COS On-Call Planning Services
COS selected Woolpert to conduct on-call planning services. The city of Colorado Springs is the second-most populous city in Colorado and boasts a thriving community and extensive business reach.
As an enabling project to the airport master plan (AMP), Woolpert first completed a land use compatibility study to analyze existing and planned land uses on and around the airport to ensure that both the airport and the community can continue to thrive and grow in harmony. The primary issue and challenge of this project was to address the pending residential and business development near the airport. The airport and city were concerned that existing land use controls were not adequate to allow for future airport growth in the face of encroachment. To meet the needs of this challenge, Woolpert leveraged industry leading experts in the area of land use and property legal issues.
The team was able to clearly establish definable guidelines for over 80 land uses surrounding the airport as well as determine a procedure the airport’s staff and board could follow in reviewing land use applications. The study made recommendations to jurisdictions surrounding the airport to implement land use policies as well as zoning and building ordinances that balance the current and projected future needs of the airport with the needs of the community and property owners. The project developed new airport noise contours based on forecasted activity levels and overall airport capacity. An extensive outreach campaign was created as a part of the project to gain critical input from neighboring jurisdictions and Airport Advisory Commission members.
Woolpert began the AMP in 2021. Since the last AMP update in 2017, both the city and the airport experienced rapid growth driven by commercial and residential development. This expansion took place on airport property and immediately adjacent to COS property lines. The new AMP will ensure FAA design standards are met so all proposed landside and airside improvements remain eligible for airport improvement program grants.
A unique component of this master plan is a close examination of a significant hotspot on the airfield and identification of solutions to decouple two of the runways. Woolpert is exceeding the traditional master planning deliverables by delivering design plans which will support better understand construction, phasing, and costs associated with the project.
Client
Colorado Springs Airport (COS)
Location
Colorado Springs, CO