Colorado Springs City Council votes down proposal to annex Amara

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) - Colorado Springs City Council voted 5-4 late Tuesday evening to not annex the development known as Amara, a 3,000-acre plot of land south of Colorado Springs, close to Fountain.

The vote comes three weeks after the same council voted 5-4 to approve the annexation.

At that time, Dave Donelson, David Leinweber, Brian Risley, Michelle Talarico, and Yolanda Avila voted yes, while Randy Helms, Nancy Henjum, Mike O'Malley, and Lynette Crow-Iverson voted no.

It was Dave Donelson who changed his vote and therefore the outcome.

The developers, La Plata, had hoped to build more than 9,000 homes on the plot of land if annexed, which the company believed appealed to younger professionals who are struggling to find housing. "I believe, for me and a lot of other young professionals, that it's [the development] very needed in a community that is only going to continue growing, and we just need to decide if we want to make it available for everybody or just for a select few," said Katie Psek, an El Paso County Resident. Psek spoke to the city council during the last meeting on July 23.

Others urged the City Council to vote against the annexation have raised several concerns like water supply.

City Code 12.4.305 says the city's water supply must be able to meet 128% of current water demand. Utility officials said during the July 23 meeting water could be supplied to the development. Officials also said that they could implement a system extension bill rider to pay for the costs of extending utility services to Amara. However, that would need to be approved by the City Council separately. CSU officials also say it could potentially delay other planned Springs Utilities projects.

Jack Goble, general manager of the Lower Arkansas Valley Water Conservancy District told KRDO13 Investigates he wasn't for or against the development but raised some concerns. "If they have the existing water for this development, there's going to be future developments. Where does it end? Are we just going to continue to drain the Lower Arkansas Valley to support growth in Colorado Springs? I don't think that's the way to go," Goble said.

It's unclear what the developers will do with the land following Tuesday's vote denying annexation.