With increased housing in the area, many worried about evacuation routes. Roads in the area tend to crowd quickly due to traffic, according to Rick Sevcik, a North Fork HOA representative. The homeowners association said adding 247 additional homes with this development would only worsen the situation.
To add to their arguments, many pointed back to the Black Forest Fire of 2013. The fire burned over 500 homes in the area and led to the deaths of two people.
“I have over 10 different sets of friends that lost their house… they saw their houses burning behind them,” said resident Luellen Welch in her speech, stressing how time-sensitive evacuation situations can be. “It’s a bottleneck already.”
Dave Dazlich, a member of the Colorado Springs Chamber of Commerce and EDC, spoke in favor of the development. “We are short approximately 20,000 units across every income level,” he said.
Councilmember Dave Donelson, in response, said that the need for safety overrode those concerns.
The discussion took some seven hours of the Tuesday meeting. In the end, the council unanimously agreed to uphold the resdients’ appeal, effectively putting an end to the development.
The land is currently being used for grazing purposes.