Message From the PresidentGreetings Neighbors and Friends, I hope this message finds you well. The March 2020 edition of the Urban Dweller--Capitol Hill United Neighborhoods' (CHUN) monthly e-newsletter--is available online. Here is the latest from your registered neighborhood organization and advocate: Final Call for Community Feedback for the East Central Area Plan: After years of hard work and outreach, Denver's Community Planning and Development is in the final phase of gathering community feedback for the Draft East Central Area Plan. The Neighborhood Planning Initiative provided an opportunity to establish the community’s vision for maintaining and enhancing the quality of life in these neighborhoods for decades to come. The deadline to submit feedback is April 12, 2020. Whether you are a homeowner or a renter, a Denver native or a recent transplant...YOUR VOICE MATTERS. Make sure you are heard. Capturing the Attention of Our Community: CHUN's great work in the community, including our rezoning plan for the Tears-McFarlane House and inaugural SEED Awards, have been reported on extensively in recent weeks. Check out the following articles:
Community feedback and outreach is essential to rezoning the Tears-McFarlane: On February 4, members of the CHUN board, partners from City Street Investors, and our zoning consultant attended a neighborhood meeting to present the latest about CHUN's planned unit development (PUD) for our property 1290 Williams located just north of Cheesman Park. Attendees included residents of 1201 Williams, 1299 Gilpin, 1133 Race, and others along the park. We appreciated the robust conversation and feedback resulting from the discussion. We will schedule other meetings with neighbors over the next few months. If you would like a presentation for your HOA or community group, please email Bruce O'Donnell at bodonnell@starboardrealtygroup.com. We look forward to speaking with you directly and providing your communities with accurate, detailed information. If you have individual concerns, email me directly at travis.leiker@chundenver.org. Diverse, equitable, and inclusive engagement is fundamental to innovative placemaking: CHUN has been very thoughtful about communicating with as many neighbors as possible, and we are utilizing many communications channels to do so. Specific to our rezoning project, we met with the Friends of Cheesman Park and Cheesman Park Advocates leadership, convened HOA presidents along Cheesman Park, hosted a number of open houses, and connected with hundreds of Denverites throughout 2019. We also want to treat neighbors with fairness and equity; this includes those who frequent Cheesman but cannot afford to live along the park. It's important to include those who do not regularly connect with city leaders, too. CHUN is a neighborhood organization after all, and lending a voice to others is important when we are addressing matters like city parks and public assets. Since December, we have conducted 7 paid media posts specifically targeting households near the Tears-McFarlane House; content included information about the rezoning, history of the property, and reached more than 12,222 Denverites. To learn more about the PUD, you can visit chundenver.org/tearsmcfarlanehouse. Good Neighbors and Collaborators: Capitol Hill United Neighborhoods is proud to partner with our friends at St. Francis Center, Warren Village, as well as the surrounding neighborhood to move a Good Neighbor Agreement forward for the St. Francis Center's planned Warren Residences at 14th and Gilpin. Thoughtful, productive conversations are essential to shaping the future of the city. CHUN will vote to adopt the agreement in the coming weeks. Welcome New Members and Benefactors: CHUN is Denver’s oldest, largest neighborhood organization. Our work is possible due to the support of our loyal community that has supported us with their time, talent and generosity. This month, we have added new members including Novo Coffee, Colorado Coalition for the Homeless, Maggie M., Amy and Stephen C., Robert R., Kent and Leslie M., Vickie B., and many others. YOU are the heart of our recent successes, and YOU are essential to our future. Invest in the continued successes of protecting our rich history while building a brighter future for Denver. Here is how...
For the Mile High City, Travis Leiker President, Board of Delegates Capitol Hill United Neighborhoods, Inc. Member of the Month
Apply for the Denver Marijuana Licensing Work Group The City and County of Denver will be forming a Marijuana Licensing Work Group (MLWG) to gather input regarding new marijuana licenses created by the State of Colorado in 2019, including marijuana delivery and hospitality, and Denver’s comprehensive cannabis equity program. The MLWG will consist of a diverse group of stakeholders including representatives from community, social justice, business, public health, safety, and youth-centered organizations and individuals. The work group will be advisory in nature, with the primary goal being to review, discuss, and make recommendations on policy direction and possible marijuana licensing laws, rules, and regulations. Individuals interested in serving on the MLWG must apply by 5:00 p.m. on Friday, March 20, 2020. To learn more about the work group, the application process, and the proposed meeting dates, please go to our Marijuana laws, rules and regulations website or read the solicitation letter attached. Everyone is invited to attend, the work group meetings will be public and there will be time for public comment for non-work group members that wish to participate in the discussion. Upcoming EventsCapitol Hill Electronics Recycling Event
Evans School & City Street Investors Focus Group
Please RSVP to rmahanty@citystreetinvestors.com or respond to Evite. To learn more about the school, project, and City Street investors, visit https://www.citystreetinvestors.com/evans-school. March is Women's History Month!Denver's suffragists and political leaders made plans, built connections and changed the world! Learn more about these local legends at our women's history-themed events with Historic Denver & Molly Brown house Museum. Mile High 420 Festival – Event Notification!
