Colorado Springs City Councilor Kimberly Gold held a town hall event at Sierra High School on Feb. 12 to present information about the Southeast Strong Neighborhood Plan and to hear concerns from residents of City Council District 4.
The Southeast Strong Neighborhood Plan is the first community planning project undertaken through Colorado Springs’ Neighborhood Planning Program, which develops plans to address unique characteristics and needs of the different regions within city limits. The Southeast Strong plan area is the southern half of Council District 4 that consists of six neighborhoods — Deerfield Hills, Pikes Peak Park North, Pikes Peak Park South, Soaring Eagles, Southborough, and Spring Creek. The plan will guide future development in the area and focus on issues such as transportation, economic development, culture, housing, public safety and public health.
Colorado Springs City Council District 4, colloquially known as the Southeast, is the only majority minority district in Colorado Springs. For years, community advocates have attempted to draw attention to disparities in the Southeast — dangerous intersections, food deserts, and a general lack of investment in the area. A number of major projects in the Southeast, such as the Academy Boulevard Improvements Project and the construction of Panorama Park, have worked to address some concerns, but residents hope to see more investment in Southeast.
“It is definitely a significant issue for the community that we are being over-saturated with gas stations and storage units,” said Democratic El Paso County Commissioner District 5 candidate Jacqueline Armendariz.
“I think that there’s a lot of different parts of the city who would say they’re overrun by the same things you were just talking about,” said Colorado Springs Planning Director Kevin Walker. “There are some places along Woodmen Road where there are three gas stations at each corner, so I don’t think that you’re unique in that. Our community has always valued private property rights and markets to decide what businesses are done rather than the dictate of either the neighborhood or the planning department or City Council.”
Southeast Colorado Springs has historically borne the brunt of the vast majority of affordable projects in Colorado Springs, both due to needs from the community, but also due to a lack of the kind of organized and vocal opposition that developments on the Westside of Colorado Springs often face. Gold cited low civic engagement. During the June 17 special election, District 4’s voter turnout was 13.07%.
“Don’t forget the power of the people,” said Gold. “There’s five councilors, but there’s 500,000 residents in Colorado Springs. At City Council this past Tuesday, we just passed the planning for a [Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints] temple. And I want you to know that my take away from that was those communities organized. They sent us 400 emails. Most of them, 90% of them say, ‘Please pass this temple.’ And at the actual public hearing at City Council, they had like 35, 40 people speak up saying, ‘Please pass this, this is what it means to us.’ They had three in opposition. So when we organize, you can influence things.”
Residents also raised concerns about homelessness in Southeast Colorado Springs. As the Colorado Springs City Council has enacted punitive measures, such as an urban camping ban and sit/lie ordinances, in the downtown corridor, homeless communities have moved into the Southeast. Gold discussed an upcoming City Council vote on vehicle camping.
“I don’t think folks are camping in their vehicles,” said Gold. “They are surviving. But if you’re camping in your vehicle, there is an ordinance that will be going forward in February so that those folks can get a citation to try to help move them along. I’m going to be honest here — I don’t think that’s the answer. The answer is not a popular one. The answer is, we have to make more direct investment, and yes, that means money. And we have the kind of leadership that’s actually going to collaborate … if you ask me, I don’t think we’re doing that the best that we can.”
City Council now has to approve the Southeast Strong Plan, which is tentatively scheduled for a March 24 hearing.
