Colorado Springs has begun the process of updating its aging annexation plan to better guide how, when and where the city, currently spanning about 200 square miles and home to nearly 500,000 residents, will grow.

“What I hope to get out of this process is an annexation plan that discusses, above and beyond, the physical components of annexation,” Director of Planning and Neighborhood Services Peter Wysocki told the City Council during a work session this week. “… This is beyond just, ‘Should we annex a piece of property or not?’ but ‘How should we grow as a city?'”

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An existing 2021 intergovernmental agreement with El Paso County that paves the way for dense new development to be more easily annexed into the city requires Colorado Springs to develop the new comprehensive annexation plan, called AnnexCOS, said Wysocki and representatives with consultant Logan Simpson, Inc.

The update is also required by the city’s 2019 comprehensive plan, PlanCOS.

Colorado Springs’ current annexation guidelines were last updated in 2006.

AnnexCOS must include policies that will evaluate the impacts on and inclusion of county infrastructure and services. It must also include a map that identifies areas within 3 miles of existing city limits, and possibly more, that present opportunities for growth and annexation, enclaves and isolated county areas, county roadways that serve incorporated areas, and others.

The plan would incorporate existing city policies that guide land use, such as requirements that there are enough electric, natural gas and water capacity and resources to serve existing demand as well as projected demand from new properties before those properties can annex into Colorado Springs, said Cameron Gloss with consultant Logan Simpson.

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The plan could increase predictability for residents and developers, gauge the appetite for annexation among the community and outline a process for evaluating proposals, Gloss said.

Councilmembers gave high-level feedback for topics they want the final plan to address.

Councilman Mike O’Malley said he wants Colorado Springs to be mindful of taking over too much of El Paso County. He also wants the annexation plan to emphasize incorporating enclaves into city boundaries so city development doesn’t leapfrog over county developments.

He pointed to Cimarron Hills, a roughly 6-square-mile county enclave surrounded by the city with a little under 20,000 residents. It’s built out past the point it could annex into Colorado Springs boundaries, O’Malley said.

“It’s like its own little city in the middle of my district. … We’ve got to be able to take care of large infill areas,” he said.

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Colorado Springs’ 2021 agreement with El Paso County intends to prevent those types of developments by managing annexations together. Gloss said AnnexCOS would also take that into consideration.

Councilman David Leinweber wants the plan to consider how future improvements in technology and government regulation guiding use of utilities will influence development.

Councilwomen Lynette Crow-Iverson and Nancy Henjum expressed interest that the plan would also consider transit and transportation access.

AnnexCOS could take 12 to 18 months to complete. The development process will include engagement with stakeholders including El Paso County, as well as residents, said Megan Moore with Logan Simpson.

Officials plan to host an educational speaker panel, likely in August, that will touch on topics like economics, housing, water and land use, and analyze how those components inform annexation, Moore said.

Wysocki said the panel will include neutral third-party speakers like urban land economists, and not city planning staff or local developers.

For more information about AnnexCOS and to keep updated with public engagement opportunities, visit the city’s project website at coloradosprings.gov/annexcos.