COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KOAA) — The Colorado Springs Planning Department has given administrative approval to the proposed data center on Garden of the Gods Road.
- Watch News5's coverage of the approval below:
"File an appeal. That's gonna happen," said one opponent recently.
Jason Green, the project applicant and developer, expected an appeal and wants to address it as soon as possible.
"Get this on the docket for the city council so that they can just review," said Green.
The next phase is the appeals process, and there are a lot of questions and misconceptions about how that process works.
A local expert with decades of experience in urban planning, who is on neither side of the data center application offers some perspective on what happens next.
"Something that becomes very apparent is land use is an issue that's able to stir up more emotion than any other issue that takes place in the community," said Les Gruen, president of Colorado Springs-based Urban Strategies.
Gruen is in the business of guiding people through land use issues. In his decades of leading Urban Strategies, he has been on both sides many times.
"It's a complicated issue and that's why I'm in business," said Gruen.
He explains that the process so far in the data center application is standard. There is basically a checklist the planning department follows and then either denies or gives administrative approval.
"Basically that allows for applications that check all the boxes that meet all the criteria for approval don't need to go through any further steps unless that's appealed," said Gruen.
The planning department did give administrative approval, and now opposition can appeal the decision. All it takes is one appeal. Multiple appeals are not looked at like votes.
Arguments in an appeal need to show fault in the application process.
"In the decision there was a law that was broken or something, some code section that was violated so if you can demonstrate those sorts of specific deficiencies, then you have a shot," said Gruen.
Zoning and private ownership are important factors. There is a legal consideration referred to as "use by right." It means that as long as a project complies with basic codes and standards, the property owner is entitled to a permit.
"The neighbors might not welcome that use as much as another use, but it's an allowable use, and it gets back to that notion of use by right," said Gruen.
Opposition needs to show how this project violates city code.
Appeals are restricted to people who live within a certain radius of the proposed project.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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