C.O.N.O.

Approved Minutes of 6 March, 2001 General Membership Meeting

Apr 13, 2001

COUNCIL OF NEIGHBORS AND ORGANIZATIONS
(CONO)
GENERAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING
6 March 2001

Business Meeting ?–At 7:05 PM on 6 March 2001, Jan Doran, CONO President, called the CONO General Membership Meeting to order at the Colorado Springs Senior Center, Colorado Springs, Colorado. Board Members present included Jan Doran (Pres), Margaret Radford (1st VP), Roy Ayala (2nd VP), Lynn Poos (Tres), and Larry Bagley (Sec). The Agenda and the February Meeting Minutes were distributed. The minutes were approved as corrected. Lynn presented the Treasurer?’s report which was accepted

Introductions and Discussion ?– Jan introduced Joe Fabeck and Don Ellis, of the Red Rock Canyon Preservation Committee, who provided a presentation regarding the preservation of Red Rock Canyon. At the outset, both Joe and Don pointed out they are not Anti-development, but are Pro-preservation of unique areas in and around Colorado Springs for future generations and for quality of life in the City. The area in question is 780 acres south of Hwy 24 and Garden of the Gods, and is contiguous to Section 16 and Bear Creek Park. A developer is currently pursuing the development of the area to include houses and a golf course. The developer has set-aside, in the initial plan, some acreage as open space, but it is the most inaccessible acreage. Other issues include lack of available water for development, and zoning. Joe and Don presented 3 reasons for preserving Red Rock Canyon in its entirety as open space/park: 1) Scenic 2) History, 3) Visual Backdrop. The scenery included in Red Rock Canyon includes rock formations over 250 Million years old. From East to West in the canyon one can see formations 65 million years old to 250 million years old. It is a visual spectacle and a geologist?’s, amateur to professional, dream. The historical items found in the area include a Ute fortification wall along the Dakota Hogback, and three quarries important in Colorado history. As a visual backdrop within the City, the Canyon has one of the highest ratings both from a citizen survey and from a professional consultant study using a widely accepted rating schema. Joe and Don requested a CONO letter of support for the effort to preserve Red Rock Canyon as open space and park. The motion was made, seconded and unanimously approved for CONO to send a letter of support to TOPS and the City Council. During the discussion, individuals were encouraged to write letters of support to The Gazette.
Margaret introduced John and Elisa Thompson from Village Seven. They discussed an issue of a developer planning to put three story apartments on 4 acres on a hill in their area and asked for assistance with their efforts to work with the developer and the City. The issues are the drainage, the terracing of the hillside, the height of the buildings on a hill overlooking the existing houses, and the density. Several CONO members volunteered to help them.

Old Business

Candidate Forum: CONO is hosting the Candidate Forum on 15 March 2001, 7 PM, Centennial Hall (Cascade and Vermijo). Volunteers are still need to assist during the Forum and to do some up-front things such as set-up, planning, and coordinating and preparing the questions.
Penrose Equestrian Center: Commissioners voted 4-1 to indefinitely table the item. It will remain as is and the planned $2.1 million improvements to Bear Creek Park (e.g., stabilizing the slopes) will be done.

Comprehensive Plan Report: Margaret reported on the status of the plan and the results of CONO efforts to make changes and support the recommendations from the last meeting. Not all the recommendations were implemented, but there were 5 areas of changes. A capital improvements long-range plan was put back in. SCIP was recognized as a backlog solution. A natural environment geologic hazards map and words to minimize hazards through mitigation were re-inserted. A utilities planning section holding the City manager accountable every year with a percentage borne by current and new development was included. Also, the compatibility requirement was restored over the Planning Commission objection. The First Reading to the Council is scheduled on 13 March at 9 AM. The draft can be reviewed on the City?’s web site at www.colorado-springs.com/PublicPlan.

Anti-SLAPP Legislation: Re-introducing the Anti-SLAPP legislation this year is gaining momentum. The new bill will have a different number, and supporters must continue to voice their support through e-mails, letters and phone calls to legislators.

Assets for Youth: There will be a hosted breakfast for interested members at Patty Jewett in the near future. Jan will send an e-mail with the particulars.

Neighborhood Network Forum: A meeting is scheduled for 13 March, 1 P.M. at the City Admin Building. The date conflicts with other meetings and Jan will try to re-schedule. The Neighborhood Network Forum is now officially scheduled for 30 June 2001, 9 AM to 4 PM, at Centennial Hall. Volunteers to support CONO participation is needed, and to assist neighborhood associations to participate. Contact anyone on the CONO Board to volunteer.
North End HOA Forum/CDOT Noise Mitigation: The meeting was well attended and very effective. More to follow as this progresses.
Brady Road Neighborhood Issue: The down side of this issue is the Human Services House use meets the primary permitted use criteria of the zoning. There is little chance to stop it, but there is great opportunity to work with the group to ameliorate the concerns and make it into a win-win situation for all. This will continue to be worked to meet the needs of all concerned.

New business ?–

Intermodal Transportation Plan (ITP): The ITP may be on the Planning Commission/City Council agenda for 27 March. The Agenda on the web is to be checked on Wed to determine the status.
Neighborhood Concerns, Announcements, etc: Wellinton discussed the Colorado Springs response times and other standards found on the City Web site. They are looking for citizen inputs in March via the web.

Newsletter - Newsletter items are to be submitted to Margaret Radford (573-2539, Radfordinc@aol.com). Inputs are always welcome and needed. To view past newsletters and other pertinent CONO stuff, visit the Neighborhood Web Site at www.neighborhoodlink.com/CONO.

Next Meeting - The next CONO meeting is 7:00 PM, 3 April 2001 at The Senior Center, 1514 Hancock Avenue, Colorado Springs, Colorado 80903. The meeting was adjourned at 8:40 PM by resounding unanimous consent. Following the meeting, all attendees partook and enjoyed the cake and coffee provided by Jan to honor the CONO members who are running for City Council ?– Sallie Clark, Leon Kirk, and Margaret Radford.

Respectfully submitted,
Larry C. Bagley
Secretary, CONO