Colorado Springs Planning Commission Meeting - December 10, 2025
Colorado Springs Planning Commission Meeting - December 10, 2025
The Colorado Springs Planning Commission convened on December 10, 2025, at 4:15 PM to address a range of development appeals, rezoning requests, urban renewal designations, and code amendments. The meeting featured significant deliberation on the appeal of the Colorado Springs Temple development plan, focusing on spire height and visibility codes, and a major discussion regarding the Palmer High School expansion, specifically the vacation of a public right-of-way to create a unified campus. Commissioner Ksapilovich resigned from the commission, and several members provided recusal statements regarding the Palmer High School project due to professional or organizational affiliations. The Commission unanimously approved the Urban Renewal Plan for the Moreno-Cascade area and ordinance updates to the Sign Code, while passing motions with conditions and modifications on the Temple and Palmer High School items.
Consent Calendar
- Item 5A (CUP 25-0021): Approved for Exotic Crops, LLC.
- Item 5B (URAP 25-001): Approved for Audysc at North Weber.
- Item 5C (CPC 2722): Rules and procedures for the City Planning Commission; pulled from the calendar for discussion.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Disclosure of Interest: Commissioner Andrea Slattery disclosed her role as Vice President of the Flying Horse Homeowner Association board regarding the Temple Appeal, noting the board has not taken a public position. Attorney Michael Kuhn (Appellant) stated no objection to the temple itself but opposes the spire's design.
- Public Support (Temple Appeal): Multiple speakers, including residents Nathan Wood, Mike Law, Wayne Williams, and community leaders, expressed full support for the temple, citing its spiritual significance, architectural beauty, and economic benefits to the Flying Horse neighborhood. Several speakers, including Jody Ellsworth and Ed Ellsworth, expressed support for maintaining the current design and opposed screening the spire.
- Public Opposition (Temple Appeal): Dave Phillips, a neighbor, opposed the appeal but requested mitigation regarding 24-hour lighting and tree screening to minimize visual impact on the residential area.
- Public Support (Palmer High School): Students (Ava, Willa, Brooklyn, Arvani), alumni (Judy Owsley), school staff (Krista Burke, Dennis Moore), and community organizations (Chamber EDC, Downtown Partnership) spoke in strong support of the project, emphasizing student safety, the need for a connected campus, and educational improvements.
- Public Opposition (Palmer High School): Neighbors Mariah Osborne, Cheryl Brown, Jeff Hodges, and Tim Scanlon raised concerns about the demolition of three historic homes in the Weber Wasatch district, the necessity of the street vacation, potential traffic impacts on surrounding streets, and the displacement of low-income tenants.
- Public Support (Urban Renewal): A resident of the Mill Street Neighborhood Association expressed appreciation for the developer's engagement and support for the attainable housing component.
Discussion Items
- Rules and Procedures (Item 5C): Commissioner Cecil raised concerns about the discretion of the Chair regarding virtual participation and the procedure for appointing a presiding officer if both Chair and Vice Chair are absent. City Attorney Sarah Bruin and City Attorney's Office representative Trevor Gloss clarified that these issues are addressed by referencing City Council rules (specifically Rule 5A D for presiding officers and general rules for virtual participation), rendering new explicit rules unnecessary. The Commission voted unanimously to adopt the rules without modification.
- Temple Appeal (APPL 25-0008): A detailed debate ensued regarding UDC Section 7.4.203B2. The appellant argued the spire failed the mandatory requirement to "design or screen" to minimize visibility from residential zones. The applicant and staff argued the specific "screening" requirement only applies to features exceeding the height limits in Table 7.4.2F, which the spire does not. City Attorney Sarah Bruin offered an interpretation suggesting the screening requirement might apply to any feature exceeding the maximum height of the zone district, creating ambiguity. The Commission discussed the absurdity of adding physical screens to a 140-foot spire but acknowledged the need to address the "matt finish" clarification and lighting intensity. Commissioner Cecil proposed limiting lighting on the top tier, and Commissioner Cecil and others suggested ratifying the "matt finish" in the development plan.
- Palmer High School Expansion (Items 8A, 8B, 8C): Commissioners debated the vacation of East Boulder Street (Item 8C) to create a "super block." Concerns focused on the loss of a public arterial road, the demolition of three homes in the historic district (though not under a city overlay), traffic impacts on Platte Avenue, and the necessity of the street for public access. Staff clarified that the vacation is legally permissible but permanent, though a future agreement (potentially a reverter or easement) is being negotiated for pedestrian access. Commissioners discussed the timing of the adjacent Platte Avenue reconstruction (PBRTA) and its impact on the conditions of approval. The consensus leaned toward approving the vacation for student safety and campus cohesion, with modifications to the conditions regarding public access (limiting access to off-school hours) and striking the condition requiring collaboration on PBRTA improvements.
