Side Streets ~ Neighborhood people and issues

Archive for February, 2011

I’M SHRINKING!! OLDER NEIGHBORHOODS WAVE KIDS GOODBYE

February 27th, 2011, 12:00 pm by

The last 10 years were tough on neighborhoods everywhere, with the mortgage meltdown and plunging property values and record foreclosures and all.

Now, newly released 2010 census data tells us just how tough it was on older neighborhoods in the core of Colorado Springs.

While El Paso County’s population was exploding by an additional 20 percent during the decade, established Springs neighborhoods were suffering significant shrinkage.

Glance at the interactive map The Gazette’s Maria St. Louis-Sanchez created to show population shifts.

Neighborhoods along the perimeter of the city are burning up with new residents, shown on the map in red, orange and gold.

Then check out the  blue/gray masses signifying populations losses. They spread from Peregrine, Rockrimmon and Briargate up north to the Broadmoor and Stratton Meadows on the south. And from the West side to Patty Jewett to Cimarron Hills in the east.

Here’s a list of some of the neighborhoods, based on census tracts, and their population losses in 2000-2010.

Bonnyville ………………………………….. -5.3 percent

Broadmoor …………………………………. -4.2

Chapel Hills/Briargate ………………….. -4
Cimarron Hills ……………………………. -8.3
                               ……………………………. -2.3

Cragmor …………………………………….. -7.4

Dublin/Academy …………………………. -4.5

Hillside ………………………………………. -5.3

Holland Park ………………………………. -8.6

Norwood ……………………………………. -3.7

Old Farm ……………………………………. -1.7

Old North End …………………………….. -5.4

Palmer Park ………………………………… -8.2
                          ………………………………… -3.8

Patty Jewett ………………………………… -11.3
                           ………………………………… -10

Peregrine …………………………………….. -2.2

Rockrimmon ……………………………….. -2.4

Roswell ……………………………………….. -8.7

Shooks Run ………………………………… -11.5

Stratton Hills ………………………………. -10.2

Stratton Meadows ……………………….. -17.5

Village Seven  ………………………………. -6.5
                             ……………………………….. -5.8

West side ……………………………………. -9.3
                     ……………………………………. -8.3
                     ……………………………………. -5.7
                     ……………………………………. -5

Woodland Hills/Briargate …………….. -8.8

“It could be cyclical,” said Steve Tuck, a longtime city planner. “Most of those areas are fairly stable.

“It could be we’re seeing an aging population with children leaving home. As a result, the average size of household is declining.”

Check out this snapshot from the Census data. It is typical of the decline in children being seen in neighborhoods. The percentage of adults is jumping as the younger population plunges.

El Paso County Commissioner Sallie Clark, a Westsider, said the numbers bolster the need to reinvest in older neighborhoods.

“This really makes the argument for putting dollars into redeveloping older areas,” she said. “These areas have infrastructure issues. Some have been neglected for years. Curbs and gutters are crumbling.

 “If we really don’t want urban sprawl, we better pay attention to the core of the city. Don’t sacrifice the old for the new.”

Here’s a look at the unincorporated Stratton Meadows neighborhood on the city’s southern edge:

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WEB DEVELOPER’S INTERNET LEFTOVERS A FEAST FOR SPRINGS COMMUTERS

February 23rd, 2011, 1:55 pm by

In 2007, Brian Perry had a new phone with Internet access and wanted to use it to surf network of Colorado Springs‘ traffic web cams during his daily commute down Interstate 25.

But he quickly became frustrated because he couldn’t find a site where every cam was conveniently displayed.

So Brian, a web developer, created his own site, www.JamJumper.com, to gather all the cams in one spot.

Soon, Brian was able to scan the road ahead, using JamJumper, and decide whether to wait out a traffic jam or duck off I-25 onto the side streets to continue his commute.

Here’s a closer look at JamJumper on Brian’s phone.

Funny thing. Brian doesn’t make the daily commute anymore. He works from his home in Peregrine running his company JumpStart Focus.

But he’s left his JamJumper up for anyone who wants to use it.

It’s kind of like his laboratory that he uses in his web design business. He uses it to experiment on behalf of clients to research how Google and other search engines drive traffic to various sites.

For example, he learned that by precisely labeling each web cam with specific intersection names, JamJumper seemed to vault to the top of results for Google searches  in Colorado Springs.

Brian wasn’t done with JamJumper. He longed for a similar place to find web cams for Colorado ski areas. And to guage the weather.

So he got busy. He created SnowGrabber.com and WeatherGetter.com and refined his designs.

