Seeking a zoning change

I am writing in response to Bob Loevy’s recent article in The Gazette regarding the rezoning of my property at 2402 N. Nevada Ave. As the property owner and a long-time resident of the Old North End, I want to share some clarification and context.

I have operated my massage therapy and fitness practice from this property for 19 years. My passion has always been to provide high-quality boutique wellness services to the Old North End, Patty Jewett, and Penrose Hospital communities. It has been an honor to walk alongside our clients in their health journeys, and my goal remains to continue serving in this way — particularly by focusing on the unique health and fitness needs of the 50+ community.

The decision to seek a zoning change was not mine alone. The city of Colorado Springs updated its requirements for massage therapy businesses, including separate business licenses and stricter compliance measures. When I consulted with the Planning Department, I was advised that the best path forward was to rezone to MX-N with conditional use. This zoning is specifically for small-scale neighborhood businesses, and my applications reflect a clear intent: to continue offering health and wellness services.

I’d like to address a few points raised in the article:

The “For Lease” sign: The temporary sign outside our property was never meant to suggest a sale or change of ownership. It was an invitation to share some space availability for day use, such as yoga.

Rezoning and Conditional Use: My applications explicitly limit the property to health and wellness services. The City recommended applying first for MX-N, then adding Conditional Use. Both applications have been submitted, and I am happy to share copies to ensure transparency.

Future businesses: The biggest concern seems to be what could happen if the property were ever sold. In reality, MX-N with Conditional Use comes with strict city licensing requirements, and our property’s modest size and character further limit what businesses could operate here.

I will be honest: this process has been a challenge, requiring significant time, effort, and expense. My preference would have been to simply maintain the original occupation permit. However, my commitment has always been to operate with professionalism, integrity, and in full compliance with city regulations.

Mechelle Haflich

Colorado Springs

Rezoning should stand

Bob Loevy’s column presents an excellent study of why the city needs more instances of mixed-used zoning (MX-N). In arguing against the Planning Commission’s initial vote, Loevy claims that the property at Nevada and Jackson is “a residential block of the Old North End neighborhood that contains only one-family and two-family housing.”

The key phrase is residential block. The property sits across from Penrose Hospital, is two blocks from the Bon Shopping Center, a Catholic parish and school, and the Lincoln Center. It is already a mixed-used neighborhood that has changed and adapted much since the days of being the North End of town, and it will continue to do.

A myopic focus on “blocks” leads to suburban-sized developments that change areas far quicker than a corner office lot. Unconditionally zoning the lot mixed used allows for the full range of possibilities and spares the city council from having to litigate every single possibility that Loevy so ominously implies. Sincere respect for property rights implies respecting the rights of other property owners and meddlesome governance, which Loevy uncharacteristically seems unwilling to grant this particular property. The rezoning should stand; better traffic enforcement on Nevada would be a better use of city time and resources.

Dakota Fuller

Colorado Springs

A disturbing reversal

It’s a grim thing to admit, but it must be said: we are witnessing a disturbing reversal in our society — where individuals who have something to offer are being erased by those who offer nothing at all.

The recent assassination of Charlie Kirk is more than a political flashpoint. It is a moral fracture. Agree or disagree with his politics, Kirk was a man of purpose — speaking, building, engaging. His killer? An anonymous void until the moment he pulled the trigger.

We saw this pattern again when a young Ukrainian woman — a survivor of war — was murdered in a New York subway station. She believed in the promise of this country. Her killer had no promise at all.

This isn’t about left or right, race or religion. It’s about the societal rot that occurs when the reckless, the aimless, and the violent increasingly silence those who speak, strive and lead.

When the uninvested destroy the invested, when the unmoored erase the principled, when the worthless kill the worthy — and we are told to call it just another random tragedy — then we are no longer living in a civilized nation. We are watching the long unraveling of it.

Jeffrey Chandler

Colorado Springs

Approach is unfair, short-sighted

On the cover of the Sunday Perspective section was a plea for the Colorado Public Utilities Commission to act to “grow our grid.” I agree with this goal — AI, electric vehicle, and other future demands will require it.

That’s why I found it ironic that, in the same issue, Tristan Gearhart of Colorado Springs Utilities pointed out that the Gazette had mischaracterized a graphic about Utilities’ upcoming “Energy Wise” policy. He clarified that it does not apply to all customers — only to “solar customers.”

If you haven’t been following the issue, Gearhart was referring to a cost increase for people who have invested their own money to add solar panels to their homes, allowing Utilities to use their excess energy (which, in turn, helps to “grow our grid”). His justification is that solar customers enjoy a cost advantage over other Utilities customers—a rationale that ignores the significant investment these homeowners have already made.

This approach is unfair and short-sighted. If homeowners are willing to spend their own money to install solar panels—whether to protect themselves from outages or to provide clean energy — Utilities should be a partner that recognizes the benefits these investments bring to the grid and to our community.

David French

Colorado Springs