How communities and citizens share interests and partner with the Pikes Peak region’s five military installations will be explored during a series of public meetings related to the Joint Land Use Study (JLUS) underway by the Pikes Peak Area Council of Governments (PPACG).
A series of three public meetings is designed to obtain public feedback on results of research and input gathered over the past 18 months for encouraging land uses compatible with military operations that help preserve their missions and also address community impacts. Public meeting topics include, but are not limited to, ambient noise, air and ground operations, transportation, stormwater/waste water, wildfire mitigation, ongoing military training, security, communication, growth trends surrounding the military installations, and how partnerships could assist with creating open space buffers around installations.
DATE: Monday, June 25
TIME: 5:30 – 7 p.m.
LOCATION: Falcon High School – cafeteria/commons
10255 Lambert Road, Peyton, CO
Enter at the main school entrance, west side of the building.
DATE: Tuesday, June 26
TIME: 5:30 – 7 p.m.
LOCATION: Discovery Canyon Elementary School – cafeteria
1810 North Gate Boulevard, Colorado Springs, CO
PARKING: Park in lot off Old Northgate Blvd., northwest end of the school.
DATE: Thursday, June 28
TIME: 5:30 – 7 p.m.
LOCATION: Fountain Fire Station #1
811 N. Santa Fe Ave., Fountain, CO
PARKING: Parking is limited. Please park along Dale Street or in the dirt lot behind the building, but do not block the fire truck bay doors.
In October 2015, PPACG was awarded a grant from the Department of Defense to conduct a Joint Land Use Study (JLUS). This study examines impacts of existing and future land uses and missions of five local military installations: US Air Force Academy, Fort Carson, Peterson Air Force Base (including Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Station), and Schriever Air Force Base. The study area includes El Paso, Fremont, Pueblo, and Teller Counties, and is a community-driven, cooperative, strategic planning process among the five installations, the surrounding local governments, and other local, state, and federal stakeholders.
“Given the extensiveness of military operations and the number installations located in our area, as well as their significant contribution to the region’s economy, it’s imperative that citizens and community organizations work in collaboration with the installations,” said Brian Potts, PPACG director of the JLUS. “Mutual understanding and shared interests regarding needs and interests of the community as well as of the military installations and their operations is the underlying key factor of the JLUS,” he said.
The goal of the study is to identify shared community interests and methods for supporting partnerships that help the military and communities. The outcome of the JLUS will be a draft study available for public comment in late summer 2018.
The Pikes Peak region’s 16 local governments join together in PPACG to collaborate on issues that cross political boundaries and to reach solutions that benefit the entire region. PPACG’s primary focus is regional planning in transportation, aging issues, and air and water quality.
For more information call 719-471-7080 or visit http://www.ppacg.org/military/jlus