Time to update past Side Streets columns.
Josh Higham is happy that he no longer has to listen to idling semi-trucks unloading Pepsi and other things in the middle of the night at Penrose Hospital. Last Monday’s column told of Higham’s plight: he lives in a bungalow across from hospital loading docks and was awaken by trucks that would sit, engines idling for hours, during deliveries.
The story delivered immediate relief. And free Pepsi. Actually, Diet Pepsi Max, a high-caffeine drink which the bottler delivered to Higham and his neighbors as a peace offering.
Another recent column told of manure cascading down a hillside and into Ruxton Creek in Manitou Springs. Neighbors wanted the manure pile removed. And they wanted to block owner David Jenkins from using his barn and 14.5 acres for a therapeutic riding center and boarding up to nine horses in its four stalls.
Here is a map of the neighborhood.
After the story, Jenkins sent in crews to remove the manure pile, terrace the ravine, built a catch-basin to collect and slow runoff and re-seed the area. Here are photos Dan Folke, Manitou Springs planning direcotr, took on April 1 after the clean-up.
But the move did not appease neighbors. Some remain upset Jenkins installed fences to prevent hikers from trespassing to reach a popular trail. Others simply oppose the idea of nine horses living in the barn.
As tensions escalated, the riding center’s founders, Debra Rose and Deb Steddom, had to deal with vandalism at the barn that threatened their horses.
The issue climaxed April 9 at a Planning Commission hearing on Rose and Steddom’s request for a permit to open the Leg Up Therapeutic Riding Center. Manitou Planning Director Dan Folke supported the request. Here is a link to his overview of the project ruxton-project-overview.pdf as well as his report on the ruxton-stable-meeting-minutes-aprcpc.pdf of the commission hearing.
But the permit request was rejected by the Planning Commission, with 70 people in attendance.
Now, Jenkins has told the city he will proceed with plans for the center without seeking a permit. He said his property’s historic use as a horse barn makes a permit unnecessary. Neighbors are furious. This story will require a future update.
====================
I believe that the Jenkins have the right to fence their property to block trespassers, and it looks like a very thorough clean-up job that is designed to mitigate any future manure runoff.
Historic use as a horse barn means he is grandfathered for continuing use of horses, but he may have problems operating a riding center without the permit… time will tell