Manitou Springs City Council voted 6 to 1 on Tuesday, Feb. 1, to deny a request from TAT Enterprises Inc. to re-zone 306-324 Beckers Lane from residential to commercial. Mayor John Graham cast the dissenting vote.
TAT hoped to build a warehouse, also containing office space, for the Garden of the Gods Trading Post and the other retail businesses the company owns in Manitou Springs and Old Colorado City.
The proposed location is near the south entrance to the Garden of the Gods, contiguous to the Trading Post property on the east side of Beckers Lane.
The Planning Commission had earlier voted unanimously to deny the application and TAT appealed to City Council. The Planning Commission’s unanimous vote figured heavily in City Council’s vote to deny.
The Planning Commission found that the request did not meet the Municipal Code requirements concerning substantial change to the neighborhood since the last zoning or re-zoning, which has not occurred; compatibility with surrounding land use, which is residential; and the site’s suitability for the proposed use.
The commission also found that the request didn’t comply with the Plan Manitou policy on tourism impact. The city’s Planning Department had recommended that the commission approve the requested zoning change.
Several members of the public, many from the neighborhood, spoke to oppose the zoning change, while many letters to council, as well as several speakers, supported it.
The Haas family is the second owner of the Garden of the Gods Trading Post, having purchased the century-old business in 1995. TAT employs as many as 200 people in the peak season, with 70 percent of its business coming from the Trading Post.
It currently uses the building at 337 Manitou Ave. as its warehouse, but Tim Haas told council that TAT’s needs have outgrown that location.
TAT President David Maddox said that supply chain issues have affected their vendors and their vendors are advising them to purchase next year’s inventory now. He said TAT is doing so.
Public objections to the zoning change concerned traffic, “commercial creep,” and the fact that future City Councils could change any conditions the current council imposed on TAT.
Councilor Julie Wolfe cited the lack of any real necessity for the zoning change and its lack of any improvement to public health, safety or welfare. Several councilors concurred.
Several council members praised Haas for TAT’s contributions to Manitou Springs over the years, particularly noting TAT’s outstanding treatment of employees.
Public Works Director Jeff Jones presented a Traffic Calming Public Request Program to council, including a form the public can fill out to request traffic-calming measures in their neighborhoods.
Jones told council that people have reported speeding vehicles on all of the city’s main streets.
He said that a board will be created to consider public requests for traffic-calming measures. This board will consider all data received from the neighborhoods as well as data from cellphone GPS technology and speed-recording devices to make fact-based decisions about all traffic-calming requests.
Findings will be presented to the petitioning neighborhoods within 30 calendar days of submittal. Traffic-calming measures include speed bumps and humps, raised crosswalks, lane narrowing and digital speed-radar signs with visual readout.
Council unanimously approved the program.
The councilors gave second and final approval to an ordinance replacing the current generic housing code with one that is Manitou-specific.
Council also gave final approval to an ordinance modifying the height and setback requirements for building in the commercial zone and in the Urban Renewal Authority area, pending completion of the ongoing re-write of the entire zoning code that is expected to be completed this summer.
Abigail Kosling was appointed to the Housing Advisory Board at Tuesday’s meeting. Kosling, a realtor, told council that she intends “to be the best resource I can possibly be.”
Council decided to hold a special meeting to consider the city’s mask mandate before the work session scheduled for Feb. 8.