Monday, April 20, 2020 2:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. For more information: https://milehigh420festival.com (303) 777-6887 STREET CLOSURES: Civic Center Park and some surrounding streets (see downloadable PDF map, below ) Saturday, April 18 – 5:00 p.m. to Tuesday, April 21 at noon.
Additional EventsAthena Project's Read & Rant Club Mon, March 9, 2020 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm Tattered Cover Book Store Colfax 2526 East Colfax Avenue Denver, CO 80206 Read & Rant is Athena Project’s new book club, in collaboration with Tattered Cover exploring plays written primarily by women. Read two or three scripts during the month and meet every third Monday at Tattered Cover, Colfax, to discuss the works. Learn what makes a good script; how reading a play is different than a book, a movie, or spoken word; converse with invited guests as part of our monthly discussions. In conjunction with Week of Women, our first meeting, Monday, March 9th, will begin the first of monthly free offerings to the community to raise awareness of the under-representation of women’s stories on stage. Sister Act: The Musical hosted by East Theatre Company March 5-8, 2020 East High School, 1600 City Park Esplanade Denver, CO 80206 Tickets are available online at: https://easttheatrecompany.com/box-office. Based on the 1992 hit film, this feel-good musical comedy smash sizzles with powerful music, spectacular dancing, and a story brimming with heart. Featuring original music by Tony and eight-time Oscar winner Alan Menken (Newsies, Beauty and the Beast, Little Shop of Horrors), the musical was nominated for five Tony Awards, including Best Musical. Planning Better Ways To Travel in South Central Denver Thursday, March 19, 2020 5:30 pm - 7:30 pm La Familia Recreation Center 65 S. Elati Street Denver, CO 80223 As more people move to Denver, we must plan now to improve how people to get around town without increasing congestion on our streets. Denver’s Department of Transportation and Infrastructure wants to understand how people in your community currently travel and how to effectively build healthier walking, biking, and transit connections in your neighborhood that get you to the places you want to go. Come to our community open house to share your experiences traveling by bike, by bus, by car, and on foot in South Central Denver and provide input that will guide planned and future transportation improvements where you live. Learn more on the Facebook event page Public Workshop #1: Skyline Park Improvements Project Please join us for the first public workshop to re-imagine Skyline Park! Drop in and tell us your story about the park. Share your vision for future activities, programs and ideas to explore. The Skyline Park Improvements Project will create a new concept design for all three blocks of the park and develop a design for construction of Phase 1 that is funded by the Elevate Denver Bond Program. In an effort to capture as many participants as possible, Denver Parks and Recreation will be holding the Skyline Park Improvements Project Workshop #1 at two separate times and locations on the same day, Tuesday, March 24. The information presented and feedback requested will be the same at both workshops.
CHUN Committee Updates
For a complete list of CHUN's committees, please visit the Committee Page and check the CHUN website for upcoming meetings and events. CHUN Climate Crisis Committee Wednesday, March 25, 2020 6:30 PM – 8:00 PM The Tears McFarlane House and Community Center 1290 N. Williams St., Denver, Colorado 80218 Consider attending the Climate Crisis Committee to discuss Climate Action at the neighborhood level. Presentations planned:
Top Neighborhood News Stories Wash your Hands and Don't Touch Your Face. |
| April 1, 2020 is officially Census Day when the country will count every person residing in the US. But Denver is preparing far in advance to develop the right strategy to ensure all residents, regardless of age, gender, race, ethnicity, immigration status, all know what the Census is, how their data is protected, and why it’s so critical for all Denverites to participate. Participation is safe, confidential, and takes just minutes to complete. | |
The U.S. Constitution instructs that every person living in the United States be counted during the Census. Money is allocated to Colorado based on Census counts. An analysis from George Washington University estimates that each person counted in Colorado is worth $1,481 per year. The census counts every living person in the U.S. once, only once, and in the right place.
Completing the census is required.
It's a way to participate in our democracy and say "I COUNT!".
The count determines funding amounts that go directly to your community- $13 billion in 2016 to Colorado alone!
