The Colorado Springs Planning Commission on Wednesday approved a conditional use request that will permit developers to build additional multifamily housing on about 5 acres of land in a planned business center in the Flying Horse development on the city’s north side.

The board voted 7-0, with Commissioners Jim Raughton and James McMurray absent, to allow developer Pulpit Rock Investments to build 30 duplex buildings across seven lots on 5.15 acres of vacant land just north of North Gate Boulevard and on the east side of Rollercoaster Road. The parcel’s existing zoning is planned business center. Sixty total units are planned to be built, a density of 11.6 units per acre, city planner Kyle Fenner said.

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Each duplex will include one two-bedroom unit and one three-bedroom unit, and each will have a one-car garage, according to planning documents.

Building duplexes in this area will provide a more natural transition between the existing single-family detached homes to the north of the project; commercial uses like gas stations, convenience and retail stores, and a bank to the south; Barefoot Park to the west; and nonresidential self-storage use to the east, said Phil Stuepfert, senior project manager for developer’s consultant HR Green Development.

“We think duplex units … are totally appropriate for this property,” he told commissioners. 

The buildings will be about 30 feet high, Stuepfert said, much lower than the allowed 45-foot maximum building height.

The proposal would also provide more housing in this area of the city, where more multi- and two-family residences are desired, Fenner said.

After holding their own neighborhood meeting with about 50 residents in attendance, which the city did not participate in, Stuepfert said developers heard from residents who were concerned the design for the duplexes was too modern and generally did not like the proposed black and white colors of the buildings.

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Drew Balsick with developer Pulpit Rock Investments said they are considering six color options for the new duplexes, including cool and warm tones, and plan not to make every building the same color.

Wanda Knight, the only resident who spoke on the proposal Wednesday and who lives directly near the project site, said she was concerned the new units would increase traffic in the area, that the duplexes would negatively affect the value of existing residential properties, that many of the units would become rental properties, and that the property wouldn’t be maintained and kept clean of trash and debris.

Stuepfert said the Colorado Springs Traffic Engineering Division had no concerns about increased traffic. The Flying Horse development was built to allow more than 4,000 units, he said, so “a lot of those roads are designed appropriately.”

Stuepfert said he didn’t feel existing residential properties would be negatively impacted by new duplexes and said the property would be privately maintained and organized by Classic Communities when built. The units are also planned for sale, he said.

“There will be some rentals initially … but the ultimate goal is to have them all for sale,” he said.

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Planning Commissioner John Almy said he supported the request but wanted developers to think particularly about how the new duplex buildings would fit in with the greater community.

“The design looks to me … more industrial looking,” he said, referring to sketches planners and project developers showed during a presentation Wednesday. “… I’d argue going forward you need to make sure this thing doesn’t stick out because it’s newer architecture … and that in fact it fits nicely.”

The Planning Commission also approved the developer’s request to add nine additional perpendicular parking stalls as part of the project, bringing the total available parking spaces to 114.