Archive for the 'Rawles Open Space Neighborhood' Tag

SIZE DOESN’T MATTER after all

May 3rd, 2009, 8:15 am by Bill Vogrin

Size, when it comes to neighborhoods, doesn’t matter in Colorado Springs. At least not in conversations about protecting character and unique qualities of the places people live.

The City Council declared on Tuesday that small, unique areas within larger neighborhoods can be identified as their own little entities and are worthy of being protected from incompatible development projects.

Want to see it for yourself? Go to www.Springsgov.com and go to SpringsTV where you will find the council meeting waiting for viewing. Select “Item 12 - Horizon View” to fast forward to the Rawles Open Space Neighborhood’s appeal hearing.

Or follow this link and when the media player pops up, under “View” drag down to “File Markers” and drop down to “ Item 12 - Horizon View.”

It’s fascinating viewing for neighborhood enthusiasts.

Dave Munger, pictured left, president of the Council of Neighbors & Organizations, an umbrella group for all Springs neighborhoods, asked the simple question: What is a neighobrhood and who decides?

The answer may have surprised some.

Led by Vice Mayor Larry Small, left, the council gave a clear answer: Size doesn’t matter when it comes to protecting the character of neighborhoods.

Tiny pockets of homes, like the Rawles Open Space Neighborhood, are distinct from the larger neighborhoods that most would recognize. In this case, the Mesa Neighborhood Association.

The council’s declaration is significant because it shielded the Rawles group from a modern, five-house subdivision proposed on five acres in the area.

The developer, Dr. Kristine Hembre, left, told the council she considers the Rawles Open Space an “eyesore” that she intended to improve by building her houses.

Read more about it below in my April 26th post.

Council Minutes

VE?

April 26th, 2009, 10:04 pm · Post a Comment · posted by Bill Vogrin

Folks in the Ralwes Open Space Neighborhood want the Colorado Springs City Council to decide if the policy to encourage ”infill” development has any limits.

At Tuesday’s council meeting, they will ask the council to reject plans for the Horizon View subdivision. They argue the projec tis incompatible with the neighborhood, which sits along Mesa Road between Fillmore and Uintah streets.

Kristine Hembre, left, an allergy doctor, bought the five-acre property in 2006 and made plans, through her Elle Development Co., to tear down the existing house and replace it with five new houses on a modern cul de sac with a paved street, curbs and gutters, sidewalks and sewers.

Such amenities are unusual along that stretch of Mesa, where residents take pride in the rural feel of things. They don’t have curbs, gutters and sidewalks or paved driveways or even city sewer service. Here’s a look at the area from www.FlashEarth.com:

Rawles residents boast that they have preserved their area so well that Springs founder Gen William Jackson Palmer might still recognize it, a century after his death. According to legend, Palmer rode Mesa to get from his Glen Eyrie castle to Colorado Springs.

Below is a page submitted by one of the neighbors:

So they are fighting the project on the basis that large homes on 20,000-square-foot lots would be incompatible with the surrounding rural feel of the neighborhood.

Here’s a look at preliminary blueprints filed with the city:

The Colorado Springs Planning Commission gave the plan unanimous approval because it meets zoning and other requirements. And planners reason that it is exactly the kind of project the City Council wanted to encourage when it established a policy to encourage “infill” development.

The idea is for developers to look for vacant land within established neighborhoods where houses or apartments can be built, rather than automatically building new subdivisions farther and farther out on the eastern edge of the city.

But Rawles neighborhood leaders said the council should care about preserving the character of older neighborhoods.

You can read the entire file and see more blueprints here.

Here’s a closer look from FlashEarth at the property:

The Rawles Open Space is a 7.6-acre tract named for the former owners of the property. It was deeded to the Palmer Land Trust to preserve it. Another 19-acre tract nearby also is owned by the Trust, which works to secure conservation easements to preserve undeveloped land. Read about the Palmer Land Trust.

Palmer Land Trust

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