Residents on Lookout Mountain, Colorado, fighting church's plan to triple in size

Lookout Mountain resident Jen Story holds her daughter, Ella, 2, recently as they look across a road at Activation Ministry International, which has received Jefferson County approval to greatly expand the church. (Hyoung Chang, The Denver Post)

Development pressures on Lookout Mountain might make Buffalo Bill turn over in his grave if there were room.

The view from the historic gravesite of Old West celebrity William Frederick "Buffalo Bill" Cody, though still magnificent, is screened by transmission towers. Neighbors fought construction of a 730-foot digital TV tower for almost a decade and blocked it until an act of Congress in 2006 overturned the short-lived victory.

Now, they've fought and lost an eight-month battle to prevent another nonhistoric, nonresidential development that they believe will further alter the character of their home and lead to dangerous traffic congestion on Lookout Mountain Road.

Activation Ministry International, a medium-size church of 300 to 400 people, won Jefferson County's final approval March 13 for a special-use permit to expand its 9,168-square-foot church into a regional Christian ministry and mission center of 30,000 square feet with 3 or 4 acres of parking.

Yet neighbors aren't giving up.

"This is about fear," resident Diane Lange said of the neighborhood protest and recent formation of Lookout Mountain Residents United. "This is about safety."

The group plans to explore appeals and legal options. And, as spokeswoman Stephanie Graf said, the group will look out for the next big development that tries to come down the road.

Lookout Mountain is one section of the 40-mile Lariat Loop National Scenic Byway. It winds through hillside subdivisions to tourist attractions such as Boettcher Mansion, Lookout Mountain Nature Center and the nationally acclaimed Buffalo Bill Museum & Grave.

The iconic route was a stage in the inaugural USA Pro Cycling Challenge last year and will be part of the race again this year.

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Residents on Lookout Mountain, Colorado, fighting church's plan to triple in size