- Moreno-Cascade Urban Renewal Plan (Item 8D): Ryan T. Fertiller presented the plan, which covers 1.7 acres including a hotel and residential parcels. Jura Walker (URA Executive Director) confirmed that 77-115 units of "attainable" housing (80-100% AMI) are locked into the plan via the development agreement. Commissioners noted the lack of specific details on the residential parcels compared to previous plans but were satisfied with the inclusion of the housing component and neighborhood engagement.
- Sign Ordinance (Item 8E): Commissioners reviewed the proposed amendment to Chapter 7 of the UDC regarding signs. The discussion clarified that billboard regulations are a separate matter and that the current updates only address minor code clarifications and exemptions. No substantive opposition was raised.
Key Outcomes
- Motion 5C (Rules): Unanimously passed. The Rules and Procedures for the City Planning Commission were adopted.
- Temple Appeal (APPL 25-0008): The appeal was denied with modified conditions. The decision was upheld contingent on a modification to the development plan requiring:
- The spire facade material to be a non-reflective matte finish (ratified in the plan).
- The top tier of the spire shall not be illuminated, except as required by FAA regulations.
- Palmer High School Zone Change (Item 8B): Approved unanimously, recommending to City Council the rezoning of the site from mixed zones (R16, R5, OR) to Form-Based Zone (FBZ-2A) to unify the campus under one zoning district.
- Vacation of Public Right-of-Way (Item 8C): Approved with modifications, recommending to City Council the vacation of East Boulder Street. The Conditions of Approval were modified as follows:
- Modified: An agreement shall be entered into requiring School District 11 to allow public pedestrian and non-vehicular access over the property during off-school hours where student safety is not compromised.
- Struck: The requirement to collaborate on the Platte Avenue (PBRTA) improvements was removed.
- Retained/Re-numbered: An agreement shall be entered into requiring the school district to return ownership of the right-of-way to the City should the district choose to dispose of the property in the future.
- Palmer High School Land Use Plan (Item 8C - Part of the item): Approved unanimously, consistent with the zoning and vacation approvals.
- Moreno-Cascade Urban Renewal Plan (Item 8D): Approved unanimously, recommending to City Council that the plan is consistent with Plan COS.
- Sign Ordinance (Item 8E): Approved unanimously, recommending to City Council the adoption of the ordinance amending Chapter 7 of the UDC regarding signs.
Note: Commissioner Robinson abstained on the Palmer High School vacation motion due to a conflict of interest regarding a proposed condition.
Meeting Transcript
All right, good morning. The Colorado Springs Planning Commission public hearing for December 10th, 2025 is now called to order. The planning commission is composed of nine members appointed by city council to review various development applications and proposals. Planning commissioners are community volunteers with expertise across a wide variety of disciplines. Each commissioner acts independently and carefully assesses all the information and evidence presented to make their decision. The city planning staff facilitate the process for application, and this commission reviews a variety of applications governed by city code. Some applications require the planning commission to be the final decision authority, and for others, the planning commission is a recommendation body to city council. Throughout the hearing, we will require everyone to conduct themselves respectfully. Understanding that others may have different views from your own. Disrespectful words or actions, speaking out of order when not recognized by the chair, and the use of profanity will not be tolerated. For items presented on today's agenda, the city planning staff will give a presentation on the application, followed by the applicant, who will have 30 minutes to present the details of the application. For any items being heard on appeal today, the appellant and applicant will be given equal time. Public comment will be taken after these presentations, starting with public comment in support of the application or the appeal, followed by public comments in opposition to the application or the appeal. Each citizen will have three minutes to speak. Please keep comments brief and focus on the issues at hand. Please respect other attendees' right to both listen and be heard. Once public comment is complete, the applicant will have a rebuttal period to respond or address any comments. At the conclusion of the applicant's rebuttal, the discussion will move up here to the dais for commissioner consideration. Please go ahead and uh conduct the roll call. Vice Chair Hansler here. Commissioner Cecil. Here. Commissioner Slattery. Here. Commissioner Robbins. Here. Chair Casey. Here. Commissioner Clemens. Here. Commissioner Gidiano. Here. Commissioner Willoughby. Here. Thank you. We have eight members present. Yeah, do we have any changes to the agenda or postponements? None from our side. Okay, moving on to communications. I just want to point out uh it's been announced to the commissioners, but commander Commissioner Ksapilovich has moved outside of Colorado Springs and has resigned from the commission. I want to thank him for his service to the commission. Mr. Walker. Yeah, I also want to say thank you to uh Assad for his service and uh good luck. Um we will have a uh replacement uh full time for you after the city council meets in January, third first meeting. So should be in time for uh your next meeting. Um is this my uh communications time? Okay. Just a couple of other quick things. First of all, seasons greetings for all of you.
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