And he expanded SnowGrabber to provide web cams at ski areas around the world. Here’s a look at JamJumper:

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HOA BOSS FACES QUESTIONS FROM HOA MANAGERS

February 16th, 2011, 12:03 pm by

Aaron Acker, director of Colorado's new HOA Information and Resource Center, speaks Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2011, in Colorado Springs to the Southern Colorado Chapter of the Community Associations Institute.

Colorado’s new HOA boss, Aaron Acker, came to Colorado Springs with a clear message for homeowners association board members and professional property managers: he and the new HOA Information Office and Resource Center are not the enemy. 

“We’re not going to be condo cops,” Acker said Tuesday in a speech to the Southern Colorado Chapter of the Community Associations Institute, the trade group for property managers and HOAs. 

“We are not a regulatory agency,” Acker said. “And we are not in the business of mediating disputes. 

“We are strictly an information-gathering agency and resource center for homeowners and for associations.” 

The crowd of more than 100 seemed wary, however, and even a bit suspicious of Acker. 

 

 

Acker said about 3,500 HOAs had registered so far, covering about 250,000 homes in Colorado. But he said many more need to get registered by logging onto his web site and paying the $8.95 fee. 

“I’m encouraging homeowners to become active in their associations and talk with their associations,” Acker said. “I try to help them understand the concept of homeowners associations. A lot of people have never lived under an association and don’t understand their rights. 

He said he welcomed information from association boards and property managers, as well. 

“I’d love to hear from you,” he said. “We understand there are benefits of homeowners associations,” Acker said. “That’s why so many people want to live in them.” 

Here’s a link to a previous blog I wrote about Acker and his agency. 

Aaron Acker, head of the new state HOA Information and Resource Center, fielded questions from the Southern Colorado Chapter of the Community Associations Industry at a luncheon Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2011, in Colorado Springs.

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HOARDER GETS SYMPATHY BUT NO SLACK FOR JUNK COLLECTION

February 13th, 2011, 12:01 pm by

 From the curb, Tom Taylor‘s home looks like any other mini-mansion in Top of Skyway neighborhood in southwest Colorado Springs.

Tom Taylor's home near Orion Drive in Top of Skyway neighborhood in Colorado Springs seen in an image from Google Earth.

Take a closer look, however, and you realize Taylor’s home is anything but typical.

Tom Taylor, shown in December in an interview with KOAA News First 5 video.

It’s a textbook example of urban blight.

 And, until recently, the 2.5-acre lot surrounding his 4,300-square-foot home was filled with junk

All types of junk surround the home of Tom Taylor in Top of Skyway neighborhood near Orion Drive. Photo courtsey Colorado Springs Code Enforcement office.

Junk filled the four-bay garage of Tom Taylor's home near Orion Drive in Top of Skyway neighborhood. Photo courtesy Colorado Springs Code Enforcement office.

An old SUV sat amid the rubble, filled with junk, outside the home of Tom Taylor near Orion Drive in Top of Skyway neighborhood of Colorado Springs. Photo courtesy the Colorado Springs Code Enforcement office.

Neighborhing homeowners associations tried to intervene. But Taylor’s home was built before surrounding developments. So covenants governing life in the neighborhood don’t apply to him. The HOAs were impotent.

Code enforcement officers were called and began trying to get Taylor to comply with city rules. Eventually, summons were issued for four violations of code and he was taken to court.

That was last July. He entered a plea agreement and he was put on probation and given until Sept. 30 to remove the junk from his lot.

 The deadline passed but the junk remained. The city took him back to court. On Dec. 15, about a dozen neighbors showed up to testify about conditions on the property.

 The judge found Taylor had violated probation, fined him $500 per violation and warned him he could face jail time if the didn’t get things up to code. Each violation carries a possible 90-day jail sentence.

Junk is visible strewn around the Top of Skyway home of Tom Taylor near Orion Drive in this image from FlashEarth.com.

Here’s a link to a KOAA NewsFirst 5 video of Taylor and his home.

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MANITOIDS ARE EVERYWHERE

February 9th, 2011, 1:44 pm by

Everyone, it seems, wants to be a Manitoid . . .  someone who identifies as a Manitou Springs lover.

Of course, being loved by people far and wide is a great thing for a tourist town.

Unless, that is, you are trying to launch a hyper-local social network as the Manitou Springs Chamber of Commerce is doing.

They’ve found their efforts are being hijacked by wannabe Manitiods all over the globe.

These folks have good intentions. They just want to be associated with the wacky coffin-racing, fruitcake-tossing, drum-beating crowd that has made Manitou famous.

Trouble is, the new site was designed for locals. The 5,200 or so people actually living in Manitou.

It’s supposed to be about chicken dinners and school plays and concerts and water-main breaks and book club meetings and other stuff of little interest outside the village.

