Response to Mr. O'Neil and Mayor Mobolade

April 7, 2025

Colorado Springs City Council

107 N. Nevada Ave. #300

Colorado Springs, CO 80903

Dear Council Members,

I’m writing as a volunteer petition organizer with the Karman Line annexation repeal committee, in response to the April 3 letter from developer Kevin O’Neil and the April 6 guest opinion article by Mayor Yemi Mobolade in The Gazette.

I’ll be to the point: their letters are full of spin, mischaracterizations, and accusations aimed at silencing everyday residents who simply want a say in how their city grows.

I am a county resident, and I involved myself in this project because it will have a deep impact on my family and our neighbors, as well as every resident of the City of Colorado Springs, not to mention the entire Lower Arkansas Valley.

First, let’s start with the signatures. Over 19,000 Colorado Springs residents signed the petition to challenge the Karman Line annexation. These weren’t “special interests”—they were concerned citizens. The City Clerk reviewed and certified every one of those signatures. Mr. O’Neil’s attempt to discredit this process by pointing to an obsolete section of the Charter requiring circulators to be City residents ignores long-standing legal precedent that voided that requirement as unconstitutional. It also distracts from the real issue: people are deeply concerned about this annexation.

And then, there are the funding attacks. More than 50 citizens and multiple organizations helped finance this effort. Framing this broad citizen movement as a front for “the largest developer in town,” as Mr. O’Neil did on KRDO, is not only false, it’s insulting to the people who walked neighborhoods, made phone calls, and took time off work to participate in their democracy.

And for the annexation itself? It just doesn’t make sense and it’s not SMART growth.

Karman Line is over three miles away from city limits. It requires a narrow strip of roadway to force connection. That’s not how responsible cities grow. Police and fire services are already under strain—Colorado Springs Police averaged over 23 minutes to respond to high-priority calls in 2024. Stretching emergency services even further to serve an isolated development puts people at risk.

And let’s talk about water. Colorado Springs Utilities has reported a 34,000 acre-foot deficit in future water supply. Why would we even consider annexing disconnected land under those conditions? That sets taxpayers up for long-term costs and infrastructure headaches.

We’ve also heard the argument that this project is needed to help with housing. But, the city and county already have over 54,000 approved housing lots. We’re not against growth—but we are against unnecessary, illogical, and developer-driven growth that shifts cost and risk onto the public.

And now we have the Mayor stepping in—publicly and politically—in support of this annexation.

Mayor Mobolade’s op-ed in The Gazette didn’t sound like visionary leadership. It sounded like vitriolic spin. He accused 19,000 of his own constituents of being part of a “misleading campaign” backed by “special interests.” That’s not just offensive—it’s out of touch.

It is clear that the Mayor has chosen sides—and it’s the side of the Karman Line developers: Mr. O’Neil, who gave $20,000 to his campaign in 2023, and Mr. O’Neil’s development partner La Plata, which (via its affiliate company High Valley Land Company) gave another $20,000. That’s not a conspiracy; it’s a matter of public record. And while the Mayor talks about “protecting democracy,” he seems more interested in protecting his largest donors.

Meanwhile, we’ll keep continuing to stand up for the people who signed the petition, who care about our region’s future, and who believe this annexation is wrong.

We appreciate your willingness to listen to all voices in this process—not only the loudest or best-funded ones. We hope this letter helps clarify the reasons behind the petition and the frustration felt by thousands across Colorado Springs.

Sincerely,

Ann Rush, PhD

cc: Mayor Yemi Mobolade