This morning's (April 19) Pueblo Chieftain had an informative article in the Business section, "Pueblo to gain from Fort Carson." The reporter, James Amos, described how our Pueblo real estate market should be impacted by the addition of 10,000 more troops at Ft.Carson. For those of us in real estate, it should mean more sales, more inspections, more appraisals, more insurance sales, etc.
I'm all for it, for a couple of reasons: First, it should result in a boost to my inspection business. And just as important, I support our military in the fight against terrorism. If the consolidation of troops at Ft.Carson brings greater efficiency to that fight, then it's great. Colorado should benefit from this troop movement.
As part of this troop movement, Ft.Carson wants to expand its Pinon Canyon training area. They're talking about a big expansion, somewhere between a half million to 1.5 million acres. You've probably read about the major opposition to this expansion, and about our state legislature's stand against eminent domain.
I oppose the expansion of Pinon Canyon, for both personal and business reasons. Military use of that land will destroy the habitat, the ancient history, and the traditional use of the land by the families who have lived there for generations. Removing that land from economic productivity will destroy the tax base and economy of the surrounding towns.
So this is my dilemma. I support the troop movement into Ft.Carson, and the expected housing boom. I oppose the expansion of Pinon Canyon, and the expected economic loss. But the two issues go hand-in-hand. Probably wouldn't make sense to bring more troops to Ft.Carson, if the needed training area is not available. That's probably over-simplifying it, but it's still a dilemma.
So what do you think? Can we have it both ways, a housing boom without Pinon expansion? Do you have a different understanding of it? What do the Pueblo members of ActiveRain think about this?
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