The Colorado Springs City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved ordinances to reel in problem landlords and transferred money to launch construction of the new Pikes Peak Summit House.

Landlords who repeatedly violate city codes will face higher fees.

City officials have said the new ordinances don't target any specific landlords.

But Terry Ragan stands out.

Ragan's apartments - scattered through the city's southeast quadrant - are responsible for most of the city's housing cases and code violations.

His units have been plagued by cockroaches, leaky pipes, bedbugs, mold, shootings, assaults and bogus tenant charges for decades.

The new laws mark the city's first tangible step in 15 years to address those conditions, which have stagnated or worsened in that time.

Ragan did not return a message seeking comment.

Under the new laws, property owners, rather than individual rental units, will be tied to complaints and subsequent investigations.

And while they won't pay for initial inspections or follow-up visits to ensure that a violation is corrected, every third and subsequent visit will cost the owners $100, said Mitch Hammes, the city's neighborhood services manager and head of code enforcement.

Two failures to correct a violation within six months, or five notices to resolve a violation within 12 months, will earn that property owner a designation as a repeat offender, and inspection fees rise to $250, Hammes said.

If a repeat offender holds that status for a year, the owner is deemed a chronic offender, and the fees rise to $500.

The changes provide a financial incentive to follow city code, Hammes said.

The Pikes Peak Summit House, meanwhile, got a $13.5 million appropriation, so construction can start this summer.

Because the work will eradicate most mountaintop parking, a shuttle likely will ferry most people up the mountain starting this summer to avoid excessive traffic on the Pikes Peak Highway.

If imposed, the shuttle mandate would last until the work is done, likely in the fall of 2020.

The $13.5 million comes from the reserves of Pikes Peak-America's Mountain, a city enterprise. It was raised through toll fees and concession sales, said Jack Glavan, enterprise manager. No taxpayer money will go toward the Summit House.

The project will cost up to $50 million, and fundraising for it will begin this summer.

Tags