EL PASO COUNTY, Colo. (KOAA) — Construction happening right in their backyard has some neighbors in one Woodmoor community frustrated over how much the area has changed.
Residents say they understand upgrades are needed, but after trees were removed and the landscape shifted, they want more communication from the Woodmoor Water & Sanitation District about what restoration will look like once the project is finished.
A quiet neighborhood known for birds and wildlife is now filled with construction noise.
“It’s almost that we could see our neighbors, and before we couldn’t,” said Stephanie Lupo, who lives in the Woodmoor neighborhood.
The project involves installing a new gravity-flow sanitary sewer line. The Woodmoor Water and Sanitation District says the upgrade is needed to replace an aging system.
Lupo said residents received notice of the project, but she hoped for more direct communication.
“They sent the letter, but there was no personal contact to ask, you know, what can we do to make this a better procedure?” she said.
To complete the work, several trees were removed.
The district says it does not have to follow neighborhood covenants when building public utilities inside dedicated easements. Now, Lupo wants to know what comes next.
“If you're going to remove what is natural, then at least do something to regrow it, to put it back to where it should be,” she said.
Days later, the construction area already looked different as work continued.
Another resident, Eric Lewis, said the natural setting was a major reason his family moved in the neighborhood.
“When we decided to move here, one of the biggest factors was when you moved to Colorado, you wanna feel like you're in Colorado,” said Lewis.
Like Lupo, he wants to know how closely the area can be restored once the project is complete.
“You're really thinking about, what's this gonna look like when they're done, and can it look at least similar to the way it did,” he said.
The district says contractors must restore disturbed ground and grading as close as reasonably possible to original conditions. Grass seeding is also planned, according to the district.
However, when it comes to trees, the district says roots can damage sewer lines, cause blockages, and make future maintenance harder, so it does not support replanting near the easement.
Lewis believes there may be room for compromise.
“There’s probably a happy middle ground there somewhere where if they would come out and spend a little bit of time working with our HOA and our architectural committee, there is probably some vegetation, including some trees, that could be put back in that wouldn’t interfere with the long term,” he said.
Neighbors say they understand the project is necessary. What they want now is more discussion about what restoration could look like moving forward.
The district says the contractor has until May 31 to complete the project.
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