SIDE STREETS: Complaints of ZIP code change fall on deaf ears

   When the clock strikes midnight tonight, about 5,000 residents of the Broadmoor and Skyway neighborhoods will become part of the 80905 ZIP code.

   Some of them are going kicking and screaming.

   They don't like losing the prestige of 80906, which is known throughout the city - and, more importantly, throughout the real estate, insurance and the marketing world - as the home of The Broadmoor hotel and golf resort.

   Suddenly, they will be lumped in with modest houses abutting Interstate 25 west of downtown and its gritty industrial area of scrap metal dealers, junkyards and body shops. Some homeowners are so upset they've been going door to door to rally neighbors to complain to the U.S. Postal Service and to U.S. Rep. Doug Lamborn.

   So far, nothing has worked, which should be noted by all those people around town who - in response to some government-inflicted harm - like to moan: "They would never get away with this in the Broadmoor neighborhood."

   It's happening to people like John Egan who, just a few weeks ago, hosted a Lamborn rally at his Stardust Drive home.

   "It's a little disappointing," Egan said. He had hoped that calls and letters from Lamborn would persuade the Postal Service to reverse the new boundaries. Apparently, the post office is a fortress immune to politics.

   "The thing that is driving me crazy is that we got no input into the process," Egan said. "We didn't have a say in it."

   That's because politics shouldn't determine how best to move the mail, said Ron Perry, Postal Service spokesman.

   "It's our responsibility to efficiently process and deliver the mail for everyone," Perry said. "That's what this is about."

   Still, Perry is impressed by the neighbors' effort.

   "I've been here 23 years and never seen anything like this," he said. "We've never had people making such an issue of a ZIP change. This is new territory for us."

   But he insists the campaign of complaints and threats of legal action will not dissuade Acting Postmaster Greg Penson.

   "Of course we're concerned," Perry said. "But the ZIP change is moving ahead."

   Maybe. But don't underestimate motivated people with political connections and money.

   The move to 80905 could damage their property values and cause things like insurance rates to jump because of the way insurance companies view ZIPs and use them to set rates, they say.

   "I'm concerned about the impact this may have on our property values," said Drew Wills, a Sundown Drive resident. "ZIP codes are used for so many different things today. Insurers don't do business in certain ZIP codes and rate their products based on ZIP codes. Marketing, government, real estate all are based on ZIP codes."

   For example, Wills said people looking for a house often narrow their search by ZIP codes, based on the demographics of each zone. Moving from an exclusive ZIP into a more modest one like 80905 could affect whether his house even pops up on search engines and in databases. By reducing the number of potential buyers, the value of his house is diminished, he said.

   "This issue is beyond mere inconvenience or hassle," Wills said. "And what's been disappointing is the lack of response from the post office.

   "That really bothers me." 

   TELL ME ABOUT YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD: 636-0193 or bill.vogrin@gazette.com