El Paso County's next ghetto
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9/15/2007
Contrary to popular belief, Cimarron Hills is NOT part of the city of Colorado Springs. It is an unincorporated enclave that receives no city services. There are maybe 4 or 5 patrol cars from the El Paso County Sheriff's Department that service the entire area, and the only time one sees any law enforcement action in this area is if one is caught speeding on Constitution Avenue. Forget about calling law enforcement if you have a break-in or are harassed by a psychotic neighbor. And perhaps the worst thing about this enclave that is not part of the city is its water company, the Cherokee Metropolitan District. Unlike Colorado Springs's city owned water utility, Cherokee is not beholden to its customers. It recently lost half its water resources due to a court ruling. Cherokee posted a Stage 4 Water Restriction (i.e. no lawn watering or car washing) in the summer of 2007- even though that was the wettest summer in over a decade and Colorado Springs and other surrounding water districts had done away with their water restrictions due to their surplus water supplies. Perhaps the saddest thing about Cherokee's water restrictions was that they never bothered to tell their customers (it wasn't made public knowledge until KKTV Channel 11 announced the restrictions on their newscasts) and that the one part of Cimarron Hills exempt from the water restrictions was Cherokee Golf Course, which (surprise) is owned by the water company and uses more water than 300 typical households in a month.
Property values are among the lowest in El Paso County, but water costs are among the highest in the state. About the only way this area can be saved from becoming a depressed ghetto is if the city of Colorado Springs annexes this enclave. That would immediately improve the water and law enforcement issues, and stabilize the plummeting property values.
Donald | New York, NY