money Land annexation for new Pueblo jail wins initial approval from planning and zoning
Plans are moving forward on Pueblo County’s new $140 million jail after the Pueblo Planning and Zoning Commission on Wednesday recommended annexation of the 70-acre site into Pueblo city limits.
The site is located west of 24th Street and Pueblo Boulevard. It will include 26 acres for the new jail, 44 acres for mixed-use commercial development and the new Medal of Honor Boulevard, an additional route connecting Pueblo and Pueblo West.
Scott Hobson, acting director of Pueblo Planning and Community Development, told the commission Wednesday that the annexation is “a logical extension of city boundaries.” If Pueblo City Council agrees with the commission and gives a green light to the annexation proposal, the county will pay to extend and upsize a sanitary sewer line to the site, which will be financed in part by federal American Rescue Plan Act funds, Hobson explained.
County officials also have applied to the Pueblo Board of Water Works for expansion of water service to the site. A separate agreement between the city and county will outline costs to extend the Medal of Honor Boulevard from 24th Street to Joe Martinez Boulevard, Hobson said.
The remaining 44-acre site will be rezoned from agricultural once that plot is ready for build-out, Hobson said.
The commission voted unanimously to recommend Pueblo City Council approve the annexation.
More on proposed jail: Pueblo County breaks ground on new jail, announces name of boulevard extension
QuikTrip gets initial OK
In other business Wednesday, the commission reviewed a subdivision proposal for a QuikTrip convenience store.
The store will be located on a 26-acre parcel north of West Pueblo Boulevard and Lake Avenue at the former drive-in movie theater site. The remaining three lots will be available for future commercial developments.
“This will be our first store in Pueblo and we are very excited to be neighbors with you guys," said Daniel Chambers of QuikTrip Corp's Tempe, Arizona office.
QuikTrip was founded in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in 1957 and has more than 900 stores in Oklahoma, Kansas, Iowa, Georgia, Nebraska, Texas, Arizona and South Carolina. Four Colorado stores are located in the Denver metro area.
Neighborhood resident Bob Elliot voiced concerns about traffic on residential streets such as Orman Avenue, Cedar Street and Oakland Avenue. Planning and Zoning Commission Chair Mike Castellucci also addressed the issue of access via residential streets.
“I think that is everyone’s concern and that will be adequately addressed,” when the company applies for a building permit, Castellucci said.
Beritt Odom, principal planner for Pueblo’s Department of Planning and Community Development, said a 10-foot buffer and landscaping will be required between the commercial development and the residential neighborhood, so traffic will not be allowed to access the residential area from the QuikTrip site. The commission voted unanimously to recommend Pueblo City Council approve the subdivision.
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Chieftain reporter Tracy Harmon covers business news. She can be reached by email at tharmon@chieftain.com or via Twitter at twitter.com/tracywumps.
This article originally appeared on The Pueblo Chieftain: Pueblo County jail site annexation wins initial approval
