Comment on this Story

JUNE 7, 2001:

At least 250 people are gearing up to battle a Wal-Mart Superstore that would instantly double the amount of commercial retail space in the town of Monument.

The proposed 184,000-foot Superstore, on Baptist Road just east of Interstate 25, would be highly visible from the highway and likely would be a magnet for more commercial big-box chain-store development in the immediate vicinity, said El Paso County assistant planning director Carl Schueler.

"It's the agglomeration concept," Schueler said. "When you have one big-box store or fast-food restaurant or hotel or motel, there is an inducement for more because they support each other as a cluster."

Schueler said the county has met with Wal-Mart developers in a pre-application meeting and they are expected to present a formal application in two weeks. But nearby residents of the proposed Superstore are organizing in opposition.

"This is so obviously a bad idea, said John Heiser, a county planning commissioner and spokesman of the Coalition of Tri-Lakes Communities, a group that organized to address land use issues in the Monument area.

Activists have collected 750 signatures so far in an effort to protest the plan, which they say would decimate the town's mom-and-pop-owned business center, destroy the character of the nearby neighborhood and create a traffic nightmare.

Heiser noted that another Wal-Mart Superstore is only nine minutes away to the south, near the Chapel Hills Mall off I-25 and Academy Boulevard.

The chain initially approached Town of Monument trustees last year, indicating interest in building the chain store, but ultimately backed away from the project. This year, they have opted to attempt to build the store with county approval.

However, Heiser's group plans to adopt the strategies of activists in other parts of the country and state, including in Woodland Park west of Colorado Springs, who have waged successful battles to keep Wal-Mart away.

RECENTLY:

• Big Johnson open space inquiry ordered At the request of Colorado Springs Councilman Ted Eastburn, City Manager Jim Mullen has ordered a complete report of how his staff recommended and subsequently purchased an $8.1 million parcel of open space that could become little more than a tall grass prairie buffer for an upscale gated waterfront development around Big Johnson Reservoir. by Cara DeGette (05-31-01)
• Woman Unnerved by New Census Confusion over a little-known survey being conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau has left one Colorado Springs woman feeling harassed and fearful she may be fined or worse for refusing to participate. by Cara DeGette (05-31-01)
• Time to Deal When the city bought a 650-acre parcel of tall grass prairie, wildlife and prime birding ground surrounding — but not adjacent to — the Big Johnson Reservoir in southeastern Colorado Springs, the $8.1 million deal was heralded as a major coup for open space. But instead of a preserve ringing the reservoir that will forever protect the prairie, the waterfront property is now being eyed by developers as a playground rich with possibility. by Cara DeGette (05-24-01)

Museum Director Resigns
After 17 years of building the Colorado Springs Pioneers Museum into a nationally recognized, fully accredited gem, director William C. Holmes has resigned to direct a museum in Mesa, Ariz. His departure comes less than two months after the city’s most recent threat to defund the museum or close it altogether.
by Cara DeGette

Park and Rec Fees on the Rise
At the same time that Colorado Springs’ Parks and Recreation program cuts the ribbon on several new aquatic parks — replete with water flues, climbing structures, floating sculptures and water guns — an increasing numbers of middle- to lower-income children and other residents are being priced out of participation in city-run recreation programs.
by Bob Campbell

Wal-Mart Battle Looms
At least 250 people are gearing up to battle a Wal-Mart Superstore that would instantly double the amount of commercial retail space in the Town of Monument.
by Cara DeGette