Voters in Colorado Springs will weigh in on whether a controversial land annexation near Schriever Space Force Base approved by city council earlier this year should stand.
The so-called Karman Line Addition is about 1,900 acres connected to the southeast side of the city via a strip of land along Bradley Road. Potential development plans call for around 6,500 homes to be built there, along with commercial space, community facilities and other infrastructure.
Petitioners opposing the annexation gathered enough valid signatures to force city council to either repeal it or send it to a special election. At a meeting in April, council reaffirmed the annexation, despite many councilors expressing reluctance to spend an estimated $500,000 on holding a mail-only special election.
Ballots are in the mail now and must be returned by June 17 at 7 p.m. They can be dropped off anytime through June 17 at 7 p.m. at official ballot boxes around the city. The city clerks office is open Monday through Friday between 8 and 5 p.m. and from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. for ballot drop off and accessible voting. You can find more information about ballot box locations here.
Here's the language you'll see on your ballot
Shall the voters approve Ordinance 25-16, concerning annexing that area known as Karman Line Addition No. 6 consisting of 1,876.24 acres located northwest of the Bradley Road and Curtis Road intersection into the City of Colorado Springs?
A yes vote means that the Karman Line Addition annexation should stand as approved by the city council.
A no vote rejects the city’s annexation of Karman Line Addition.
How would it work, if approved?
If the annexation stands, the developers will need to work through planning application and approval processes before construction can begin. Colorado Springs Utilities will be obliged to provide the infrastructure and facilities for electric, natural gas, fiber, wastewater and water to the residents and other users within the Karman Line property.
The city-owned utility estimates its capital cost to fall between $90 and $135 million to provide the Karman Line development with services. Those funds will come out of base rates paid by all utility customers.
Estimated capital costs to extend services to the project that the developer is responsible for total between $128 million and nearly $147 million.
According to utilities officials, an ordinance approved last year regarding adequate water supplies can be met. The development’s projected water demand is 1,672 acre feet of water a year, which is within the city's current portfolio.
An acre foot equals 325,851 gallons of water and can support three to four families in Colorado Springs.
Utilities officials also estimate needing an additional 34,000 acre feet of water a year to serve all customers, once all land currently inside the city limits is built out.
Who is for it?
Proponents of the annexation said military service members and civilians who work at the space force base face long commutes and limited housing options, and this project would help address those challenges. It would also add high quality housing and infrastructure to the southeast part of the city and to the city inventory in general.
Additionally, some supporters say that this project will create more competition among developers in Colorado Springs. Much of the developable land currently in the city is located in Banning Lewis Ranch and controlled by competing developer Norwood Development Group.
Karman Line developer Norris Ranch Joint Development LLC is a collaboration between La Plata Communities, which had a similar proposal rejected last year, and the O'Neil Group, which recently got approval to construct a new apartment tower in downtown Colorado Springs that will become the city’s tallest building.
Three current city councilors voted in favor of the Karman Line annexation during the original approval in January. They include David Leinweber, Brian Risley and Lynette Crow-Iverson.
Former councillors who voted for it in January, before they left their seats, were Randy Helms, Yolanda Avila and Michelle Talarico.
Mike O’Malley split his vote to oppose one part of the annexation, while approving the rest of it. He said he approved of adding housing to the city, but did not think the flagpole style annexation was logical and he had concerns about emergency response times.
Who is against it?
El Paso County residents who live in the area of the annexation as well as many city residents have concerns about the environment, emergency response times, traffic and more.
Farmers and ranchers from communities in the Lower Arkansas River Valley are also against new developments that may lead to water transfers out of their communities to municipalities like Colorado Springs.
Nearly 19,000 signatures were on the petitions submitted in late February that required city council to reconsider their approval of the annexation. Karman Line developer Norris Ranch Joint Development LLC filed a complaint with the Secretary of State’s office alleging that the petition effort received funding from competing developer Norwood Development Group or one of its affiliates and had violated campaign finance laws. The Secretary of State responded that it didn’t have jurisdiction over this city matter.
Councillors Dave Donelson and Nancy Henjum voted against the annexation during the original approval process in January. Donelson, Henjum and Lynette Crow-Iverson opposed the affirmation of the annexation in April. Crow-Iverson said she supported the annexation, but not the cost of a special election.
What does the name Karman Line mean?
The Kármán line is an imaginary line that marks the boundary between Earth's atmosphere and outer space. It is named for Theodore von Kármán, a Hungarian born aerospace engineer who was the first director of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory at the California Institute of Technology.
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