Colorado Springs officials have launched a new webpage they say will provide more transparency and clearer communication about proposed development projects across town.

The new development tracker webpage includes an interactive map that shows land use applications either under review or recently approved by the city. On the map, users can find “clear direction” to locate additional project information. The webpage also consolidates information about how residents can participate in public hearings and whether there are upcoming neighborhood meetings for a proposed development, according to a recent news release from the city.

In the future, the webpage will include tutorials outlining the review process and how people can engage in it.

“A key part of our review process for a development application is receiving comments from residents, and we want to ensure that process is as transparent and clear as possible,” acting Assistant Planning Director Katie Carleo said in the release.

Over the last year, some residents have criticized at public Planning Commission and City Council meetings the city’s notification process for proposed land development projects.

As part of that process, city officials send mailers to property owners within a 1,000-foot radius of a proposed project, erect informational posters on the subject property, publicize public hearings on the city website and calendar, and notify homeowners associations and neighborhood associations about proposed projects.

For example, some Pine Creek neighbors who objected to the Royal Pines Apartments being built near their neighborhood at the intersection of North Powers and North Union boulevards said last summer many of them did not receive postcard notifications about the apartment project because they lived further than 1,000 feet of the subject property.

The postcards for the Royal Pines Apartments also first listed the wrong project address and so the city sent another; neither postcard mentioned an apartment complex, but described it as a “concept plan to allow for commercial or residential uses,” The Gazette previously reported.

The city will continue posting and mailing notifications. The new development tracker website will provide more opportunities for residents to stay informed about proposed projects and provide their feedback, city spokesman Max D’Onofrio said in an email.

The city launched the new webpage after Mayor Yemi Mobolade’s staff worked with the City Council to review land use processes and make changes to improve them, D’Onofrio said. This update is one part of that review, he said.

Steve Parrish, a Pine Creek resident who led the opposition against the Royal Pines Apartments, said the new development tracker is a “positive step in the right direction” for residents. He thinks it will be easier for people to share their feedback on projects as they are reviewed.

“I think any time (the city) can increase transparency, that’s a good thing. Any time residents are more aware of what the city’s doing or what the city’s approving, that’s a plus for citizens,” he said.

Such a webpage could have provided information on the Royal Pines Apartments project ahead of its approval by the Planning Commission and the City Council may have helped better inform Pine Creek neighbors of that project, Parrish said.

The city also redesigned its notification posters and postcards, making them more engaging and providing clear information about each project, officials said in the release.

The new designs also include QR codes so users can go directly to the development tracker webpage, with information about how to comment on the development application or participate in a public hearing or neighborhood meetings.