Residents on Thursday night met with developers to discuss early plans to build hundreds of affordable rental units in the Briargate neighborhood, many repeating concerns about project density, increased traffic and “lack of transparency from the city.”

More than 100 residents, many of whom live in nearby Pine Creek, attended an informational meeting at Library 21c, hosted by representatives for developer DBG Properties of Portland, Ore., which plans to build the Royal Pines Apartments, as the project is currently known. It will be made up of 232 one-, two- and three-bedroom units that will be built within three four-story buildings at the intersection of North Powers and North Union boulevards.

Colorado Springs declares intent to issue $40 million in bonds for affordable rental units in Briargate

Colorado Springs plans to issue $40 million in bonds for over 200 new affordable rental units

Colorado Springs planning and community development officials previously said the units will be marketed toward working families, and the city intends to issue up to $40 million in private activity bonds to build the complex.

Developers set up four stations residents could visit on their own time Thursday night to ask questions directly of developers, architects and city staff who could speak to topics such as the project development plan, financing, site design and amenities, traffic, landscaping and other items.

Residents told The Gazette the meeting’s structure made it difficult for project officials to adequately address neighbors’ worries.

“You can’t hear and there’s so much white noise, it detracts from being able to address neighborhood concerns,” Pine Creek resident Steve Parrish said as the hum of several other concurrent conversations could be heard in the background.

At the various stations, residents repeated concerns they shared last month with the City Council about increased traffic and project density, and questioned whether an attainable housing project is truly needed in the area.

Residents should have the opportunity to give their feedback at an early stage in the public development process, Parrish and Susan Forget, also a Pine Creek resident, said Thursday.

“Citywide, (developments) are being put in and people don’t know what’s happening until the development plan has been approved,” Parrish told The Gazette.

Forget said many people were unaware of the project until recent weeks. Many found out about it through social media and through a Gazette article announcing the city’s intention to use private activity bonds to fund the project, she said.

The city sent postcards notifying only residents who lived within 1,000 feet of the proposed project, she said. The first postcard listed the wrong project address and so the city sent a second, Parrish said; neither postcard mentioned an apartment complex, but list the project description as a “concept plan to allow for commercial or residential uses.”

“If we didn’t already know this was happening, and the postcards didn’t come through, then we would never have known,” Forget said.

Pine Creek resident Nathalie Ingram said the city needs to consider changing its policies on when it solicits public input for development projects.

“At the very least, they need to clean up how they’re doing this process,” Ingram said.

Planning and Community Development Director Peter Wysocki, who spoke with residents at Thursday’s meeting, said because the land is already zoned to allow multifamily residential uses such as apartment complexes, city planning staff can administratively approve the development plan. This means the city Planning Commission or City Council would not hear the proposal during a public meeting unless an individual or a group appealed the city’s administrative decision.

Once the development plan is submitted, the city notifies property owners within 1,000 feet of the project’s proposed location, posts a notification poster on the site, and notifies the homeowner’s association and the city’s Council of Neighbors and Organizations, Wysocki said.

“That tells people that the application is filed and they can provide their comments and feedback” to planning staff, he said. 

Controversial 250-home development planned for northeast Colorado Springs wins approval in second bid

The public appeals process is another avenue by which residents can share their concerns about the project, Wysocki said.

Eric Grodahl, a principal with developer DBG Properties, said the company submitted a development plan for the Royal Pines Apartments to the city on Monday. The development plan outlines the proposed building footprint, setbacks, land uses, traffic access, parking, easements and landscaping, for example.

Residents also questioned on Thursday whether an attainable housing project was truly needed in the area. 

Grodahl said a feasibility study showed a need for attainable housing in Briargate. Market rents have increased “substantially over the last year” on Colorado Springs’ north side, said Steve Posey, the city’s former Community Development Division manager who stepped into a new role late last month as the city’s new chief housing and community vitality officer.

Residents said Thursday they were also concerned about traffic and emergency evacuations, with only one entrance and exit point into the complex.

Project officials said they would conduct a traffic study that must be approved by the city and would consider building a second access point as part of the project.

Plan for Colorado Springs apartment complex for homeless young adults gets greenlight