COLORADO SPRINGS – A final appeal from those opposing plans for a convention center at the Broadmoor was denied by city council on Tuesday.
The decision was made after almost six hours of public comment from both sides.
The group against the convention center has appealed several times already, but failed. Tuesday was their last attempt to try and change the minds of city council members, but once again they came up short.
A proposed motion to deny the appeal and uphold the city planning commission’s approval of the Broadmoor’s plan was approved by an 8-1 vote from city council.
Cyndy Kulp said, “We feel like we did our job even though we got a decision that wasn’t the one that we wanted.”
A fight that’s been on going for months is now over for Kulp and others that live near the Broadmoor.
“I don’t think it’s going to prove to be a good project for the Broadmoor or for the area.”
She and a group of concerned citizens have been trying to appeal the city planning commission’s approval of a development plan for an event center at the Broadmoor. Their arguments: that the location for this size of building (about 170,000 square feet) is a bad fit, that there will be too much extra traffic for the neighborhood, and that there’s a safety risk.
Kulp said, “The council did not take our concerns about fire seriously and that they’re going to go ahead and allow a large building like that in a high wildfire zone.”
For those at the Broadmoor, the expansion would be used for overflow exhibits at the Space Symposium and other events throughout the year.
Jack Damioli, president and CEO of the Broadmoor, said, “The economic impact for not only the tax base, but for the LART base, as this facility would get built hopefully in the future would be something that would be a great shot in the arm for Colorado Springs.”
Damioli said it would also allow for more full-time jobs.
“As we make the Broadmoor less seasonal and we have an opportunity to expand into the off-season.”
The only city council member that supported the appeal, 12C, was Councilman Bill Murray. While the rest of the council voted against the appeal some said discussions with the Broadmoor do need to continue about traffic and fire mitigation.
