Colorado Springs voters reject controversial Karman Line annexation in early returns ...Middle East

Colorado Springs voters rejected a controversial plan to annex more than 1,800 acres for a large-scale housing and commercial project near Schriever Space Force Base southeast of the city.

As of 9 p.m. Tuesday, 63,813  ballots had been counted opposing the annexation, with 14,239 supporting the proposal, according to city election officials. A final vote count will be certified later this month.

In January, the Colorado Springs City Council voted to approve the annexation, but opponents gathered enough signatures to force the city council to take the question directly to voters. 

This Fresh Water News story is a collaboration between The Colorado Sun and Water Education Colorado. It also appears at wateredco.org.

The Karman Line Addition, as it is known, was being proposed by Norris Ranch Joint Development LLC, a partnership between Colorado Springs developers La Plata Communities and the O’Neil Group.

Company officials said the project would provide much-needed affordable housing and services to military personnel served by the nearby Schriever Space Force Base, but this week  Kevin O’Neil, president of the O’Neil Group, said his internal polling showed the measure would likely be defeated.

Mike Ruebenson, president of One La Plata, said they would wait for the vote to be certified, before deciding how to proceed.

“We will decide the best way forward,” Ruebenson said. “There is no question the community needs additional housing options.”

The project has generated fierce opposition not just from Colorado Springs residents, but also from farmers in the Lower Arkansas Valley, whose water supplies have already been tapped to help fast-growing Colorado Springs serve current residents.

Colorado Springs Utilities said it had enough water to serve the project now, but it will need to continue buying new water supplies to meet all of its future growth needs.

Among the concerns was that the project lies too far outside the city’s existing service area, making it more expensive to build new pipelines and roads, and offer police and fire protection services.

City Councilman Dave Donelson voted against the project and the failure could open the door to a slower, more deliberate approach to growth that could provide needed housing, while safeguarding water supplies.

“We will need a combination of things to grow wisely,” Donelson said.

Last month, seven groups from the Lower Arkansas Valley, including the Lower Arkansas Valley Water Conservancy District and several county commissions, approved resolutions opposing the deal, citing future Colorado Springs water supply shortages and more pressure to buy water in the valley.

“New annexations, such as for the proposed Karman Line development, would only add to this shortfall — raising alarm about potential long-term consequences to southeastern Colorado’s agricultural lands, rural economies, water quality, ecosystems and cultural heritage,” the groups said in a statement.

Jack Goble, general manager of the Lower Arkansas Valley water district, said he hopes the vote convinces Colorado Springs officials that there are different ways to grow that don’t threaten the region’s agriculture economy.

“We hope it’s a moment that the leaders can step back and acknowledge voters don’t want them to grow this way,” Goble said.

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