Mess with someone's mountain views and expect to get a fight.

That's the case with the Gleneagle Golf Course, which is trying to rezone its 10-acre driving range to allow construction of 47 patio homes to raise $1.5 million to pay for a new irrigation system on the course.

Fearing the new homes will disrupt their views and damage their property values, residents of the Eagle Villas neighborhood adjacent to the range have united to oppose the project.

(See artist rendering of the project and photos on my Side Streets blog)

In fact, Eagle Villas is putting on a clinic when it comes to neighborhood activism. The next time a neighborhood needs tips on how to stop a planned freeway, or strip mall or veterinary clinic, residents' first call should go to Eagle Villas.

"We are working the issues," said Doug Jenkins of the Eagle Villas Owners Association.

Jenkins makes it sound so simple.

Actually, he, Alice Sweatman and a handful of his neighbors have worked harder than an Obama Truth Squad putting out newsletters, e-mails and phone calls to rally opposition to the golf course development project.

First, they broadened the opposition by spreading the word beyond their immediate neighborhood.

"We're in touch with another 180 via e-mail and networking," Jenkins said. "We're in touch with everybody who shares a boundary with the golf course."

Drawing hundreds into the fray was designed to apply greater public pressure against Gleneagle and the public officials who will decide the case, eventually. And Eagle Villas attracted news media attention, further elevating the project's profile.

They even formed an action group called the Gleneagle Residents' Environmental Accuracy Team, or GREAT, to brainstorm strategies.
"We had 45 people attend our first GREAT meeting," Jenkins said.

Rather than rely on their own instincts, GREAT consulted with a real estate attorney on how to approach the government agencies ¬- the El Paso County development services staff and the Planning Commission - that will handle the rezoning issue.

Using all their research, Jenkins built a computer slide presentation of all GREAT's arguments. It will be the centerpiece of the neighborhood's presentation to Planning Commission when it hears the case in a few weeks.

And they passed the hat to raise money to pay for their legal advice and expenses such as the mailings.
It's classic neighborhood activism.

"Our chances of beating them are quite good, I think," Jenkins said. "I think we've built a really strong case against the project."

The neighborhood certainly has the attention of the golf course. Initial outrage led to angry confrontations at public meetings. But the furor died down and the neighborhood took a very diplomatic approach to its opposition.

As a result, the Gleneagle management took some of its advice, such as a suggestion it offer to sell equity memberships in the course. It also redesigned the patio home project to lower the roof lines of the units closest to Eagle Villas.

"We've made adjustments so that we don't impact their views," said Dean Jones, marketing director at the course. "We've listened to them and tried to address their concerns."

Gleneagle owner Miles Scully even flew in from San Diego to meet with GREAT's leaders to discuss the project. The fight isn't over - it will take months to play out - but Eagle Villas is doing everything it can.

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