Side Streets   Neighborhoods, people and issues

Some are two story with panel doors and wood windows. One is solar-powered. Another is adobe. Several are split level. Virtually all are fenced.

And all of them are open for visitors this weekend if you want to take a peek!

It’s not a springtime Parade of Homes. It’s the third-annual 2012 Take a Peak Chicken Coop Tour.

This weekend, about 20 coops from Black Forest to Manitou Springs to downtown Colorado Springs will be open for viewing.

Anyone interested in raising chickens is invited to take the free, self-guided tour and learn how to start your own coop.

The tour was the idea of “chickenman” John Conner.

“A couple ladies I worked with got interested in keeping chickens and came over and saw my coop,” John said. “Then they said they’d like to see more.”

So he arranged for a dozen or so folks with chickens to allow folks to see their coops. That was 2010.

“The first year, we had 80 people show,” he said. “Last year, I lost count after 120.”

And that was with mininal advertising.

This year John’s not sure what to expect. He hopes people will learn how easy it is to raise chickens.

“They are pets that give you breakfast,” John said with a laugh.

He started raising them about five years ago and now has five birds. He said they are quiet and no more work than a big dog.

“You have to clean up after them and feed them,” he said. “But they don’t go outside and start barking. They may cluck, but you won’t hear them.”

John created a CoopTourDirectory_2012_draft_2 for tour. It’s 22 pages of photos and tips about raising chickens.

I was intrigued at elaborate coops some build.

John’s coop, at his Shooks Run neighborhood home, is solar-powered with panels on the roof.

Another fellow made his coop out of “cob.”

“Basically, it’s mud and straw,” John said. “And tree limbs and things.”

Then there’s a coop in Black Forest on wheels.

Coops on the tour range from basic plywood to elaborate structures disguised as small cottages or playhouses.

There are a few rules for tour-goers. Don’t bring pets. Don’t scare the chickens. And some coops will only be open for limited times during the weekend.

John also provides information on Colorado Springs codes. For example, residents can have 10 chickens but no roosters in the city. And chicken coop poop must be picked up every few days and kept in a sealed container.

Basic stuff.

Follow this link if you want a  CoopTourMaps_2012, of print one off at John’s website. Or just drop by his house 712 N. Cedar Street east of downtown.

A pet that gives you breakfast, huh? My dog won’t even get me the morning paper!

=====================================

Folks in Black Forest are proud of the unique, unincorporated community north of Colorado Springs where they live. It’s 100 square miles of hills, Ponderosa pines and meadows.

.

.

.

.

.

.

..

.

.

.

.

.

.

Some are so proud the Black Forest History Committee put together a DVD, booklet and map of the Forest and its history.

I found it fascinating. Of course, it starts with Gen. William Jackson Palmer, the entrepreneur who came here after the Civil War, built Colorado Springs, the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad and just about everything else around.

Of course, his growing town and railroad needed lumber so, in 1870, he bought 43,000 acres in the Forest and started chopping down trees. Soon, there were 16 sawmills turning pines in railroad ties and construction materials.

Before they were through, the original forest was wiped out.

When the loggers left, pioneers remained and started building their community.

That’s where the DVD really gets interesting. When it starts talking about the people who stayed and the changes the area went through before it became one big suburb.

For example, it tells about Oliver Shoup, a sawmill executive who ended up governor of Colorado. A main east-west road is named in his honor.

There’s a story of the black, tufted-ear Abert squirrels seen commonly in the forest.

Did you know fox were raised in the Forest, until a U.S. trade agreement with Russia flooded the market with cheap furs and the industry collapsed? The exotic fox raised here were simply turned loose. They mated and produced some of the odd-color fox now seen in the region.

You’ll also learn about the people who settled in Black Forest and helped make it the place it is today such as beloved teacher Edith Wolford.

And then there are the photos, like those on this page. There is a story behind each.

The DVDs are $15. If you want to buy the one, contact Tery Stokka, of the history committee, at 495-0895 or email him at tstokka@juno.com. Proceeds support the committee and the Black Forest Community Center.

==========================================================

.

.

There’s something rotten on top of  West Bijou Street and neighbors say it is stinking up the neighborhood.

The vacant building has been several restaurants since it was built in 1989. According to a 2006 Gazette story, it opened in 1990 as Chicago Joe’s and was owned by SpecialtyRestaurants of Anaheim, Calif.

 The company also owns the Sunbird restaurant on a hillside overlooking Rusina Road and I-25 in Pinecliff, north of Garden of the Gods Road.

The Bijou Street building was known in it’s last incarnation as the Fish Market, the name it still bears.

It was a popular place to sit, eat and enjoy panoramic views of downtown Colorado Springs. You can see it in the center of this image from FlashEarth.

But today, those views are only visible through holes punched in plywood and jagged shards of broken glass. The restaurant closed for renovation in 2001 and never reopened.

Today, the Fish Market is more of a drug market patronized by homeless and vandals who use it as a place to flop and party. Its interior has been gutted by thieves who stripped its wiring to sell for its copper value. Most of the windows have been broken.

.

