UPDATE: Parks advisory board votes in favor of controversial land swap

Controversy and heavy public criticism failed Thursday to sway an advisory board considering a land swap between Colorado Springs and the Broadmoor.

After an eight-hour meeting, the Colorado Springs Parks and Recreation Advisory Board voted 6-3 to approve the land exchange.

The vote sends the matter to City Council on April 25 for further action, with a final vote possibly in May.

The most controversial part of the deal involves a 189-acre open space, known as Strawberry Fields, on the city’s southwest side. In return, the city would receive 360 acres of land from the Broadmoor. The land would include private parcels adjoining Barr trail and the Manitou Incline, solidifying public access.

The Broadmoor wants to build horse stables and a picnic pavilion on a few acres of the property, while keeping the rest open to the public and maintaining it with flood control, erosion control and other measures.

Critics are skeptical about possible further development on the property and about limited public access.

“Because this is such a major swap, what we’d really like to see happen is everybody just go back to ground zero,” said Kent Obee, an opponent.

After hearing an update from city staff on the proposal’s process since it was announced in January, the nine-member board listened to public comment from people on both sides of the issue.

Some opponents want the city to demand a better deal, believing Strawberry Fields is worth far more than its appraised value.

“It got better today, and it may get better tomorrow,” said Richard Skorman, a former city councilman and board member. “I still insist that we don’t know what the best thing for the public would be for this.”

Glenn Montgomery, who lives near Strawberry Fields, said support for the proposal is greater than most people realize.

“There are hundreds of people who are in support of this land exchange, simply because it’s the best thing across the board that serves the most citizens,” he said.

City Councilman Bill Murray said he’s frustrated by the long meetings and contentious debate.

“The reason we can’t trust the process is because of the complexity of it,” he said. “It is so big. It is on a scale of 30 times what we’ve ever done before. So we should take 30 times as much time to review it.”

The appraised value of the city property sought by the Broadmoor is $3,611,200 — about half of which is the preliminary value of Strawberry Fields.

The appraised value of Broadmoor land sought by city $2,161,000.

The city plans to seek a third-party review of those appraisals.

Despite some public skepticism, Broadmoor President and CEO Jack Damioli said he’s trying to address concerns about the proposal.

“We’ve had good feedback,” he said. “We’ve had an ability to go and tweak our plans to ensure that we’re listening to that feedback and reacting accordingly.”

Under the proposal, the city also would receive a parcel of land in Bear Creek and is seeking to have it managed by El Paso County.