To learn more about the 2020 Census and how you can participate, visit www.denvergov.org/census2020 or https://2020census.gov/.
Completing the census is required.
It's a way to participate in our democracy and say "I COUNT!".
The count determines funding amounts that go directly to your community- $13 billion in 2016 to Colorado alone!
To learn more about the 2020 Census and how you can participate, visit www.denvergov.org/census2020 or https://2020census.gov/.
The Lives Changed by Justina Ford, MD
Remembrances of Denver’s first black woman doctor also tell a story of Denver
  A new mural on 27th Street dedicated to Dr. Justina Ford. Feb. 18, 2020. (Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite) | As a child, Olivell Owens wondered about the water under the “whites only ” sign. Did it taste different than what flowed from the fountains where she and other African-Americans were supposed to drink in her hometown of Conway, Arkansas? She crossed the color line for a sip. Her fearlessness didn’t end there. When a white boy taunted Owens with a racist slur one day, she didn’t hesitate to slap him. Her mother, convinced Owens’s bravery would get her killed, decided to move the family out of the south, first to Iowa before eventually settling in Colorado. It was in Denver in the 1940s when Owens, then a teenager, met Dr. Justina Ford. After relating her stories of Arkansas to Ford, Owens recalls the doctor sharing her experiences of practicing medicine in Denver even though racism kept her out of the Colorado Medical Society and Denver General Hospital, now Denver Health, barred black patients and physicians. Read the full story on Denverite.com |
1-block Stretch of Bannock to Become Public Gathering Space
Bannock Street: Phase 1 Special Event Concept
Mayor Michael B. Hancock announced Denver’s plans to transform a one-block stretch of roadway between the city’s iconic Civic Center Park and City and County Building into a versatile public gathering space and event space that people can enjoy year-round.
The effort will unfold in two phases. On April 21, as part of Phase1, Denver’s Department of Transportation and Infrastructure (DOTI) will close permanently Bannock Street between Colfax Avenue and 14th Avenue to vehicle traffic and reopen the stretch to the public in May when the installation of tree planters and a colorful street mural is complete. The Department will then launch a Phase 2 planning effort involving the community in creating a long-term, permanent vision for this stretch as a place of prominence, enjoyment and celebration.
“As a city working hard to reduce vehicle traffic and expand multi-modal transportation – a city that invests in growing and preserving park land – this transformation just makes sense,” Mayor Hancock said. “Bringing our Civic Center up to the steps of the City and County building expands a civic space we are already very proud of into a more welcoming gathering place for generations to come.”
The Bannock project marks a significant milestone in advancing Denver’s Outdoor Downtown Master Plan by expanding its realm of safe, comfortable and inviting parks and public spaces downtown and creating world-class destinations.
To learn more about the project visit the city's Outdoor Downtown Master Plan webpage
The effort will unfold in two phases. On April 21, as part of Phase1, Denver’s Department of Transportation and Infrastructure (DOTI) will close permanently Bannock Street between Colfax Avenue and 14th Avenue to vehicle traffic and reopen the stretch to the public in May when the installation of tree planters and a colorful street mural is complete. The Department will then launch a Phase 2 planning effort involving the community in creating a long-term, permanent vision for this stretch as a place of prominence, enjoyment and celebration.
“As a city working hard to reduce vehicle traffic and expand multi-modal transportation – a city that invests in growing and preserving park land – this transformation just makes sense,” Mayor Hancock said. “Bringing our Civic Center up to the steps of the City and County building expands a civic space we are already very proud of into a more welcoming gathering place for generations to come.”
The Bannock project marks a significant milestone in advancing Denver’s Outdoor Downtown Master Plan by expanding its realm of safe, comfortable and inviting parks and public spaces downtown and creating world-class destinations.
To learn more about the project visit the city's Outdoor Downtown Master Plan webpage
City Still Taking Community Comments for East Central Area Plan
| Comment period for East Central Area Plan is to remain open until April 12! The community has asked for more time to learn about the Plan. Therefore, the City has re-opened the comment period on the first draft and will take feedback until April 12. |  |
Denver's Community planning & Development is extending the feedback period to April 12th in order to reach additional under-represented populations – including younger, lower income renters and residents with limited access to the internet. To do this, we will be distributing flyers and printed copies of the plan and comment boxes to targeted locations most accessible to under-represented residents.
