An El Paso County judge has ruled additional houses can be built north of the Air Force Academy in Hay Creek Valley, siding against a resident who had tried to hold the county to its own rule that limits development on dead-end roads.

The dead-end road in question, Hay Creek, is the only way into the valley and serves other winding lanes. If a wildfire sparked in the area, residents of about 80 existing homes would flee from a fire along Hay Creek Road from the area hemmed in by the Air Force Academy to the south, Forest Service land to the west and a conservation easement to the north.

The ruling issued by Judge David Prince earlier this month opens the door to more residents, including 20 proposed by View Homes that sparked the lawsuit. Residents of the new subdivision wouldn’t live along Hay Creek Road, but they would use it every day to come and go from the valley.

Resident Michael Cloutier challenged the new homes in court after they were approved by the El Paso County commissioners arguing they violated the county’s land-use code that limits the number of homes along a dead-end road to 25.

The land-use rule in question states: “The maximum number of lots fronting and taking access from a dead-end road is 25.”

Judge David Prince decided to allow the homes to be built because they do not front Hay Creek Road. His reasoning aligned with the El Paso County commissioners’ decision on the same grounds.

Cloutier said he believed Prince had been fair throughout the case, but disagreed with his ruling.

“This ruling effectively authorizes unlimited development on a dead end-road as long as you build it in a cul-de-sac. That’s heinously inappropriate,” Cloutier said.

He also pointed to the definition of “and” in the land-use development code, noting that it states “all connected items or provisions apply,” meaning that homes that take access along the road, but do not front it, should be counted.

After about a year battling in court over what Cloutier believes is a common-sense interpretation of the land-use code, he said he can’t financially keep fighting at this time.

But if another proposal came through, he would be ready to contest the issue again.

Andy Boian, a spokesman for View Homes, said the ruling shows the homes are in compliance with zoning rules.

“We are obviously pleased with the judge’s findings,” he said.

Previously, Joe Stifter, with the owner View Homes, told the El Paso County commissioners that while all the residents would likely evacuate at the same time the traffic would be dispersed.

“Everybody is going to access Hay Creek at roughly the same time, but at different points,” he said.

The company also agreed to put in a cistern that would provide at least 33,000 gallons of water for fire protection.

El Paso County declined to comment on the issue because the window to appeal the judge’s decision is still open.

In the coming months, the county’s officials and firefighters should gain a better understanding of how long it could take to evacuate certain neighborhoods because the Pikes Peak Office of Emergency Management invested in a new artificial intelligence tool that can model how traffic will flow in an evacuation, the Tribune reported previously.