Colorado Springs Code Enforcement Administrator Ken Lewis, below, surveyed the damage on Friday as he and his assistant, Mark Davis, hauled out trash, painted graffiti and boarded windows.

xxxx

.

.

.

.

.

.

The property was bought in May 2008 by the Pinery, a wedding and events center in Black Forest. Its owners paid $1.75 million and announced plans for a $7 million wedding and events facility on the site.

The nation’s economy cratered before they could get financing and the project has stalled ever since.

Eric Allen, vice president of operations at the Pinery, said the project remains alive. Eventually, it will be a huge asset to the neighborhood, he said.

In the meantime, Allen promised to ensure the building is secured and the site patrolled by security to reduce the vandalism and dissuade the vagrants attracted to the building.

================================================================

Pop quiz: Name the first line of defense against neighborhood crime.

Answer: Residents, of course.

Police constantly urge folks to keep an eye on their neighborhoods.

Look for suspicious people and vehicles.

Jot down license plates and descriptions.

Call police and alert your neighbors.

When it comes to citizen/police cooperation in crime fighting, Tuesday is the biggest night of the year.

It’s the annual National Night Out when neighbors are urged to turn on their porch lights, go out and meet their neighbors.

Dozens of Naitonal Night Out events are planned around Colorado Springs and in the communities surrounding the city from Monument to Black Forest to Falcon to Stratmoor Hills and Security/Widefield.

Many events involve barbecues and games.

It’s a great chance to make friends, eat a hot dog or burger, and in many neighborhoods meet and talk to police officers or El Paso County Sheriff’s deputies who attend National Night Out neighborhood events.

‘The event has an interesting history and is closely associated with the Neighborhood Watch program and the National Association of Town Watch.

Check this link for information about Neighborhood Watch from Colorado Springs Police.

Here’s a good place to start if you want to learn more about the national Neighborhood Watch program.

I’ve written about Neighborhood Watch in the past. Here’s a link to a previous story and the blog that went with it.

 Cumbre Vista is a new subdivision, recently annexed onto the northeast edge of Colorado Springs, where about 60 new houses have been built along with streets, curbs and sidewalks, a neighborhood park with gazebo and ballfield.

 Below is a map of the subdivision from the El Paso County Assessor’s Website. The dark areas on map are part of Colorado Springs. The white areas are part of unincorporated El Paso County.

 The new neighborhood looks like many others scattered around Colorado Springs with one exception. It features a 12-foot cliff.

 The cliff was built by developer Infinity Land Corp. when it decided to obliterate Ski Lane, a country road that existed since 1956.

 There is a legal question whether it was a deeded right-of-way or simple easement.

Here’s how Ski Lane looked before it was destroyed. The lane ran left to right, atop the little hill in this view facing west. The gravel road coming toward the camera on the left was Sorpresa Lane. The gravel road on the right was created by construction of Cumbre Vista.

 Here’s how it looked after construction began. The developer simply cut down the hill, leaving Ski Lane hanging.

  The cliff made it virtually impossible for the handful of county residents who live on the south end of Ski Lane to use their historic northern route out of the neighborhood toward Black Forest.

 In fact, it took intervention by City Planner Larry Larsen to get the ugly hairpin curve built at the base and side of the cliff, to restore a reasonable access to Ski Lane.

 Here’s the ugly “solution” to the cliff. Larsen said it was the best the city could do given the lack of cooperation from the two sides.

  Here’s a link to a blog I wrote about the mess in October 2008.

  The cliff and the hairpin curve are considered temporary. Eventually, Ski Lane will be lowered to link to the new subdivision streets. The only question seems to be when it will occur. Eventually, all the unincorporated land around Ski Lane will be developed and swallowed by the city.

 Will the residents have to live with it until they die or move? Or will a pending lawsuit force the developer and Woodmen Heights Metro District to compensate them for their loss?

 They are gambling on the court but don’t want Colorado Springs City Hall to jeopardize their chances by accepting Cumbre Vista officially from the developer. They fear the court would view that action as approval of the way they were treated.

 They made those arguments a few weeks ago before the Colorado Springs Planning Commission. Commissioners took turns criticizing the way neighbors were treated. But ultimately they approved the plat, calling it a private legal matter.

 To get in and out of Ski Lane, residents must negotiate an ugly, eroding hairpin curve onto Sorpresa Lane and go through Cumbre Vista, which sits on 115 acres south of Cottonwood Creek near Woodmen Road and Powers Boulevard.

 The neighbors’ effort is being led by Bill and Maureen Marchant. In their lawsuit, the neighbors say they have a deeded right of way that dates to 1956 which guarantees them northern access route. They say the developer cannot simply move or eliminate that right-of-way.

 A few weeks ago they went before the Colorado Springs Planning Commission urging them not to approve the plat. Neighbors planned to appeal to the City Council on Tuesday. But late last week Larsen withdrew his approval of the plat, citing an issue with the deed. Maybe there’s still time for the district to settle the issue and turn the ski jump back into country lane.

 I’m guessing resolution will involve checks to residents with several zeroes on the end. Or Cumbre Vista will feature a cliff that may make residents wonder what kind of subdivision they really live in.