Overview
The City of Colorado Springs is working on an Annexation Plan update, AnnexCOS, to fully evaluate the City’s approach to annexations for more fiscally sustainable and resilient land use. The annexation policies will be evaluated in coordination with Colorado Springs Utilities, El Paso County, and other municipalities, as well as our internal and external stakeholders.
Project management for this project is a joint effort between the City of Colorado Springs and Colorado Springs Utilities.
Background
Colorado Springs is a large growing, but also maturing, Home Rule City with a current population of about 490,000 residents (2020) and a land area of approximately 200 square miles. In 2019, the City adopted a new city-wide comprehensive plan, PlanCOS . PlanCOS recognizes that to continue to be a successful City a full update of the Annexation Plan and its supporting policies is needed. This project aims to accomplish this strategic and in-depth analysis of annexation.
Annexation 101
What is Annexation?
Annexation is a change in jurisdiction. In this case, the incorporation of land within El Paso County into the City of Colorado Springs.
An Annexation Petition can be one of four types:
- Voluntary Petition. A minimum of one-sixth boundary contiguity with the City.
- Petition for Annexation Election. The lesser of 75 qualified electors or 10% of the qualified electors may request an annexation election for a specific area.
City-Initiated Annexations can include:
- Enclaves. The unincorporated area must be completely encircled for at least three years and annexed without property owner’s consent. – Needs a Annexation Committee per Statute.
- City-owned land. The City may annex if it meets the contiguity requirements and is the sole landowner.
Annexation is governed by:
- Colorado Constitution
- Colorado Revised Statutes
- Colorado Springs Unified Development Code (Chapter 7) which provides utility extension policies; establishes potential annexation conditions to be imposed in annexation agreements; and sets local procedural requirements and rules for utility service within and outside the City
- The Municipal Code makes provisions for special annexation ordinances; requires annexed properties to be served by City electric and gas; and requires surplus capacity for electric, natural gas, water, and wastewater in order to annex.
- Checkpoint Policy (Council-adopted policy)
- Intergovernmental Agreement between the City of Colorado Springs and El Paso County
The existing Intergovernmental Agreement, dated 4/13/21, between the City and El Paso County stipulates that the City will develop a comprehensive Annexation Plan (Annex COS) including: policies that will evaluate impacts upon and inclusion of County infrastructure and services, and impacts can be known in advance of annexation petitions.
Annex COS will include an Areas of Planning Interest Map including properties within three miles of the existing City limits and may include properties more than three miles from existing City limits such as:
- Annexation and Growth Opportunity Areas
- Limited Annexation and Growth Potential Areas
- Enclaves and Isolated County Areas
- County Roadways Serving Incorporated Areas
- Other County Property
AnnexCOS Committees
Internal Working Group Members. The IWG will oversee development of AnnexCOS, and review and incorporate public feedback into the process.
- Nancy Henjum, City Council
- Brian Risley, City Council
- Andrea Slattery, Planning Commission
- Colby Foos, Planning Commission
Technical Advisory Committee. The TAC will oversee the technical aspects of the process and plan, ensuring that the Plan is coordinated with City departments, Utilities, and
- Charae McDaniel, Chief Financial Officer
- Gayle Sturdivant, Public Works Interim Director
- Britt Haley, Parks Director
- Jessica Kimber, Economic Development Officer
- Catherine Duarte, Housing & Community Vitality
- Adrian Vasquez, Police Chief
- Brett Lacey, Fire Marshal
- Meggan Herrington, El Paso County Planning Director
- Johnna Reeder Kleymeyer, Chamber EDC
- Lisa Barbato, Colorado Springs Utilities
As this project continues further Focus Groups will be created to include other stakeholders in review of AnnexCOS.
Public Engagement
Public Engagement Opportunities
There will be several community meetings throughout the process. Please check back here for further details as they are established or feel free to contact the project management team to be added to our email updates.
Anticipated timeframes for engagement are:
- Education Panel/Speaker Panel: August 2024
- Community Open House on Annexation Goals and Suitability Zones: January 2025
- Adoption Hearings: March 2025
Recap of "Ways a City can grow" speaker panel
As part of AnnexCOS, the City of Colorado Springs and Colorado Springs Utilities hosted a panel titled “Ways a City Can Grow" on Wednesday, Aug. 28 from 6 - 8 p.m. at the William J. Hybl Sports Medicine and Performance Center (4925 N Nevada Ave), with an online attendance option available. The event featured a panel of experts that discussed and shared insights into what cities should consider when looking at growth and annexations, including economic development, infrastructure, state and local trends, environmental impact and quality of life.
The panel of speakers included the Executive Director of the Common Sense Institute Kelly Caulfield, a State of Colorado demographer Nancy Gedeon, Colorado Water Conservation Board Section Chief Russ Sands, Vice President of TischlerBise Julie Herlands and Principal Architect and Founder of TDG Architecture Mark Tremmel.
Watch the Event Recording | Presentation Survey Results | Resident-submitted questions