SIDE STREETS: Manure falling from Manitou horse barn stirs a dust-up

MANITOU SPRINGS - The axiom about "stuff" rolling downhill is more than just words in Ruxton Canyon.

Stuff, if you will, has been rolling from a horse barn, down a ravine and into Ruxton Creek for years. Decades, even. The debate is whether it's a danger to drinking water and whether it has stopped.

"That barn has been there almost 35 years," said David Jenkins, founder and chairman of Nor'wood Development Group, who owns the property. "That drainage way and horses have been there over 50 years, long before we acquired the property. And it's not hazardous waste.

"Further, we haven't dumped manure there for a long time and don't intend to in the future."

Folks living below, though, say dumping continues. They want it stopped and the pile removed.

"I didn't move here three years ago to live with manure and flies and stench," said Robyn Barker, who lives on Pilot Knob Avenue below the barn and next to the ravine.

It's a classic example of what can happen when new residents move into an area that has been industrial, commercial or agricultural.

Besides their anger at the manure, residents are frustrated that their own city staff seems unwilling to help.

Caught in the middle are two women who want to take advantage of the property's historic use as a horse barn to create a nonprofit therapeutic riding center for at-risk youths.

Deb Steddom and Debra Rose are working to open Leg Up Therapeutic Riding Center at the barn, which Jenkins is donating for their use.

But their project is in jeopardy because they need a permit from the city and a zoning change to board and keep as many as a dozen horses and run their riding center.

Neighbors oppose the request, which is expected to come before the Manitou Springs Planning Commission for a hearing April 9.

"Their project is noble and I respect what they are doing," Barker said. "I'd volunteer for them. But I don't want 12 horses here. It's bad enough with just one or two."

As she spoke, Barker was standing next to the pile of manure perched on the edge of a ravine above her house.

Besides obvious signs of runoff and erosion, there was a tire, a bucket and fenceposts in the gully - proof, Barker said, the barn staff is still dumping trash down the hill.

City Councilman Shannon Solomon has joined the neighbors in their fight, saying the manure is a "pretty serious problem." Further, he criticized Manitou staff for not taking complaints seriously.

"It's a pretty big deal," Solomon said. "I called our city administration and was told the problem was taken care of. It was not. I'm disappointed. I'm going to get involved."

Jenkins denies dumping continues and is upset the riding center project is in jeopardy.

"We're trying to do a community service - make a contribution to kids by turning the facility into a riding center," Jenkins said. "This is all an overreaction by people who moved in and built those houses in the last three years.

"They knew full well what was there when they moved in. If they didn't want it in their backyards, they probably shouldn't have moved there in the first place."

Tell me about your neighborhood: 636-0193 or bill.vogrin@gazette.com