The Biggest Showdown in Colorado Springs History: Save our Skies.
We cannot do it without your help.
Game on! We’ve officially filed the URA Lawsuit—the biggest play yet in our fight against the abuse of blight law. If the court agrees with us, not only do we stop this abuse of blight, we stop the skyscraper in its tracks. To be clear, there are two One VeLa recent decisions: 1. the One VeLa URA vote that went through Planning Commission and City Council to approve "Blight to get taxpayer dollars to fund infrastructure, in this case a parking garage for a luxury apartment complex. 2. the One VeLa Development (Skyscraper) vote just approved by the appointed Downtown Review Board.
Let’s be clear: This isn’t just about one building. It’s about honoring the intent of Blight Laws (URAs) which use taxpayer dollars to fund "infrastructure" and protecting our skyline, preserving our air quality, and stopping taxpayer-funded giveaways to developers who are lining their pockets at our expense.
Blight? Really?
This area—where they claim blight exists—has pristine roads, beautiful lighting, elegant sidewalks, and even music playing through speakers. There’s plenty of parking, including an adjacent garage that never even fills up. Yet, they want to call it “blighted” to qualify for public subsidies. Enough is enough!
Fourth & Goal – We Need Your Support!
We’ve come too far to fumble now. To challenge the One VeLa Development Plan just approved by an UNELECTED DOWTOWN REVIEW BOARD, we need funds to file the appeal of the Luxury Skyscraper Development Plan that is now "officially approved". The Downtown Review Board is an appointed board that includes a sales executive for GE Johnson (one of our largest builders), Nadine Hensler, who did not recuse for the vote, in spite of the fact that GE Johnson did pricing per her testimony, for the One VeLa building. She claimed no bias (at 50:32 in the hearing) as she has not been working there, starting a month ago though her LinkedIn didn't reflect that change on the Feb. 4th hearing date. In spite of the fact that the outcome would have been the same, we believe she should have recused. She has a lot of voting power and also serves on the Planning Commission Board and PPLD Foundation (when she was working for GE Johnson) and voted to approve the One VeLa URA. PPLD is one of the major votes on URAs being approved. Moreover, not a single elected leader has approved this development unless we appeal it to City Council. Future skyscrapers, (we were told there are 4 more in the wings) can be approved administratively without public input or any hearing whatsoever as part of the Form-Based Zone code. That's right. A City planner can approve an 800-foot-tall skyscraper in the FBZ zone downtown with no public hearing. If you believe in representative government, now is the time to stand up and help. If every petition signer gave just the price of a Super Bowl hotdog (or, if you prefer, a fancy latte), we’d have more than enough to fight back.
Is saving our skies worth the cost of a cup of coffee? We think so. General Palmer, who founded Colorado Springs, had a vision of clear, open, natural spaces with clean air for our health—not high-rise luxury apartments that trap pollution, create heat islands and cast shadows. Let’s honor that vision. The best speech of the One VeLa Development hearing was given by Greg Thornton who reminded us of General Palmer's vision. You can watch it here. By the way, as soon as the online opposition comments started, the City went to a commercial for the downtown and numerous people were unable to watch or make their own comments as they kept getting kicked off the call. Integrity Matters has filed complaints over this issue and sent countless emails. There is a pattern of strategic technical difficulties no one can explain. Meanwhile, tens of thousands of people can Zoom with interactive Q & A with no problems. This is a violation of Open Meetings and ADA Laws and causes interferences and "inaudible" in official legal transcripts in lawsuits which matters very much.
Unethical Play Calling by City Council
City Council should be referees for the people, but instead, they’re playing for the developers who fund their campaigns. The O’Neil Group contributed $34,000 in campaign cash, creating a clear appearance of impropriety. All five of these people should have recused for the One VeLa URA vote which is noted in the lawsuit:
- Lynette Crow-Iverson – $10,000
- Brian Risley – $10,000
- David Leinweber – $10,000
- Nancy Henjum – $2,000
- Mike O’Malley – $2,000
Do you think these donations impacted their votes to disallow even a public discussion much less a vote on building heights? It seems like a logical deduction. Only Dave Donelson stood up for voters by asking his fellow Councilmembers to let the people decide on building height limits. The rest of City Council told him and you to go pound sand with not even a discussion allowed—or in football terms, they took the ball and ran the other way. That debacle led to the highly unbecoming and controversial public flogging and censure of Councilmember Donelson with Councilmembers Leinweber and Henjum at the tip of the spear.
The Final Quarter – Donate Now!
This is the two-minute drill—we cannot win without your donations. We’ve taken the fight to court, but we need your help to finish it. Every single dollar helps us push forward and fight for the beautiful skyline and clean air we deserve.
🏈 Donate today. Protect our skyline. Win for Colorado Springs.
🗳️ And remember, vote wisely on 4/1/2025! Do your homework on the candidates, their donors (not just developer but Dark Money too) and, for the incumbents running for a second term, their votes!