City to hold meetings to help homeowners affected by devastating landslides

Buyouts may be the only option for more than 20 homeowners impacted by landslides.

The city of Colorado Springs is trying to get the federal government to step in and help those homeowners.

“It’s a shame to watch everyone go through this. It’s devastating financially and emotionally,” said Linda Carroll, a homeowner in the Skyway area.

Carroll has lived in the area for the past 30 years but has never seen anything like the devastation caused by the 2015 landslides. She said she started noticing the damage in late fall.

“In here, the ceiling’s starting to crack,” said Carroll of a first-floor room. Her backyard took the brunt of the damage. A once neatly-kept yard is now scattered with tangled, uprooted trees and piles of dirt.

A federal grant could help cover 75% of the cost of the homes, and the city would buy out the homes. That’s what’s in the works now with FEMA, according to the city.

“This is an extremely difficult situation. The damage that’s occurring to these homes is uninsurable. The property owners have no way of recouping this loss, so what we are doing through this hazard mitigation program is trying to help them as much as we can,” said Gordon Brenner, Emergency Recovery Coordinator for the city of Colorado Springs.

There are two meetings this week to address the problem. The first is Tuesday night at 6:30 p.m. at Saint Paul’s Catholic Church on El Pomar Road. The second is set for Thursday at Colorado Springs Fire Station 16 at the Colorado Springs Fire Station 16 on Farthing Drive.