The Colorado Springs City Council deadlocked Tuesday on whether to legalize carports in front of homes and ultimately came to no decision after hours of persuasive arguments from residents concerned allowing carports across the city could hurt historic neighborhoods and residents in need of carports to protect their property.

The council had seemed poised to allow carports after a recent informal discussion, but the new Historic Neighborhoods Partnership seemed to persuade some board members to look closer at more stringent rules to protect the architecture and character of older neighborhoods.

The board probably will take the issue up again informally after failing to agree to postpone a vote on carports and failing to agree to legalize the structures.

The board voted 4-4 twice. They tied on a vote to delay the issue and to legalize the structures, meaning both motions failed. Councilman Richard Skorman was absent, leading to the deadlocked votes.

The proposed rules would have allowed carports over driveways in front of homes 5 feet from the sidewalk all over the city.

The carports could not be unpainted or made out of nondurable material like

canvas, among other restrictions.

The rules were proposed because while the city has prohibited carports in front of homes for a long time, many people have put them up anyway and would like to keep them. The council agreed about six months ago that carports in front of homes should be allowed to help residents protect their vehicles from hail.

On Tuesday, residents from historic neighborhoods argued the rules were too broad to apply to every neighborhood, and while more modern neighborhoods have homeowners associations to set more stringent rules, historic neighborhoods do not have the same protections.

“What works for one neighborhood may not work for all,” said Dianne Bridges, chairwoman with the partnership.

For example, many Old North End homes were built before cars were mass produced, and allowing carports along the street would be incompatible with the historic area, said Old North End Neighborhood President Dutch Shulz.

“Don’t turn this loose on us,” he said.

The group also noted that out of about 14 large Colorado communities including Denver, Greeley and Pueblo, only Colorado Springs was proposing allowing carports in front of homes on small lots.

The partnership suggested allowing neighborhoods interested in carports to request zoning overlays to allow them in specific areas and limiting a carport’s height to 12 feet. The group also floated the idea of requiring a building permit for all carports so that residents must comply with the city’s rules around carports.

They also asked the city staff to make it clear that only operable cars, trucks and vans can be parked under carports.

Planning and Community Development Director Peter Wysocki said introducing zones where carports could be allowed on a neighborhood by neighborhood basis would be tough.

“It would be challenging and very time-consuming to build a consensus,” he said.

Carport supporters argued that residents should have a right to protect their cars particularly if they don’t have room behind or beside their homes for a carport.

“I think everybody should have a right to do something to their property to make life livable,” Colette Cook said.

In her neighborhood on the southeast side of town, many people don’t have access to their backyards via an alley, and removing a carport can increase a residents’ insurance rates, she said.

Councilwoman Yolanda Avila passionately defended the broad ordinance that arose, in part, out of a compromise with neighbors who have carports and want to keep them, particularly in southeast Colorado Springs, an area of the city with far fewer trees.

“I would like you to put yourself in the position of the people that are constantly, constantly being told no,” she said.