City halts new building phase at Gold Hill Mesa, as further soil testing is considered (Colorado Springs: real estate, 2015)

[Vision67]

https://gazette.com/premium/city-hal...2fc7bc52c.html

"Despite learning more than three years ago that perhaps dozens of homes in Gold Hill Mesa were slowly sinking, heaving and flooding, city planners and regional building staff allowed development to continue uninterrupted, a Gazette investigation has found.

Those red flags — raised in February 2016 — echo warnings that date back decades from experts, engineers and some city staff. From the outset, Gold Hill Mesa raised concerns that it was built on top of a century-old mine tailings pile and would require special attention.

Many thought then — and still believe — that those concerns were mitigated and the land was safe for development. But fresh questions have now been raised by geologists about past studies of the site, highlighting still-unknown details surrounding the ground underneath the development.

Resident health and safety, millions in property values and future construction hang in the balance while city planners, regional building department staff and state geologists mull conflicting studies of the site.

For now, city planners have halted a new phase of development at the site because state geologists told Colorado Springs planners that they can’t condone additional building atop the land without additional testing to determine whether it’s stable and safe. Those geologists said they didn’t call for action sooner because city planning staff didn’t ask for their input. A law passed in 2017 now requires city planners to submit development proposals to review by the Colorado Geological Survey.

“There are issues of subsidence, groundwater coming into basements through the floor and garage/driveway slabs heaving,” minutes from the February 2016 meeting show. “Several of the neighbors are concerned that there (sic) basement floors are being discolored from groundwater and don’t know why. One parent is quite concerned about the safety of her two year old.”

And now experts at the Colorado Geological Survey are embracing an independent expert’s report done in 2015 showing that early geotechnical studies at Gold Hill Mesa were inappropriate, insufficient and misguided.

That report also found that the soil layers beneath the development — still contaminated from long-ago mining operations by arsenic, lead and other dangerous compounds — are potentially unstable and prone to shifting and settling."

[Mike from back east]

IIRC the pile of mine tailings Gold Hill Mesa is built upon is polluted with arsenic. They were supposed to put a six foot deep clay cap on the property but not sure if that happened. I would never buy a home on that mound of poison.

It's another case of 'cheap' winning out over all other considerations as developers keep getting their way at city hall.

They should've hauled it all away. An excellent rail line comes into the power plant near there and the rail cars that bring in the coal for the power plant could have hauled away the mine tailings. They could've built a spur line up to the pile of dirt or build a conveyer belt line to the coal plant and load the cars there. The stuff could then be taken to a defunct open pit mine in the region and given a proper burial. Makes too much sense but since it costs more than the cheap fix it would never happen.

[Restless in Florida]

Was just reading about this. Along with other news briefs in which our state & federal governments are selling out our natural resources, planetary wildlife, and our own fundamental wellbeing to line their pockets. Reading the Gazette article led me to the sad realization that ingratiating development practices are common well outside of my Tampa Bay area- which I'm beyond ready to leave, thanks in large part to our incompetent local commissioners who are also allowing rampant developement at the expense of all of us currently living here. My heart goes out to those in Gold Hill Mesa. I hope they're able to hold CO Spgs authorities responsible and amend the situation before it becomes worse.

[otowi]

I was shocked they ever built there in the first place. Even my grand parents 80 years ago said no one should ever build on mine tailings. You couldn't get me to live there - a poisoned, rubble pile of a foundation is not where I would want a house. A friend of mine's daughter bought there even though I warned her not to. Within two years she had major cracks in her basement. She has since learned the lesson and got out before things got even worse.

[Vision67]

"The old pond reaches 130 feet deep in places, estimates engineering geologist Jonathan Lovekin of the Colorado Geological Survey.

And it’s atop the old pond that developers built hundreds of homes, with hundreds more planned."

What could go wrong?

https://gazette.com/government/rich-...a8e98842c.html

Physics. It's the law.

When I first learned that the Gold Mesa development had been approved I was a bit surprised. However, this city has a history of doing whatever the developers want done.

I know of many people who moved here and ended up buying houses west of I-25 that contained foundation problems due to shifting soils.

It's one of the reasons that I chose to build in Briargate. Here, we have stable sandy soils clear to China.

