Land swap would grow Garden of the Gods, correct encroachment issue

Jan. 18—Colorado Springs parks officials are seeking a land exchange that they say would resolve an old error and grow Garden of the Gods by an acre.

While studying the possibility of a shuttle through the park in 2019, it was revealed the privately-owned Trading Post encroached into public boundaries with its parking lot. A 1937 photo shows unorganized parking at the gift shop by the intersection of Garden and Beckers lanes, said David Deitemeyer, the parks department's senior landscape architect.

"I think that just over time, the use of that parking area right in front of the Trading Post had been developed and served that purpose for a number of years," Deitemeyer said.

That purpose would continue under a proposal to formally correct the matter. The Trading Post would be granted the the parking lot just shy of an acre, plus another 0.64-acre parcel on its west end.

In exchange, the city would gain 2.62 acres spanning a forested hillside farther west toward Balanced Rock.

"Both parties wind up with a better solution this way," said Hank Scarangella, with the Friends of the Garden of the Gods advocacy group. "Anything we can do to help with trail access in that area is for the better."

That, Deitemeyer said, would be one benefit of the deal. The 2.62 acres under consideration could provide for a short trail to Balanced Rock; the Trading Post parking lot would serve as an alternate staging point to the rock's often-congested base up the road.

The 2.62 acres covers "some really incredible rock formations that are unique in their own right," Deitemeyer said. Visitors seeking Balanced Rock "would have a little more of a hike to feel like they're reaching a destination, rather than just pulling up right next to it," he added.

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The potential trail corridor abuts the 0.64-acre piece that would be exchanged to the Trading Post. That parcel could be the site of additional parking for the shop, whose owner, Tim Haas, recently told the parks board that he saw the deal as a "win-win."

That parcel could also serve as a shuttle stop, Deitemeyer said. The 2019 study saw a need for a stop on the park's west side, likely away from the bustle at Balanced Rock's base.

"It hasn't been a priority based on the study just yet," Deitemeyer said. "What I can relay is Mr. Haas is very interested to pay for the parking improvement that would benefit not just the Trading Post, but also other visitors to the park."

With the proposed transfer of about 1.64 acres, Deitemeyer noted the deal does not require a vote of the people under the terms of a 2020 ordinance known as "Protect Our Parks." That established a vote be required before the city trades parkland, except for some circumstances, including the circumstance of "de minimis conveyance" — meaning a conveyance of less than two acres, or 5% of the total acreage of an entire park, whichever is less.

"Protect Our Parks" was born from angst over the city's controversial 2016 exchange of Strawberry Fields. The ordinance was spearheaded by longtime parks advocate Kent Obee, who negotiated the "de minimis" clause on the basis of this exchange at Garden of the Gods.

"I specifically gave them that accommodation," Obee said. "And this actually probably makes sense in terms of the park. Not only is it within the de minimis, but I don't think there's anybody I know objecting to it."

Following the parks board's approval, the proposal is expected to go before City Council in February.