So much for quality of life
On Feb. 10 there was an article on the front page of The Gazette entitled “City Council reduces parkland requirement for developers.” The council voted 5 to 4 to decrease parkland requirements from 7.5 acres to 5.5 acres per 1000 residents. The vote was not supposed to happen for another two weeks and Richard Skorman had requested a delay for six months since the parks planning process is going to determine funding in the upcoming months. But five members of our city council voted to give developers another break.
Colorado Springs has the least amount of parkland per 1,000 residents of any of the front range cities. I wonder if any of those council members actually visit our parks. Do they realize how overused our parks are in this city? And the council certainly does not relish funding our parks. So now they vote to place more housing with more people with less access to a neighborhood park.
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Once this is lost, it can never be recovered, Councilman Bill Murray said of land dedication requirements.
The proposed parkland dedication rules would lower how much land developers must dedicate to the city to 5½ acres per 1,000 residents, down from 7½ acres per 1,000 people. The proposal is part of a slate of changes to an ordinance that governs what land or fees homebuilders must assign to the city when they build new neighborhoods and apartments.
The change is based on the 2000 and 2014 parks master plans that stated the city s goal is to provide 3 acres of community parkland per 1,000 residents and 2½ acres of neighborhood parkland per 1,000 people, said Chris Lieber of NES, a consultant hired by the city to work on the changes. The master plan standards do not include city open space, such as Garden of the Gods, he said. When open space is taken into account, the city provides about 37 acres per 1,000 residents, Lieber said.
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Councilman James “Mike” Malley District 6, northeast Colorado Springs O’Malley, 60 and U.S. Department of Transportation advisor, moved to Colorado Springs in July 2019 and said his experience maintaining and operating ships, when he was a Navy Reserve Captain has prepared him to serve on council because they are “in essence cities at sea,” he said. He also brings experience as a long-time volunteer firefighter to the job. He would prioritize infrastructure, public safety and planning for the future of all city utilities, water, gas, electric, sewer and stormwater. O’Malley was appointed to his seat in January after Councilman Andy Pico was elected to the state legislature.