COLORADO SPRINGS — The Colorado Springs Planning Commission voted 5-2 in a meeting Wednesday to approve the development plan of a controversial affordable housing project planned for the northeast side of the city.
The Royal Pine Apartments would bring 232 workforce housing units to North Powers Boulevard and North Union Boulevard. DBG Properties, LLC, the developer, said the units will be rented out to tenants at or below 30% to 70% of the area median income (AMI), which translates to income limits of $21,945 to $51,205 depending on the unit. DBG Properties said the average rent for a one-bedroom apartment would be $1,097.
The developer submitted the complex's first development plan to the city in June 2023. Since then, there has been pushback from many residents nearby, including in the Pine Creek neighborhood. Those against the project said they still have concerns about the compatibility of the apartment with its surroundings, increased traffic, and evacuation routes.
The city said since 2005, the property's concept plan was approved for commercial use. In February 2023 the City Council adopted the Unified Development Code (UDC) as a result of the RetoolCOS project. The city said this turned the former commercial zone districts into mixed-use districts out of the need for more housing opportunities.
In a presentation to the Planning Commission on Wednesday, the city noted they received 371 comments from people about the project. Stephen Parrish, a Pine Creek resident, was one of those people. He said although the Planning Commission approved the apartments, he and other neighbors plan to file an appeal.
“It’s going to be four stories. It’s going to stand out here like a sore thumb," he said. “I’m very disappointed with the Planning Commission’s decision today to discount our concerns.”
Parrish said he and other residents are concerned about how the apartment complex would impact traffic in the neighborhood. The city said commercial properties tend to see more daily trips than residential areas, especially during evening rush hour. Parrish said, however, he remains concerned about fire evacuation routes with a new apartment complex nearby.
“If we have an actual fire and you gotta get 400 vehicles out of these apartments, plus the business patrons, plus the residents of Pine Creek, you’re looking at disaster," he said.
He and nearby residents decided to test their own traffic model by gathering 150 vehicles to simulate an evacuation.
“We set up four staging points and at about 9:40 in the morning on a clear day we said 'Okay go' and everyone converged on the roundabout with an exit at Union, which is likely if we have a fire coming from the mountains," said Parrish.
He said within one minute and five seconds traffic was gridlocked around the roundabout and it took 30 minutes for all the cars to get through the intersection.
Members of the Planning Commission ultimately decided to approve the development plan, citing a need for more affordable housing in the proposed area. Some members said the complex would only add a small percentage of people to the neighborhood and that the traffic study done by the residents was not accurate.
Parrish said the group of residents plans to file an appeal to the decision. A spokesperson for the city said a filed appeal could be heard by the City Council as early as Feb. 13.
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