My family and I arrived in the Colorado Springs area in the summer of 1990, shortly after my retirement from the Air Force. We initially rented an apartment near Quail Lake in the southwest potion of the city and eventually bought a home not too far away from the apartment. As our children grew up over the intervening years, so did Colorado Springs.
We observed that the business and residential growth moved north and east with the developments such as Flying Horse, the extension of Powers Boulevard, Interquest Parkway and the subsequent retail, entertainment, dining, and medical support growth in that area. We remained in the southwest portion of the city and saw little change, except for the addition of The Broadmoor World arena and commercial development near I-25 and Lake Avenue. Then Fountain annexed land across from Pikes Peak (then) Community College and Walmart and Sam’s Club built large new outlets and subsequently spurred some adjacent retail development.
The bottom line is that in the past 30 plus years, the majority of the growth for Colorado Springs and El Paso County has been to the north and west of Colorado Springs. When our children finished school and moved on with their lives (in the military and out of state), we downsized and ended up moving into a new development in Fountain, noting as we made that move that we were now about 10 miles from our former home in southwest Colorado Springs, and that home was about 4 miles from “downtown” Colorado Springs. That brings me to the point.
Have the developers and the Colorado Springs City Council considered just how far the proposed Amara annexation area is from the heart of Colorado Springs and the retail centers of North Powers, North Academy, Interquest Parkway and even Falcon? Granted, the developer will create access to the new development, but where will that access lead? Marksheffel road is a two-lane road in both directions. Ohio street in Fountain is essentially a neighborhood street not designed for significant vehicular traffic. Access to I-25 would be very limited with no four-lane access until one is within 100 yards or so of exit 128.
There are no hospital facilities within probably 15 miles or so, except for Evans on Fort Carson, which of course is not available to the general public. All this makes me ask: Why is the city so eager to annex this chunk of land that is geographically separated from the remainder of Colorado Springs by several miles? A chunk of land that will take millions of dollars for the construction of the water, power, and access infrastructure to create living space that is miles and miles from existing retail, dining, and entertainment. It just does not make much sense to me.
Jerry Zoebisch Fountain I was appalled to see the inaccuracies published in the editorial: “Hunting ban would hoodwink Colorado voters” Born and raised in Colorado, I, along with 800 other Coloradans, was a part of securing signatures to get Initiative 91 on the ballot to reform the way our state prioritizes the unsporting and unethical hunting of apex predators. I live in a rural area, raise goats, chickens, and produce for a living, and am lucky to live in mountain lion territory. I take appropriate measures to keep my animals safe from predators.
On numerous occasions, dogs with GPS collars have trespassed on my land scouting for mountain lions and bobcats. Two years ago, on Christmas Day, a pack of eight hounds treed a bobcat on my property and I had to stand with the dogs and watch them bark and snarl at this beautiful cat until their owners sauntered onto my property. I told them they were trespassing and when I reported this instance to CPW they told me these trophy hunters and their dogs were legally permitted to do this harassment.
My family depends on elk meat, and we understand that as conservationists we must protect the important role that apex predators play in the health of deer and elk herds. We work to ensure that apex predators on our property are protected from the needless killing of these animals for their heads and their beautiful coats. I will continue to do my part to ensure this measure passes in November.
Deanna Meyer Sedalia I am an Army Vietnam veteran who suffers from severe neuropathy (Agent Orange), hence a cane. Often a citizen steps forward to hold open a door, an arm on the gusty Peak, a neighbor who removes the snow, a thank-you for your service, a Monument Lab Corp tech, neighbors who haul away scrub oak cuttings, a passerby who dragged the trash bin to the garage, the Friday breakfast group, many other acts of thoughtfulness, Vera, my dear wife of 61 years, and I’m sure other citizens have received the same thoughtfulness. Thank you, thoughtful citizens of El Paso County.
John Schumaker Monument The term “affordable” has been bandied about a lot. What I would like to know is what do developers and planners consider “affordable“? In my mind, affordable should include families with children who are working and in the $50,000 or less income bracket. Rent should not take more than 50% of monthly income.
Remember to consider those families in the “or less” bracket. They have precious little 50% for rent. So what are you considering “affordable”? And more importantly, for whom? Billie Nigro Colorado Springs.
