Panhandling, redistricting and oil and gas regulations were among the issues the Colorado Springs City Council discussed during its informal meeting Monday.

Some highlights:

• City Attorney Chris Melcher has expanded the proposed no-solicitation zone downtown to include Acacia Park. The initial proposal excluded the park and other places that Melcher had called “areas of public forum,” generating criticism from council members who feared that beggars would move to the park and Uncle Wilbur Fountain.

Melcher told the council Monday that the City Attorney’s Office conducted more research and found that other communities included parks in their no-solicitation zones.

The new proposed zone is now bordered by Boulder Street on the north, Nevada Avenue on the east, Cucharras Street on the south and Cascade Avenue on the west.

Downtown merchants say panhandling hurts business and drives away tourists. First reading of the proposal is set for Oct. 9. The public is allowed to comment at that time.

• City Clerk Sarah Johnson went over the redistricting process after a so-called miscommunication led council members to believe that the public wouldn’t be allowed to comment on the final map.

Johnson said she had communicated the correct information to Chief of Staff Laura Neumann but that she was busy with the Aug. 28 special election when questions arose. Johnson declined to blame Neumann for the mistake but insisted she has always provided the correct timeline.

Under that timeline, Johnson will release the preliminary map Sept. 24 and then hold a public hearing Oct. 13.

The time and location of the public hearing isn’t set.

The city draws new council districts every four years. This year, the city will draw six instead of four after voter-approved switch to a new form of government.

• The council got an overview of the proposed oil and gas regulations.

The regulations try to work oil and gas drilling into the city’s existing land use code and cover issues such as traffic impacts and the permitting process.

“The city can impose reasonable land-use regulations that are not in conflict and which can be harmonized with state oil and gas regulations,” said Dick Anderwald, the city’s planning and development manager.

City Attorney Chris Melcher has expanded the proposed no-solicitation zone downtown to include Acacia Park. (Mark Reis, The Gazette file) Photo by