Ordinance, not moratorium, chosen as landslide solution
Two Colorado Springs city councilmen said they are dropping a proposed moratorium on construction in landslide zones and will work instead on drafting an ordinance regarding the matter.
Don Knight and Tom Strand have created a sense of urgency for themselves, hoping to have a draft ready for council review by the end of June.
“The longer we wait, more homes are being built in risky areas,” Knight said. “If you can mitigate now and keep someone from suffering needlessly, I think we need to do it.”
Knight and Strand said they’re forced to act after seeing dozens of homes damaged or destroyed by landslides and homeowners receiving little or no financial assistance.
The two councilmen emphasized that the city, developers, builders are Realtors are not to blame for the situation — but that there should be better communication among them when it comes to concerns expressed by the Colorado Geological Survey.
“I don’t know how seriously that’s taken,” Strand said. “I hope it is, but I want to find out if there’s a disconnect. Sometimes, people do good things and want to do the best, but they just don’t.”
“I think it might be that the city code isn’t specific enough on who is responsible,” Knight said.
The councilmen said one aspect of the ordinance could make the city and/or the building industry more responsible for disclosing geologic hazards at a home, instead of asking homeowners to seek the information.
“We also may look at whether we need a city geologist,” Strand said. “We haven’t felt the need to have one before but we’ll consider it.”
The councilmen said they also want to commission an in-depth study of soil conditions on the city’s west side.
“It doesn’t mean you can’t build there,” Knight said. “It means you just need more mitigation.”
The Housing and Building Association said it prefers an ordinance to a moratorium because an ordinance might restrict, but not stop, construction at a time when the area’s real estate market is booming.
The HBA plans to watch the process closely but is willing to cooperate and find a solution.
Unfortunately, the ordinance comes too late to help dozens of homeowners affected by landslides.
Bob Jardon, one of the victims, said he may get only $12,000 for his $800,000 in Broadmoor Bluffs.
“I’d like to see a tougher ordinance than they’re considering,” he said. “They don’t want to consider enforcement but without it, an ordinance doesn’t do anything.”
