A plan for a 62-home development in eastern El Paso County is another step closer to reality after the planning commission recently approved it for consideration by the county's board of commissioners. The vacant agricultural land is northwest of Peyton.
The proposed subdivision comes from a Monument-based developer and is called Overlook at Homestead. It sits on 350 acres near the intersection of Elbert Road and Hopper Road in unincorporated El Paso County. As proposed, each lot would be five acres and would need wells drilled and septic systems added.
“Each individual lot will have a custom home on it, and each homeowner will drill their own well and design their own septic system,” Kari Parsons, a county planner, said at the planning commission’s June 20 hearing
If approved, the plan would create a metro district, which would monitor well usage from homeowners to ensure there's no overconsumption.
The Board of County Commissioners rezoned the area from agricultural to rural residential land in January.
During a planning commission rezoning hearing last December, neighboring residents expressed concern about water depletion of the Dawson aquifer — part of the Denver Basin — wildlife habitat destruction, and traffic.
“Turning 350 acres into five acre parcels means 70 new wells, foundations, and water septic systems all of which disrupts the top soil and grazing area,” Joan Bennett, a neighbor to the proposed development, said in December. “We have a responsibility to be good stewards to the land, the water and the wildlife.”
Developers plan to dedicate a 25-foot easement to the county for the El Paso County Palmer Divide Regional Trail.
But Commissioner Jeffrey Markewich asked the company if that was enough.
“Most every plan I’ve ever seen has some sort of dedicated open space, are we just not doing that on this particular development?” Jeffrey Markewich asked at the recent planning commission hearing.
County planner Parsons said the rural residential zoning for this specific lot does not require open space.
“This particular development is rural in nature and so with the large rural lots certainly each home isn’t going to fill all of the space within the lot,” Parsons said.
The project comes from Proterra Properties, which has experience building both residential and commercial buildings across Colorado. Homes will cost $1.4 million on average and the developer's financial plan says the project could be complete sometime between 2027 and 2032.
The board of county commissioners is scheduled to review the project on July 25.
An attorney representing the developers said if ultimately approved by the county commissioners, they’ll try to submit a question for the November ballot about creating the special district for the development.
