Historic Uptown Updates

General Updates

• We have a returning board member. Welcome back, Jeff Hodges!
• We are now using GiveButter instead of PayPal for donations!
  • Thank you, Mariah!
  • Check out our new donation page (https://historicuptown.org/donate) using GiveButter. Donations can now be made using credit or debit card, PayPal, Venmo, ACH.

Street Signs

We’ve finalized an image and are currently coordinating with Traffic Engineering. Here’s an example without final font.

Palmer High School

• HU responded to the Palmer rezone request. ZONE-25-0026, SUBD-25-0076, LUPL-25-0012 due July 29th. We communicated our concerns about:
  • Rezoning from R-1 and R-5 to FPZ-T2A: Rezoning is not necessary since D11 does not need to follow local zoning codes.
  • Vacation of Boulder Street: Closing Boulder limits access to I-25.
  • Destruction and removal of the Historic Homes in the Weber-Wahsatch Historic District: These homes buffer the neighborhood from noise and light pollution created by the sports fields. Otherwise, they have to create noise and light pollution buffer zones for the neighborhood.
  • Parking: Removing 250 parking spots with future phases. We asked the City to establish and enforce permitted parking to protected surrounding neighborhoods.
• Palmer did a resubmittal. We will review their new documents.

Meeting with Parking Authority

City-wide parking permit program

• Today, residential parking permits are limited to the neighborhoods around Colorado College (in particular, the Arena) and the University of Colorado Colorado Springs.
• The current City of Colorado Springs process in managing the permit program is somewhat antiquated. It is in need of improvement and efficiencies.
• The City of Colorado Springs Parking Authority Office is taking over the parking permit program. That transition is occurring albeit slowly.
  • Evaluating how best to improve and want to ensure protection of residents parking while knowing on street parking is a public street
• We heard that the new permit program would be going through an annual review of the permits, where permit holders would have to defend and justify the need for the program.
  • No, that is not what will be done
  • What may be done is an individual permit holder would have to show they still live in the residence. This point is still being evaluated, may not happen. If it does may be every other year, not every year
• Discussion about enforcement, under evaluation, working on an internal process.
• Discussion about handicap spaces, determining who is responsible in the City of Colorado Springs for managing this aspect.

Historic Uptown permit program

• Have unique challenges with students from Colorado College, with events at Robson Arena, with mixed use of commercial businesses next to residential properties, and with many multi-family apartments in existing homes without dedicated parking. In addition, many older homes do not have off-street parking.
• Points made how important the permit parking program is the residents in Historic Uptown.
  • Discussion how homeowners place notes on car that do not have permits that park in permitted areas and the challenges related to doing that.
  • Discussion how, again, enforcement is a challenge.

A request from Historic Uptown to place another block in the permit program

• Discussion about the block on Cache La Poudre where students park for long periods of time in front of homes and where there are other parking challenges.
  • The ask is to send in a request for permitted parking and to be provided the application and process to do that.
  • Commitment made to get back to us within a week on what is needed and any process.

Palmer High School changes and parking concerns

• Discussion was held on how future phases of the Palmer High School project will impact parking. We understand one parking lot will no longer exist and that there will be a need to relocate that parking need elsewhere. And, that the project has not yet defined how the parking will be addressed.
• We understand from the Palmer Project that they expect the City of Colorado Springs to do an Enterprise parking study on the needs in the area, including the parking needs of Palmer High School. That this study will identify current parking available at the School, what is needed by students and administration, and how those needs will be met.
• Cheryl specifically asked that:
  • Palmer High School does not rely upon the neighborhood to solve their parking needs
  • Palmer High School find the appropriate parking needed for the daily school needs and, in addition, their athletic events
  • Palmer High School and the City of Colorado Springs commit to protect the residential neighborhood parking for the residents
  • The City of Colorado Springs establish permit parking and enforce it, minimally around the perimeter of Palmer High School in the neighborhoods surrounding, and deeper into the neighborhoods if such is a problem
  • Bottom line: Palmer High School solves their parking needs for both the students and administration, and for the attendance at athletic events

Downtown Master Plan update

We are asking if Historic Uptown will have a section in the Master Plan since the Downtown District Authority (DDA) overlaps a portion of our neighborhood.

Participation in Upcoming Events

• We are participating in the Colorado Springs Sunday Market at Acacia Park from 9:00 am-2:00 pm, continuing through October 26.
• We will be participating in the McAllister House Harvest Festival September 27, 2025, 10:00 am – 2:00 pm.
• Hey Neighbor September 28, 2025, 12:00 -2:00 p.m.

Historic Neighborhood Partnership Updates

• Historic Neighborhood Partnership has been supporting local efforts related to Community Benefits Agreements (CBAs). Specifically, HNP has supported, and will continue to support:
  • Mill Street Coalition
  • Knob Hill, Hillside, and K-Land Coalition
• PlanCOS update (specifically the neighborhood map).
  • Historic Neighborhood Partnership asked that PlanCOS be updated to include specific neighborhoods. Historic Uptown is not included in the neighborhood map. We are included in the umbrella area called “Downtown”.
• Historic Preservation process improvements, fee restructure, ordinance.
  • Historic Neighborhood Partnership is engaging with planning to improve the HP-O process.