Controversial Garden of the Gods apartment proposal resurrected after denial
Dec. 6—A highly controversial proposal to build hundreds of apartments and business space along Garden of the Gods Road is back for reconsideration after the Colorado Springs City Council denied it last year.
The development is planned for 2424 Garden of Gods Road in front of an existing 750,000-square-foot office building along North 30th Street on underused parking lots. The City Council voted down the proposal in September 2021 after many residents voiced concern that hundreds of new residents could slow down wildfire evacuations and make them less safe, among other issues. Some council members who supported the project wanted to see the additional housing.
The plans for the project have not changed since it was last considered by council and it could include a maximum of 420 apartments in two- and three-story buildings, the developer's representative Andrea Barlow told a large town hall at the Space Foundation Tuesday. The new homes and potentially businesses could be built on about 26 acres. About 55 acres of steep property to the west could be set aside as open space.
The crowd questioned why the project has been resubmitted, while the previous proposal is in the court system and the City Attorney's Office is defending it.
"We believe there has been a material change of circumstance," Barlow said, citing steps the city has taken to address wildfire concerns. For example, Colorado Springs Fire Department recently contracted with Zonehaven, a software that allows the city to evacuate targeted zones in the event of fire or another form of emergency.
The zones could allow emergency responders to call targeted evacuations that could help avoid gridlock that residents experienced during the Waldo Canyon fire.
The city never embraced free evacuation-modeling software that residents and experts recommended after the proposed apartments sparked a larger conversation about evacuation.
Concerns about wildfire risk and a slow evacuation, however, seemed just as fervent as last year with many residents sharing personal stories recalling their terrifying evacuation from the Waldo Canyon fire when many were stalled in traffic for hours.
In addition to changes the city has made to manage wildfire better, the Nevada-based developer behind the project is also allowed to resubmit the same proposal after 12 months and it must be evaluated completely independent from the first application, city planner Daniel Sexton said.
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Resident John McLain pointed out, however, the city attorney has already made a solid case against the same development proposal in court, as part of defending the City Council's earlier decision to deny the apartments stating that it is not appropriate under the city's zoning code and it is in violation of the hillside overlay criteria, in court documents.
"It just flabbergasts me. ... Why is the city wasting my tax dollars trying to move this thing forward?" he said.
The votes on council may have shifted since it was denied when Councilman Richard Skorman changed his vote and supported those concerned about wildfire evacuation.
Skorman has since resigned from the council to focus on his businesses. The council appointed Councilwoman Stephannie Fortune, a more conservative voice, to replace him. Fortune also is not seeking election to her seat in April because of her health.
The apartments, if approved, would be among a wave of new multifamily projects for Colorado Springs, including a major development not far away near Centennial Boulevard and Fillmore Street. Many residents asked the city to take a broader look at how growth could affect the community, including changing traffic patterns.
Since the start of 2021 and through the first half of this year, developers pulled building permits to construct 6,937 apartments in Colorado Springs and El Paso County, The Gazette reported in July.
More housing is needed across Colorado Springs, Barlow said, and the new market-rate apartments on Garden of the Gods Road would help fill the demand for a variety of housing.
"There is a citywide importance for this type of development," she said.
