A turkey race will be held Nov. 23 in the Safeway parking lot. The winning turkey will be spared from becoming someoneís dinner meal.The federal government, which has been subsidizing the cost of landlines (not just rural landlines, but all landlines) by making payments directly to telephone companies, won’t be making those subsidy payments anymore. The telephone companies are expected to make up the difference by increasing their phone rates by 50 cents a month at first, and, overtime, by as much as $2.50 a month.Dispelling a RumorA rumor floating around the county last month had El Paso County colluding with the city of Colorado Springs to force homebuyers to purchase houses in the Banning Lewis Ranch development by imposing a moratorium on building permits issued to developers in the unincorporated parts of the county.The rumor is not true, said Craig Dossey, project manager for the countyís development services department. “There’s no moratorium on issuing building permits. I can dispel that right now,î he said.The source of the rumor could be confusion about the countyís temporary six-month suspension of applications for Rural Land Use Plan zoning.RLUP zoning is used in areas with severe topography. It allows developers to build two homes on 35 acres without going through the subdivision process that has requirements regarding water quantity and quality, Dossey said.The application process was suspended following a disagreement between county attorneys and attorneys for the Wilderness Heights Development near Cascade, Colo. Dossey said attorneys for the development contend that the countyís land development code exceeds authority granted by the state.
