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File #: 25-283    Version: 1 Name:
Type: Informational Report Status: Failed
File created: 5/21/2025 In control: City Council
On agenda: 6/24/2025 Final action:
Title: An Appeal of the Colorado Springs Parks, Recreation and Cultural Services Advisory Board Decision to Approve the Fishers Canyon Open Space Master and Management Plan Presenter: Britt Haley, Director, Parks Recreation and Cultural Services Department Lonna Thelen, Program Manager, Trails, Open Space and Parks (TOPS) Program David Deitemeyer, Senior Program Administrator, Trails, Open Space and Parks (TOPS) Program
Attachments: 1. FishersCanyon_Council_ForPresentation_Final_Jun12_2025, 2. Appeal Application - Fishers Canyon Open Space, 3. TOPS Working Meeting Minutes May 2025, 4. Parks Advisory Board Meeting Minutes May 2025, 5. APPROVED_Fishers Canyon Master Plan 250508, 6. Appendices_Cover-08_MAY_2025, 7. Appendix A-Fishers_Canyon_TIA_Final_03.17.25, 8. Appendix B-MSO-Report Compiled, 9. Appendix C-FCOS Baseline Natural Resources Inventory Memo, 10. Appendix D-FCOS Invasive Mapping_240726, 11. Appendix E-Recreation 2-4 Mile Inventory and Maps, 12. Appendix F-Focus Groups Summary, 13. Appendix G-Survey 1 Results, 14. Appendix H-Community Meeting and Survey Results, 15. Appendix I-Neighborhood Site Tour Results, 16. Appendix J-Youth Engagement Summary, 17. Appendix K-Alternatives Community Meeting and Survey Results, 18. Appendix L - Full Community Open House Meeting 3-Survey 4, 19. Appendix M-FMP_Emails DEC012023-APRIL212572025, 20. Appendix N-Scan Mountain Preserve PUD 2008, 21. Appendix O-Engineering_Geo_Study, 22. Appendix P-Fishers Draft Plan Community Survey Results, 23. Appendix Q - Community Engagement Scans _LR, 24. Appendix Q - Community Engagement Scans, 25. Appendix R-225015759-GWD-Spires, 26. Appendix S-UteTraditional-usePlants, 27. Appendix T-KASA-Adaptive-Standard_FINAL-EDIT2 (1), 28. Appendix U-COSWILDFIREREADY.ORG, 29. Appendix V-COS_CommunityWildfireProtectionPlan_CSFD

Title
An Appeal of the Colorado Springs Parks, Recreation and Cultural Services Advisory Board Decision to Approve the Fishers Canyon Open Space Master and Management Plan

Presenter:
Britt Haley, Director, Parks Recreation and Cultural Services Department
Lonna Thelen, Program Manager, Trails, Open Space and Parks (TOPS) Program
David Deitemeyer, Senior Program Administrator, Trails, Open Space and Parks (TOPS) Program

Body
Summary:
Through an extensive public process, park staff and the consultant team (Studio Campo) produced the Fishers Canyon Open Space Master and Management Plan approved by the Parks, Recreation and Cultural Services Advisory Board on May 8, 2025. The approved Fishers Canyon Open Space Master and Management Plan has been appealed to City Council.

Background:
Fishers Canyon Open Space, located on the southwest side of Colorado Springs, consists of two parcels acquired by the Trails, Open Space and Parks (TOPS) program in 2021 and 2022. The property is adjacent to residential development to the north and east, Cheyenne Mountain Space Force Station to the south, Cheyenne Mountain State Park to the southwest, the Pike National Forest to the west and private property to the northwest. The entirety of Fishers Canyon Open Space consists of 343 acres.

Fishers Canyon Open Space has remained closed to the public since acquisition to allow the Parks, Recreation and Cultural Services (PRCS) Department to engage in fire mitigation and master planning. In 2023, PRCS in partnership with the Colorado Springs Fire Department, City Forestry and CSU, conducted fuels mitigation on 89 acres of dense over-grown forests.

To establish a holistic new plan for the long-range enhancement and management of Fishers Canyon Open Space, PRCS selected Studio Campo to lead and facilitate an Open Space Master Plan and a Maintenance Management Plan (Management Plan) process. The combination of these plans will guide efforts to develop improvements and ...

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