Neighborhood Planning Program

Land Use Master Plans are plans that predominantly address land use, development, or redevelopment of property.  These include City or community-initiated plans as well as plans submitted by private developers as a first phase of land use approval for their major projects. 

These plans include traditional “neighborhood plans” as well as other community and small area plans. Once adopted, Publicly Initiated Land Use Master Plans ordinarily remain in place for long periods between any amendments.  Under City Code, they are considered to remain “operative” throughout their period of adoption, even though the areas they pertain are often predominantly developed. 

Publicly Initiated Land Use Master Plans typically have two broad purposes.  One is to provide guidance for discretionary land development decisions such as rezoning requests.  The second is to provide guidance for City-initiated activities including public improvements investments. A subset of these plans include “corridor plans” that may have a transportation focus, but which also address adjacent land uses. Depending on their age level of implementation, active web sites may or may not be maintained for these plans.

The city has been divided into twelve planning areas that roughly break each City Council district in half with some plans crossing over council district boundaries where conditions are similar. 
All plan area boundaries are preliminary and may change as Community Plans are undertaken. Community plans cover a large area to foster an environment of shared planning and problem solving while addressing the priorities and needs of each of the city’s more than 70 neighborhoods. 

City staff recognizes that the choice of planning area boundaries is complicated, and there will often be good reasons supporting different boundary choices.  Partly for this reason, the community plan approach acknowledges and is expected to address the particular importance of the interrelatedness between adjoining planning areas.  
Successful community plans will not have a “hard edge”.

The order of undertaking Community Plans has been based on a set of criteria intended to identify which areas could benefit most from these plans in the near-term. It is also important to equitably distribute planning efforts across the city’s geography. Priority may be given to plans that effectively distribute the program’s efforts.  Criteria include:
Presence of other effective and operative public or private master plans, and the number of vacant acres not covered by such a master plan

• The proportion of the land area identified in PlanCOS as a “Changing” or “Traditional” neighborhood
• Other recent/ongoing plans, studies, or assessments of the area which can be supported by a Community Plan
• The number of infill development projects, and the number of controversial development projects
• The average age of development within the area
• The level of activity of Home Owners Associations or other types of neighborhood and business associations
• The diversity of the existing housing stock
• whether any Low-Moderate Income (LMI) census tracts exist in the plan area

The determination of which area will be chosen for next (third) Community Plan will be made at a time closer to when at least one if the ongoing plans is completed. The City expects to be working on two different plans at any given time, each with a process that takes about 18 months from initiation to adoption. However, the schedule will also be dependent on staff and consultant resources available at that time. 

There are many dozens of neighborhoods and homeowner’s associations throughout the City of Colorado Springs, each with their own unique values, visions, and ways of organizing, and there are many areas with no organized representation.  

CONO, a non-profit organization, provides an opportunity for residents to engage with City and County processes through their Neighborhood University program.  The program provides graduates the opportunity to represent their neighborhood and provide input into the Community Plans.  More information on engagement in the program and appointment to the Neighborhood Network Board (NNB) can be found on the CONO website cscono.org. 

The Neighborhood Network Board members are graduates of the University and appointed by CONO to sit on the Community Plan’s Board or steering committee.

In addition to interviews, larger community meetings, and focus group involvement, anyone can attend a NNB meeting.  These meetings are always open to the public and are posted in advance on the City’s calendar https://coloradosprings.gov/ and on the community plan project website. coloradosprings.gov/neighborhoodplans
One of the best ways to provide input is when the city has a live survey up and available at the community planning area project page.
Another great way of getting involved is by contacting the Community Planning area project manager, Daniel Besinaiz at Daniel.besinaiz@coloradosprings.gov or by phone at 719-385-2227.

What does this Community Area Plan mean for the existing Neighborhood Plans in my area?
The general idea is that the existing Neighborhood Plans (including the Westside, Ivywild, Mesa Springs, and Midland amendment Plans) will be an important input into the Greater Westside planning process. 

We will review these plans thoroughly to figure out which recommendations have been completed, which are still in process, or which are no longer relevant - the Westside Plan for example was published over 40 years ago, so of course, a lot has changed.  
When the new plan is adopted, it will supersede the existing neighborhood plans as the primary reference for future development and improvements. This new plan will be a one-stop-shop for a new vision and new recommendations for these areas while recognizing and preserving the great history and values the older plans held. 

Topical plans like the City’s bike, housing and parks plans will continue to be applicable, but may be further informed and augmented by a more recently adopted Community Plan.