COLORADO SPRINGS — A 60-acre plot of land near Powers and Old Ranch Road on the north side of Colorado Springs has been rezoned to allow for more housing.
Colorado Springs City Council voted 6 to 2 to rezone the land from park to residential use and also approved a land use plan for the Ovation residential community, which would bring 290 homes to the plot of land.
The land, sitting just northwest of Pine Creek High School, has been the center of debate for over two decades. In 2003 the City Parks Department purchased the 60-acre plot from La Plata Communities, intending to build a city sports complex on the land. The city said the plan faded out in 2016 after a public process revealed residents were not in favor of it. As part of a larger land exchange plan, City Parks agreed to sell the land back to La Plata in 2022 under the agreement the department would apply to rezone the land from park to residential use.
During Tuesday's meeting, some residents of the neighboring Kettle Creek and Bison Ranch neighborhoods brought up concerns about wildfire evacuation plans. Residents said the proposed Ovation neighborhood would have one egress that was already in use by their own neighborhoods.
“Right now we have 290 homes with one way out. So what we’re going to add is another 290 homes with still one way out of the neighborhood," said Jamie Nau, a Kettle Creek resident.
Nau said most neighbors were not opposed to the original plan to build a sports complex on the land. He said they were instead concerned that the plan for the sports complex only included one egress.
During the meeting's public comment portion, other residents said they bought their homes in nearby neighborhoods under the impression the land would remain zoned for park use.
Ultimately, council members voted to approve the rezoning and the Ovation development proposal. Councilmember David Leinweber said the plan meets city code with one egress and said leaving the land undeveloped posed a greater fire risk than turning it into a residential area.
The group of concerned residents said they plan to appeal the decision.
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