2 days Ago By Brennen Kauffman [email protected]
Local groups and opaque political funders have begun gearing up campaigns ahead of Colorado Springs' June 17 special election on the Karman Line annexation. On Saturday afternoon, a group of protesting citizens will walk along Platte Avenue from Acacia Park to The Citadel mall. The path for the walk was chosen because of the distance: 3.
3 miles, or roughly the same distance from the current city boundary of Colorado Springs to where the south end of the proposed Karman Line neighborhood would be located. The 1,870-acre annexation east of the city limits was requested by developers to build a planned community with 6,500 homes and a mixed-use commercial space. The addition was a 'flagpole' annexation that would include a stretch of Bradley Road going east to connect the property to the city boundaries.
The Colorado Springs City Council voted 7-2 in January to approve the annexation. The vote was immediately followed by a successful petition drive to hold a referendum vote on the issue. Ballots will be mailed out on Friday, May 2 for military and overseas voters and on May 23 for Colorado Springs residents.
Nick Raven, freelance writer and Colorado Springs activist, said he came up with the idea for the walk while working with other local organizers who opposed Karman Line. Raven said he wanted to demonstrate how much distance would be between the development and the rest of the city. "Extending that far beyond the city and then having to support the annexation for the next 20 years is something you should be concerned about, especially if you are concerned about the cost of bringing services out to an annexation," Raven said.
The other main organizer for the walk is Stephanie Vigil, former state House representative for Colorado Springs and the current interim director for the Citizens Project. The group formally opposed the Karman Line annexation on Tuesday, saying the city should focus on improvements and growth within the city boundaries instead of adding land because of developer demand. "To walk through the areas of our community that are being left behind for this new greenfield development will be a cool illustration for people to see," Vigil said.
The Karman Line ballot issue has brought out two of the same dark money groups that poured money into the city's 2023 mayoral election. Citizens to Stop Illogical Growth , a committee registered with Colorado Springs for the upcoming election, reported $470,000 in contributions from the nonprofit Defend Colorado that does not disclose its donors. The contributions came in February, while the Karman Line petition was still collecting signatures to qualify for a special election.
Two committees called Stand Against Monopolies and Save Colorado Springs have registered for the special election with the city but have not reported any spending yet. Andy Merritt, chief strategy officer for the O'Neil Group which is one of the main partners in the Karman Line development, said those groups were supported by the Karman Line developers. "We will gladly admit to that to be transparent and would call on the opposition to say whose agenda are they carrying? Why are they hiding that money?" Merritt said.
Merritt said the campaigns would be educating voters about the vetting Karman Line had received for water availability and cost, as well as arguing the need for a more diverse housing supply. A radio ad funded by Stand Against Monopolies said a vote for the annexation was support for housing not provided by the Norwood Development Group. During the 2023 elections, Defend Colorado provided $490,000 to one committee that supported Wayne Williams' campaign for mayor and another that promoted the three at-large City Council candidates who won election.
Stand Against Monopolies LLC, meanwhile, provided $400,000 to the group Colorado Springs for Ethical Government which attacked Williams during the election..
