Colorado Springs Sued Over Strawberry Fields Exchange

Jake Brownell / 91.5 KRCC

A local group is suing the city of Colorado Springs to try and stop a controversial land exchange with the Broadmoor hotel. The deal, which was approved in May, would see the city trade a 189-acre section of Cheyenne Canyon known as Strawberry Fields for several parcels of land owned by the Broadmoor. 

The plaintiff in the suit is a non-profit called Save Cheyenne. The group claims the city has no right to trade Strawberry Fields, because the land was dedicated to the people of Colorado Springs when it was purchased in 1885. 

"You can call it a land exchange all you want," says Bill Louis, general counsel for Save Cheyenne. "But under the dedication of the land as a public park, the land cannot be conveyed, it must remain owned by the people of Colorado Springs."

The suit was officially filed Monday afternoon. Once the city is served, it will have 21 days to respond.

Officials have previously argued that the city has undertaken similar exchanges in the past, and the current plan is legal and will benefit the people of Colorado Springs.