On May 9th, 2024, Westside Watch President & Co-founder Bill Wysong and Co-founder & Board Member Dana Duggan testified alongside the Hay Creek Valley residents as we have done with so many neighborhoods throughout El Paso County for the last 3 years.  This development proposal seeks to build luxury homes on large, multi-acre lots on a dead end road that is 1.1 miles long which is accessed from another dead-end road, Hay Creek Road, that is 3 miles long.  The land use code, 8.4.4.D states no more than 25 homes on a dead-end road.  That number comes from national evacuation simulation studies which have been in place since the 1970s.  We testified to this as well. Incredibly, Commissioner VanderWerf who we have been trying since 2021 to get to adopt evacuation modeling and has ignored us took this opportunity to run for State Senate claiming he supports evacuation modeling and wants to install a state evacuation modeling office and admitted they do not know what the times are without doing the modeling.  He also erroneously claimed to not know where the 25 comes from in spite of the fact that we explained it, and it was his job to know that before he dismisses it.  After all that, he voted for it as did all the other County Commissioners.  You can watch Westside Watch President Bill Wysong testify here and WW co-founder Dana Duggan testify here.  We encourage you to watch the entire hearing to see how effortlessly our leadership voted to approve a development that violated their own code (which their Planning Commission had agreed with in voting against it) and did so brazenly.

Attached is the lawsuit that was filed on Tuesday, June 5th, 2024 which includes both a 106a4 and a 527 Declaratory Judgement on 8.4.4.D. the latter of which will help set precedent for other communities where their leadership votes against code standards set to protect our public safety.  Check back here for updates.

Hats off to decorated F15E fighter pilot Mike "Klute" Cloutier for his exceptional leadership and all the residents of Hay Creek Valley for standing up on this important issue.  As always, donation to the Neighborhood Legal Defense Fund enable neighbors to help neighbors throughout El Paso County and the City of Colorado Springs.  You can donate here.  Westside Watch is 501c3.  Donations are tax deductible.