(COLORADO SPRINGS) — A multi-million dollar supportive housing project, which has been in the works for over two years, is now facing potential upheaval. A group of neighbors is appealing the project in August’s City Council meeting, expressing concerns about its potential impact on their community.
The project, known as The Launchpad, is planned to be a 50-unit apartment community set to be built in the West Side neighborhood in Old Colorado City. The Launchpad is designed to offer a safe haven for young individuals seeking to escape homelessness.
Spearheaded by The Place, a longstanding local non-profit organization dedicated to addressing youth homelessness, the Launchpad has already been thoroughly vetted and approved by the city’s development department.
“When I look at this property… I see not just the vacant land as it is… I see a home for young people,” said Shawna Kemppainen, CEO of The Place, who expressed her enthusiasm for the project, emphasizing the positive impact it would have on young people looking to transition out of homelessness.
However, a vocal group of more than 20 neighbors opposes the project and has filed an appeal against it. Their initial appeal was denied by the city Planning Commission back in June. They are now filing one again with the City Council, hoping to override that decision.
Their concerns primarily revolve around the size of the building and fear that The Launchpad will exacerbate drug use and homelessness in the neighborhood.
Scott Hiller, one of the co-appellants of the supportive housing project, questioned the rationale behind selecting this particular site for the Launchpad. He argued that if the facility is open to anyone in the county, it should be considered for other locations beyond their neighborhood.
Kemppainen said they chose the Old Colorado City location because it will provide easy walkable access to essential amenities for their tenants to succeed, such as grocery stores, public transportation, and job opportunities. She says the mission of The Place has always been to get people out of situations like homelessness and drug use and this project will allow that.
A big concern of those opposed is that it will be located near a preschool – Ruth Washburn Cooperative Nursery School. Yet, a statement from nursery school executives says they remain supportive of The Launchpad.
“While this facility should exist, it should not exist next to a preschool… It’s inappropriate,” said Hiller.
Another point of contention raised by the appellants is the size of the proposed building. Although The Launchpad was already approved by the area zoning code, The Westside Plan, which guides building recommendations in the neighborhood, limits construction height to 35 feet and 16 units per acre, both of which The Launchpad exceeds.
Furthermore, the appellants express concerns about the safety of the location and argue that the slope that will be removed at the chosen site could lead to potential landslide risks.
According to Kemppainen, CTL Thompson, a geotechnical engineering consultant, who has evaluated the safety of land for big-name projects such as the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo and the Gold Hill Mesa, was the one to evaluate the area.
“We made sure to engineer around the slope so that the building would work, and in the end, we’re actually going to end up making that slope more stable through the work that we do,” said Kemppainen.
Since the first appeal with the City Planning Commission, the group of community members opposed to his project has grown. Neighbors now say they didn’t get enough notice and were largely unaware of this project.
“As taxpayers, as citizens, and homeowners, we should have been much more involved in how our tax money is spent around the neighborhood,” said Hiller.
There is a meeting scheduled for Aug. 5 at 3 p.m. at the Ruth Washburn Cooperative Nursery School for the community to solicit their input. The City Council will be held that following Tuesday, Aug. 8, where Hiller said they are showing up with over 50 neighbors to appeal this project.
Kemppainen is still hoping the City Council will see that this housing project will improve the community more than anything.
“The Place has a lot of experience doing this sort of work already, just in apartments across the community… with an 85-90% success rate with those young folks staying stable and safe. Having The Launch Pad will enable us to condense those services and make things even better for the youth who move in here,” said Kemppainen.
