A group of Pine Creek residents who contributed to lawsuits opposing an affordable housing complex to be built nearby are being sued by the developer for “malicious prosecution.”

DBG Properties, the New Mexico-based developers for the proposed Royal Pines Apartments, filed a suit in the District Court of Colorado earlier this month against Preserve Pine Creek Village and five individual residents, including Pine Creek Village Association Board President Steve Parrish.

In the lawsuit, DBG argued that the neighbors had spent two years engaging in lawsuits against the city of Colorado Springs and the developer they did not expect to win to delay and undermine funding for affordable housing that would be built nearby. The lawsuit claimed the lawsuits not only were interfering with the company’s financial security but also were an abuse of the legal process.

Briargate neighbors file lawsuit to block Colorado Springs bond for affordable housing

“Their point is to stop the Project through any legal claim, however baseless, banking on the hope that the Project cannot go forward while litigation is pending,” DBG Properties stated in its lawsuit.

The long-discussed Royal Pine complex plans to provide 232-unit apartments at Powers and North Union boulevards, directly north of one of the entrances to Pine Creek. A presentation to the Colorado Springs City Council in May said that all units will be reserved for residents making less than 70% of the area median income.

Preserve Pine Creek Village had pursued two court cases and an appeal in an attempt to halt the development. The 4th Judicial District Court dismissed the most recent court challenge on Tuesday.

On Thursday, Preserve Pine Creek’s attorney Joseph O’Keefe filed to dismiss the developer’s lawsuit under Colorado’s anti-SLAPP laws, which aim to prevent lawsuits from being used to stop public discussion. O’Keefe said the developer’s counter-lawsuit harassed residents for using the full extent of the state court system.

“Plaintiff cannot claim ‘sham litigation’ simply because the constitutionally protected activities at issue herein … were unsuccessful,” O’Keefe wrote.

The first lawsuit filed by Pine Creek residents was a challenge to the City Council’s decision in 2024 to rezone the property from commercial use to allow the apartments. After the case was dismissed in District Court, the plaintiffs attempted a federal appeal in the spring, while DBG was in the process of receiving a private activity bond from Colorado Springs.

Bonds for 2 Colorado Springs affordable housing projects moved ahead

Weeks after the city approved a $60 million private activity bond, Preserve Pine Creek sued claiming that it was a TABOR violation. Private activity bonds are authorized by municipalities to support projects like affordable housing but would not be repaid by Colorado Springs.

District Court Judge William Bain dismissed the TABOR lawsuit on Tuesday. In his ruling, Bain said Preserve Pine Creek had not identified any members who would be affected or proven that they would be damaged as taxpayers by allowing Royal Pine to receive the bond.

“Any assertion by plaintiff that the City may ultimately be liable for bond payments is conclusory, as plaintiff has alleged neither any facts nor any law to support such argument,” Judge Bain wrote.

The dismissal does not mean that the bond will immediately move forward. City spokesman Max D’Onofrio said Colorado Springs would not close on the bond for seven more weeks, or until the end of the window for Preserve Pine Creek to appeal the decision.

Several Pine Creek residents were out visiting food trucks Thursday afternoon that parked near the neighborhood’s private Plum Creek Park. Two residents who spoke to The Gazette said they had major issues with the new apartments, largely based on the number of new vehicles and residents who would border the private neighborhood.

Controversial Briargate-area apartment project gets green light from City Council

“I don’t want the crowds. I don’t want more crime. I don’t want the traffic during a fire if we need to get out of here quickly,” said Gail B., who declined to fully provide her last name. Gail, who has lived in the neighborhood for around 18 years, said she was loosely aware of the lawsuits and the HOA’s opposition push to the project.

The DBG lawsuit is not the only recent lawsuit a developer brought against opponents of its housing project. Last year, View Homes Inc. sued El Paso County resident Mike Cloutier over his lawsuit challenging its planned 20-home addition near Hay Creek Road. Cloutier had sued the El Paso County commissioners to halt the project, arguing it violated the county’s maximum capacity rules for a dead-end road.

A 4th Judicial District judge dismissed the developer’s lawsuit in December, saying Cloutier had proper concerns that should be considered in court. The same judge eventually ruled against Cloutier earlier this month, allowing the homes to continue being built.

El Paso County judge allows more homes in Hay Creek Valley along dead-end road