That makes foundation design simple. If you take a walk through an older neighborhood such as Windjammer that was built in 1983, you'll discover that the sidewalks and driveways are still flat.

[beezle1]

Didn't they have a rule that no one could plant vegetable gardens on their property there?

[TCHP]

No one anywhere on the planet has ever done any construction like that at Gold Hill Mesa. Mine tailings are notoriously unstable, on top of the fact that the majority of this this construction was all done on the leaching pond area and has measured well above limits for lead and arsenic for generations. Developers and builders did minimal investigation into the ground and only did what minimal remediation was required.

$150 million plus in residential and commercial real estate is already at risk with this deal. Several owners have already reached settlements with builders. Some homes were bought and resold by the builders later at even higher prices. I expect to see a class action suit out of this one, and the city may well get drug into it as well. Although, it already appears the finger pointing and diverting of responsibility has started between the geologists and building inspectors.

If they haven't got out by now, this article could make things tougher for people looking to get out. However, not all building up there has been stopped. Only a new set of requests is stopped. Building already in progress on existing plans will continue.

I had some acquaintances who had a home up there. Both of them grew up here so I was rather shocked to find out they bought up there. Discussing it with them, they cited all the builder propaganda about it. Fortunately for them, a year later they bailed out and relocated elsewhere in the city.

[otowi]

Originally Posted by beezle1

Didn't they have a rule that no one could plant vegetable gardens on their property there?

Yes something like that - I think they couldn't plant fruit trees or something - not sure if it is still in place or not. They were worried about the roots getting down past the soil they brought in into the poisoned tailings and poisoning the stuff that people would then eat.

[Mike from back east]

Upon reading the Gazette story...Homer Simpson was heard to say "Doh! It just gets worse and worse."

[Vision67]

Colorado Springs City Council holds closed meeting on Gold Hill Mesa, additional drilling completed

https://gazette.com/news/colorado-sp...b9e04b9d1.html

"The Colorado Springs City Council spoke behind closed doors Monday about development at Gold Hill Mesa, where city planners recently halted work on one section after state geologists requested additional testing of the land.

While information surrounding that closed, executive session wasn’t released, Councilman Bill Murray confirmed the nature of the conversation. Council members otherwise cannot discuss the substance of such closed meetings.

Emails obtained by The Gazette, however, show that engineers hired by the developer, Gold Hill Mesa LLC, recently drilled deeper into the soils there, following a recommendation from experts at the Colorado Geological Survey. In April, those experts said they can’t condone new construction at the site without additional testing to see whether the land is stable and safe.

Those emails also show that a representative of the developer expressed concern to city planners about the slow pace they’re taking with this new phase of development.

“We think everyone’s goal should be a successful redevelopment of Gold Hill Mesa,” Stephanie Edwards, executive vice president of Gold Hill Mesa LLC, wrote to the city planners charged with reviewing plans for the next phase of developments. “At this point, almost four months have elapsed since the (state agency’s) April 19 letter, and the very pace of this conversation is threatening that goal.”

The Gazette reported Sunday that city planners and Regional Building Department staff learned in 2016 possibly dozens of homes atop the century-old mines tailings pile were slowly sinking, heaving and flooding, but allowed development to continue uninterrupted. The number of homes is disputed by Pikes Peak Regional Building Department representatives, though others stand behind the number.

For now, city planners have halted the next phase of development at the site because state geologists said they can’t condone additional building on the land without more tests to determine whether it’s stable and safe. They want the site examined further to determine risk of future sinking and settlement as well as the possibility of further destabilization set off by seismic activity.

Details behind the council’s closed meeting were unavailable, but already council members have called for additional testing at the site.

In her email, Edwards told city planners that CTL Thompson, a regional engineering firm hired by the developer, drilled into bedrock at one plot in question. Laboratory results were to be passed to the planners promptly after they were ready, she said.

By some estimations, tailings at the site — still contaminated with arsenic and lead — reach 130 feet deep. The developer is responsible for most of the work required by the state to cap the contaminated soils before selling plots to homebuilders."

After reading about this development, I can't imagine anybody wanting to go ahead building more houses on that dump site. Furthermore, if I were in real estate, I would be concerned about potential liability if I advised a client to proceed.