New homes in Rockrimmon highlight risk of mine subsidence, insurance availability [The Gazette (Colorado Springs, Colo.)]

Jan. 29—Proposed houses in Rockrimmon could join nearly 4,000 existing homes in Colorado Springs at risk of structural damage because of underlying coal mines that may collapse over time.

The Colorado Geological Survey reviewed plans for 45 homes along South Rockrimmon Boulevard just west of the Rockrimmon Open Space and had no objection to the construction of the homes based on the findings of a subsidence investigation done in 1984.

However, the agency recommended some of the future homeowners purchase subsidence insurance in case their homes are damaged by the potential collapse of a portion of the abandoned Pikeview Mine. The new homeowners will have to seek private insurance because they do not qualify for subsidence insurance through the state, the agency wrote. The homes are also planned on property at risk for landslides and close to wetlands. Water can cause deterioration of mines.

"Our experience is that subsidence insurance for undermined areas, if available, may be challenging to obtain and extremely expensive. Availability can also change and be suspended later at the discretion of the insurance company," wrote Jonathan Lovekin, senior engineering geologist for the Colorado Geological Survey, in a letter.

Subsidence happens as coal mines collapse or erode, causing land above them to sink and that can cause sinkholes or, more commonly, cosmetic damage, such as walls cracking.

Across town, the state said 3,950 homes are at some risk of subsidence from mines and 786 residences are covered by the state subsidence insurance program. The state's program will only cover homes built prior to Feb. 22, 1989, the agency said.

A development map of the project known as Creekside at Rockrimmon, that will stretch across about 17 acres, shows the state's count of homes at risk will be growing because homes built on its western side will be built over a mined area. A note on the development plan states that while home foundations will be reinforced those measures will not prevent movement from subsidence.

Carole Walker, executive director of the Rocky Mountain Insurance Association, agreed with Geological Survey's statement about the difficulty of insuring those homes, saying "mine subsidence coverage is not generally covered or available under most standard homeowners insurance policies."

Premier Homes Project Manager Paul Broussard, who is working on development of the property, disputed concerns about insurance, saying he had checked with companies and future residents would be able to add subsidence insurance to a homeowners policy.

He also noted risk for subsidence was low and the homebuilders will be responsible for designing homes that can withstand land movement. New homeowners would be informed about the risk when they brought the home under contract, he said.

"All of the engineers and specialists that we have had look at it have assured us the risk is minor," he said.

The 39-year-old investigation referenced in the review by the Geological Survey is the "go-to report" for the area, he said. Water on the property will be directed away from the mines into a channel and lined pond to help control it, he said.

When asked whether the city had concerns about the lack of state subsidence insurance for future homeowners, City Planner Kerri Schott said in an email the city cannot require subsidence insurance and the determination of eligibility is the state's decision. Residents can seek private insurance, she said.

City staff is in charge of the final stages of review for the homes after the Colorado Springs Planning Commission voted 7 to 1 in November during the hearing of a resident-led appeal that raised concerns about the project.

Residents also expressed numerous concerns about the project in letters to the city, including land stability issues.

Brian Sinchak, who lives northwest of the property, wrote that he has watched the area sink, shift and slide through the years. One of the landslides was 35 feet wide and slid 40 feet down, he wrote.

Another neighbor, Lorraine Larson, wrote to the city saying she could see the effects of land instability in her own home.

"I see the cracks in my house and the shifting of doors as proof of this," she wrote.

Neither neighbor returned Gazette requests for an interview.

Residents also asked the city to purchase the property as open space in 2018, in part because it shares a boundary with the existing Rockrimmon Open Space, but the city's Trails, Open Space and Parks Working Committee decided it was too expensive, said Britt Haley, who manages open space purchases.

While much of Rockrimmon is at some risk for subsidence because of the abandoned coal mines beneath it, as a map from the Colorado Division of Reclamation, Mining and Safety shows, subsidence has not been confirmed in the area since the 1990s, when the agency mitigated three shafts, the agency said in an email. The map of the risks produced in 1985 does not need to be updated because the risk of subsidence generally remains the same over time, the agency said.

"If a home overlies historic coal mining, there is always some risk of subsidence," the agency said.

Damage from mines sinking is often limited to wall cracking and uneven basement floors as underground mines collapse over time cause the ground to settle over time, the state said.

Colorado Springs properties, including houses on Country Club Circle, a church on North Circle Drive and Portal Park, have seen damage from mines collapsing, The Gazette reported previously. One of the homeowners on Country Club Circle came home to a hole in his driveway and another had land open up underneath a corner of the house.

All mine workings eventually subside, although it can be an extremely slow process — sometimes taking centuries, said Colorado School of Mines Professor Jurgen Brune, who teaches mine engineering.

"The deeper it is, the longer it takes to subside," he said.

An updated survey of the neighborhood could help show how things have changed since 1985 and whether any active subsidence is taking place, he said.

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