To help coordinate flyering and printed plan locations, please enter the locations where you will volunteer to deliver flyers and/or set up availability of printed plans and comment boxes in the shared spreadsheet here:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/10Lu8XVi8xmImbk5aFGV4octmE9xiXurMPdxv1l47Kwk/edit?usp=sharing
To help coordinate flyering and printed plan locations, please enter the locations where you will volunteer to deliver flyers and/or set up availability of printed plans and comment boxes in the shared spreadsheet here:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/10Lu8XVi8xmImbk5aFGV4octmE9xiXurMPdxv1l47Kwk/edit?usp=sharing
The East Central Area Plan is a planning document that covers six central Denver neighborhoods, and it will help dictate development for 20 years. Your voice will help guide these plans. We encourage everyone to review the plan and its contents.
To add your voice, follow these three quick steps:
Here are a few examples of how you can voice your thoughts through feedback:
To add your voice, follow these three quick steps:
- Visit: https://colfaxareaplans.konveio.com/east-central-area-plan.
- Review the sections of the plan for what may be of importance to you.
- Read the green bar for instructions on how to make comments directly on the plan.
Here are a few examples of how you can voice your thoughts through feedback:
- Maximum building heights on Colfax (Section 2.1, page 13 “Land Use and Built Form”)
- Affordable Housing (Section 2.2, page 15 “Economy and Housing”)
- Cheesman Park planning (Section 2.3, page 9, “Mobility”)
If you have not had a chance to review the draft, share your thoughts or ask questions at the city's East Central Area Plan page of denvergov.org.
Watch the East Central Area Plan Overview Video to get started:
Watch the East Central Area Plan Overview Video to get started:
Also In The News
- You can’t just sit anywhere at Denver’s Union Station because this 2012 contract gave up control over some of its public space
- Landlord for first Quiznos points to property taxes as chain considers bailing
- Nic + Zoe to open first Denver retail location in Cherry Creek
- Firm applies for demolition eligibility for Saucy Noodle building in Bonnie Brae
- Ring up the old — Environmental benefit, vintage popularity boost interest in thrift stores
- Colorado air regulators announce massive settlement with Suncor, a major Denver polluter
- Neighborhood concerned about plans to turn Denver church into low-income housing
- Denver just hired a company for $195 million to make the airport's Great Hall great (or at least finished)
- 200-unit apartment building planned along Colfax in Denver’s Capitol Hill neighborhood
- Major U.S. mall giant to acquire owner of Cherry Creek Shopping Center for $3.6B
- You don’t own Denver’s views, at least not any more than everyone else
- Three more 9th and Colorado retail tenants announced as apartment complex opens
- The 8th and Downing Conoco gas station and garage is being (very quickly?) replaced by a slightly different Conoco gas station (Or, is it?)
- State now has ability to test for COVID-19: Quick turnaround expected from facility set up by CDPHE
- Denver Identifies Two Presumptive Positive COVID-19 Cases in City
- The first person in Colorado who tested positive for the new coronavirus traveled through DIA
- How can you defend against coronavirus if you’re homeless?
- St. Francis gets go-ahead from Landmark for a project to house the poor in the Cheesman Park neighborhood
- Denver median rents have been holding steady month to month
- Removing rat-infested trees final step to reopening Denver park
- Do you know Denver’s rules about living together? Here’s what some people want to change about them. (Sarah Wells!)
- Housing supply for people with disabilities is short in Denver
- Denver provides 200 lockers for people experiencing homelessness at Minoru Yasui Plaza
- Medication fog can worsen or mimic dementia in elderly
- Bennet: Take politics out of health care
- Remember that Healthy Food for Denver Kids program voters approved last fall? It’s accepting grant applications now
- Lawmakers Propose a State-Managed ‘Turnaround’ Plan for RTD
- Interim RTD chief targets retention, project oversight
- Wanted: home for towering wooden soldiers
- Devon Dikeou’s sort-of secret art space has re-opened downtown
- After drama at the Denver Performing Arts Complex (not onstage), theatergoers have new dining and drinking options
- Artists will come from as far away as Chile to play free concerts at Levitt Pavilion this summer
- In extremely 2020 news, Councilwoman CdeBaca retweets tweet about coronavirus spreading at MAGA rallies
- Denver Mayor Michael Hancock endorses Joe Biden for president
- Surprise, Surprise. Denver's pit bull ban has always been controversial
- Capturing the essence of the Bluebird District: Father, daughter team up for student art project along Colfax
- Housing inventory is down and prices are up in metro Denver
- Denver will ban cars in front of its city hall and ‘give it back to the people’ on April 21
- A tiny rhino, if that’s not an oxymoron, has been born at Denver’s zoo
- Denver Fire Chief Eric Tade steps down
- About 100 people got married at Denver’s wedding-palooza
- One of you is apparently extra guilty of not clearing your sidewalk in February
- Dolores Huerta visits Denver to urge Latino residents to take part in the U.S. Census
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