for that yet. And so for those of you who had it on your agenda, uh you can keep it there for now, and we will make an official uh statement about that uh here shortly. So that's one. The other is that yesterday uh city council did um uh appoint their two new liaisons to the planning commission, and those are Dave Donaldson and Tom Bailey. So those are my communications for now. Thank you. Um approval of the minutes for April. Um the April minutes are not complete. We will review those at our June Planning Commission meeting.
openpublica.com