But Manitou’s fan latched onto the site after learning of it from the chamber’s Facebook postings.

Now the chamber has the delicate task of dissuading the tourists from clogging up the new site and attracting only residents.

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HOA BOSS COMING TO TOWN; GET YOUR QUESTIONS READY!

February 6th, 2011, 12:01 pm by
UPDATE !!!!
UPDATE!!!!
Aaron Acker has rescheduled his speech for TUESDAY, Feb. 15.
 
The luncheon is open to the public. It costs $25 for CAI members and $40 for non-members. Registration begins at 11 a.m. at the Colorado Springs Marriott Hotel, 5580 Tech Center Drive.

Aaron Acker HOA Information Officer on the summit of Mount Bierstadt

aron Acker HOA Information Officer and other mountain climbers in the Sangre de Cristos

Aaron Acker is excited about his new role as leader of Colorado’s brand new HOA Information and Resource Center.

It’s his job to register HOAs to determine exactly how many homeowners associations exist in the state and how many people live under their rule.

Education is a big part of his duties, as well as logging complaints about abusive HOA boards and property managers.

Another big part of his job, as directed by the 2010 General Assembly, is to compile all this information and report his findings back to lawmakers.

Good thing Acker is a mountain climber because he’s facing a tall challenge.

I suspect trying to get a handle on HOAs will be akin to herding cats.

Personally, I’d recommend he invest in an electric cattle prod.

Acker is the scheduled to speak at a noon luncheon on Tuesday, Feb. 15, as a guest of the Southern Colorado Chapter of the Community Association Institute.

The luncheon is open to the public. It costs $25 for CAI members and $40 for non-members. Registration begins at 11 a.m. at the Colorado Springs Marriott Hotel, 5580 Tech Center Drive.

For questions, call 264-0301 or email ericphillips@caisoco.org

Here’s Acker’s bio ,provided by the CAI: 

Aaron Acker was born in Montana and raised in Pennsylvania.  Aaron is a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh and Penn State’s Dickinson School of Law. He is a licensed attorney in both Colorado (2008) and Pennsylvania (2010).

Aaron began working for the State of Colorado in 2007, in the Department of Regulatory Agencies, Division of Registrations.  He worked in the Expedited Settlement Program, where he sought to settle, on an efficient basis, disciplinary cases before state licensing boards.  In that role, he communicated with licensees, their attorneys, licensing wards and the State Attorney General.

After his initial role in the Division of Real Estate, Aaron practiced law in Fort Collins.  As an attorney in private practice, he worked in civil litigation, criminal law, probate and appeals.

In 2009, Aaron rejoined the state as a settlement and enforcement specialist in the Division of Real Estate.  In this role, he conducted settlement negotiations on professional disciplinary matters with licensees and their attorney.

When Aaron isn’t performing his duties as HOA Information and Resource Officer, he can be found enjoying many of the activities that Colorado offers including fly fishing, mountain climbing and skiing.  During football season, though, he stays true to his roots and cheers for the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Penn State Nittany Lions.

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For questions, call 264-0301 or email ericphillips@caisoco.org

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MAN FROM JUPITER WANTS TO SEE STARS

February 2nd, 2011, 4:45 pm by

So a guy from Jupiter tells me he can’t see the stars because the streetlights of Colorado Springs are too bright.

Really!

Rex Johnson of Jupiter wants the city to turn off neighborhood streetlights pemanently to he has a better view of the night sky.

OK. Rex is not an alien. He lives on Jupiter Drive in Lower Skyway, where else?

And he is not alone.

Several dozen Springs residents have asked the city to leave their neighborhoods in the dark as crews begin reactivating lights.

Rex Johnson hopes his neighbors on Jupiter Drive agree to keep turned off this streetlight across from his home.

This is the light that prevents Rex Johnson of Jupiter from seeing the night skies.

A year ago, the city darkened 8,230 lights, including 4,590 in neighborhoods, to save $1.27 million.

Some residents were so upset they paid to $10 to $20 a month to “adopt” their neighborhood lights and keep them lit.  Eventually, 1,250 neighborhood lights were adopted.

Jupiter isn’t so far away after all. Here’s a look at Rex Johnson’s street from FlashEarth.com:

City crews are about half finished reactivating lights turned out on neighborhood streets last February. Here’s a look at their progress as of last week:

Here’s a link to the city’s streetlight reactivation status map.

And here’s a link to a column I wrote last March about lights being turned out.

Requests to keep streetlights off were due to the city by Friday, Dec. 31, 2010. But if you have questions, try calling 385-2852 or email streetlights@springsgov.com.

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