 A standing-room-only crowd gathered at the Falcon fire station Jan. 31 to learn more about El Paso County's plan to spend $750,000 for land to develop a motorcycle park in the Corral Bluffs area along Highway 94.
The county has proposed that Aztec Family Raceway, which operates a motocross course on nearby land, operate the park as a for-profit, public-private enterprise.
A few advocates attended, but the plan's opponents organized the meeting.
Dan Cleveland, director of the Trails and Open Space Coalition, a nonprofit advocacy organization, said the county's 1997 master plan describes the Corral Bluffs as a high priority area for preservation. The plan was updated in 2005 containing the same language and approved by the El Paso County Board of County Commissioners and the parks and leisure services department.
As part of the 2005 update, Cleveland said, the public was surveyed about potential uses for the land. They responded that the area should be open for rock climbing and fresh water swimming.
Cleveland said Corral Bluffs contains one of the few exposures of the K-T boundary, a 65-million-year-old geologic formation marking the end of Mesozoic era, when a meteor hit the Yucatan Peninsula causing the mass extinction of dinosaurs and the beginning of the Cenozoic era in which mammals first arose.
The ground is littered with dinosaur fossils and petrified trees, Cleveland said. Because the land is privately owned, little research has been done.
Cleveland said the county should find an alternative site for a motorcycle park and suggested the Pikes Peak International Raceway as a possibility.
Like Cleveland, Corral Bluffs resident Jackie Hilaire said she wants the county to find a more appropriate location for a motorcycle park.
"This area has global significance," Hilaire said. "It would be a shame for history to look back and wonder why we didn't preserve the bluffs. The parks department has repeatedly stated the area is worth protecting."
From the audience, Ruth Beetham, who lives in the Corral Bluffs area, said in the 1970s, the county, CDOT and the military formed an agreement with residents to protect the area as a condition for approving the development for what has become Schriever Air Force Base.
Paul Tice, land-use consultant for the Banning Lewis Ranch Company, said the company is concerned about the motorcycle park because the Banning Lewis Ranch development shares a boundary.
"The company is investing millions of dollars in BLR, and the lowest density, most expensive housing in BLR is planned for the area next to the proposed motorcycle park. We have concerns about noise impact, dust impact and property values," Tice said.
"I have no objections to a motorcycle park, but this location makes no sense from a land use and transportation planning point of view."
Falcon resident Don Watkins said the motorcycle park advocates say they are tired of having to pack up their gear and drive a long time to get to a place where they can ride.
"When I want to take my kids to a park, I have to pack them up and drive, too. Why don't we have a regional park? I want all of the Falcon community to get involved and tell the county commissioners and parks department we want a regional park," Watkins said.
The money for a Falcon area park should be available because developers pay fees to the county if they don't donate land for a park, Watkins said.
Corral Bluffs resident David Lumb said if the county follows state and federal regulations and its own policies, only 140 acres of the 722 acres could actually be used by motorbikes. He said Colorado Department of Transportation maps show Highway 94 in the future as a four-lane highway with an interchange on the Aztec Family Raceway property. He expects Aztec to be bought out and land along Highway 94 to be developed with retail stores, such as Home Depot.
"That's a lot of money to invest for a motorcycle park that may never be used as a motorcycle park or that won't last long as a motorcycle park," Lumb said. "If they let motorbikes on the land, it will be destroyed. Does this get value and longevity for our money?"
Jeff Cahill bought property near Corral Bluffs to get away from the noise of Colorado Springs. "The land I bought for my future retirement will go down in value by 20 percent according to some," Cahill said. "They want to ram this thing down our throats but they don't want it in their backyards. I'll be darned if I'm going to go down without a fight."
Former Colorado Springs Vice Mayor Richard Skorman said he recently visited the bluffs for the first time. "The dump and scrap yards along Highway 94 led me to believe the Corral Bluffs area can't be that nice," Skorman said. "But you go around a bend and you realize this is a special place.
"Motorcycle use is an important form of recreation, but there needs to be a public process. They can't make the decision and then say 'we'll fix it.'"
Skorman said he hasn't decided if the motorcycle park is a good idea. He promised to talk with the county commissioners. "We need to take a breath and make sure it's the right decision."
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This topological map of Corral Bluffs shows the property owners in the area. The county plans to purchase the Case property for $750,000.
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An example of the rock formations that dot the Corral Bluffs landscape. Submitted photo.
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