Both Royal Pines & Ovation were approved in spite of repeated please from taxpaying residents with overwhelming evidence it is risking the public health and safety of residents. 24 of 25 cities survey would not approve Ovation and do not believe indoor sprinklers have anything to do with access or egress in a dire fire.

Ask yourself how City Council could deny Kettle Creek on that same road a year ago, but approve Ovation. It was truly disturbing to watch. Regarding Royal Pines, they ignored convenant restrictions, a drone study validated by an evacuation study from evacuation experts. On top of all this, Jill Gaebler, the Housing Head Cheerleader for the EDC/Chamber, a new position created 10/23/2023, wants to take residents rights to appeal away preventing low-income communities from appealing by forcing residents to pay the City or County Attorney for their time if neighbors lose. Can you believe that? We already pay for their time. Maybe if they would represent the people and protect us, so many neighborhood groups would not need to file an Appeal?

Send in an email to the State Legislature objecting.

Help Our Pine Creek, Kettle Creek, Bison Ridge, Codera,

Wilson Ranch, Flying Horse and Surrounding Communities by taking the minutes it takes to copy/paste or send your own emails opposing BOTH (there are two) developments. As a reminder, it is very important that the media is copied on these email and us for transparency. Anyone in the city should send these so our leadership understands we care about the public & life safety of our neighbors throughout the city. Thank you for being a great neighbor!

Royal Pines Apartments Sample Email:

Hearing will be on Monday, February 26th. Please attend or call in to make a comment. They need to hear from us all. Emails and comments are like votes to politicians. It matters. Your voice matters. It will be Item 2a on the agenda which is slated to begin at 1pm at City Council chambers, 107 N. Nevada, 80903. You can email Samuel Friedman to ask for an estimated time or follow along on Facebook to see where they are, so you know when to call into the meeting.

Here are the call-in instructions:
During the meeting, those who wish to comment should submit their name, telephone number, and the topic or agenda item for comment via samuel.friedman@coloradosprings.gov in addition to calling +1 720-617-3426 United States, Denver (Toll) and entering this Conference ID: 630 431 860#

To: allcouncil@coloradosprings.gov

CC: breeanna.jent@gazette.com, zubeck@csindy.com, news@krdo.com, news@kktv.com, news@koaa.com, news@fox21news.com, chelsea.brentzel@krdo.com, andy.koen@koaa.com, asack@kxrm.com, jesse@coloradosun.com, newsroom@coloradosun.com, newsroom@denverpost.com, achalfin@krcc.org, news@cpr.org, news@krcc.org, talkshow@aol.com, westsidewatchcos@gmail.com, integritymatterscos@gmail.com

Subject: Vote for the People You Serve. Vote No Against the Royal Pines Apartment Complex

Dear City Councilmembers,

As a concerned resident of our community, I am reaching out to express my grave concerns regarding the recent approval of the Royal Pines Apartments development plan. This project, opposed collectively by businesses and residents in our area, poses substantial risks.

The development plan poses significant risks to our safety. Our current infrastructure is not equipped to handle the increased traffic, particularly in emergency situations. The city has no means to assess choke points or understanding of what egress points may be hazardous during an evacuation. Our citizen-led evacuation study proved that it only took 5% of all the cars in Pine Creek to cause standstill traffic at the development location, which is located at a critical egress for Pine Creek. This area is already unsafe from an evacuation standpoint and approval of this plan will endanger more lives.

The development plan also inadequately addresses the impact on our already strained local services such as schools and emergency responders. The increased population density will exacerbate these issues, affecting the quality of life for all residents. Environmental concerns are also at the forefront. The potential damage to local wildlife habitats and the additional noise and light pollution from increased traffic are issues that cannot be ignored.

Furthermore, this area is subject to restrictive covenants from BG Development, forbidding residential development. The nearby businesses have taken legal action against BG Development for covenant violations related to this project. The city's reclassification of the area to mixed use, including residential construction, directly conflicts with these covenants.

I urge the City Council to deny this development. Please make the right decision before your citizens burn.

Thank you for your attention to this vital matter.

Sincerely,
[Your Name]

Ovation Development

Hearing will be on Tuesday, February 27th. Please attend or call in to make a comment. They need to hear from us all. Emails and comments are like votes to politicians. It matters. Your voice matters. It will be Item 12b & 12C on the agenda which will likely be in the afternoon at City Council chambers, 107 N. Nevada, 80903. You can email Samuel Friedman to ask for an estimated time or follow along on Facebook to see where they are, so you know when to call into the meeting.

Here are the call-in instructions:
During the meeting, those who wish to comment should submit their name, telephone number, and the topic or agenda item for comment via samuel.friedman@coloradosprings.gov in addition to calling +1 720-617-3426 United States, Denver (Toll) and entering this Conference ID: 411 652 5#

To: Katelynn.Wintz@coloradosprings.gov, allcouncil@coloradosprings.gov, yemi.mobolade@coloradosprings.gov

Subject: Vote for the People You Serve. Vote No Against the Royal Pines Apartment Complex

Dear Mrs. Wentz, City Council, and Mayor Mobolade,

I object to the Ovation Project proposed by LaPlata and the parks department, for the following reasons:

While there have been attempts by LaPlata and CDOT to reduce the risks during emergency situations, to quote Planning Commission member Martin Rickett the current 2nd egress road will only provide a “false hope” to members of this neighborhood.
The new proposed housing of 360 houses in 60 acres is significantly different from the current houses averaging a fair value of $750K.
People buy their houses based on Master Plans and for the last 25 years (all the current residents) it has shown that this land is designated as a Park. This neighborhood was basing a very large investment on having a park nearby, not 360 more townhomes.
Pine Creek and the neighborhood middle schools and elementary schools are already overcrowded and adding more houses into this area will lead to even more overcrowding or students not being able to attend their neighborhood schools.
The traffic on Chapel Ridge Drive, Rhinestone Drive and Old Ranch road is going to significantly change based on this proposal.
In order to complete this project the city will need to bury the power lines. Per discussions with city utilities this will cost $2M per mile. While the developer is responsible for taking this on, there is a current agreement that the city will cover half the costs for developers choosing to bury power lines.
This land was originally protected due to the Preble Mouse population in the area. Prior to this change there was an updated study completed and conveniently the Preble Mouse have all moved a couple acres over allowing this proposal to take place.
Making this change ignores the need for additional parks and sports complexes in Northern Colorado Springs. Our city relies on local high schools to support youth sports due to the lack of public parks and sports fields.

As I have summarized above I strongly oppose LaPlata being allowed to move forward with the Ovation development proposal. This proposal will significantly affect the lives of the current residents and Colorado Springs citizens.

Sincerely,

[Your Name]