March 2023

A Letter from John

As the ice starts to thaw and the first day of spring is tantalizingly close, March also brings a different type of season; election season. Ballots will be mailed out for Denver’s 2023 municipal election from March 13th, with the deadline to return your ballot in-person by 7pm on April 4th.

It’s fair to say that the outcomes from this election will define Denver for many years to come. To help us all get to know the candidates a little better, CHUN reached out to all the candidates in the Mayoral, At-large, and districts 10,9,7,4 electoral races. We asked questions about a broad range of subjects including community participation, housing, homelessness, historic preservation, transport, and economic development. Answers from candidates are provide in this document, organized by question, electoral race, and then in the order in which they were received. We thank all candidates for their time and contribution to Denver’s democratic process.

This month, CHUN is delighted to partner with the City Storyteller, Rowena Alegria, to present a webinar entitled: "30 Years Later: How the ADA enabled Denver's Disability Community to 'Boldly Go Where Everyone Else as Gone Before'". Please join us on March 15 at 6 pm using this zoom link.

Finally, we will also be holding a happy hour at the iconic Colfax institution Pete’s Satire Lounge from 6pm on Wednesday, March 22nd. Come and join us for a few beverages and conversation.

Best wishes from all of us at CHUN!
John Deffenbaugh | Executive Director
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CHUN Business Member of the Month

Ambrosia Archiving

Ambrosia Archiving helps tell stories and offers a holistic archiving approach to digitizing your media collection. They treat every image as their own knowing how important and irreplaceable these one-of-a-kind items are and how digitizing them is preserving your family legacy forever. 

With a keen eye for time periods based on years of archiving work with historical societies, as well as curating personal collections, they carefully sort and organize your photos chronologically so you can find what you're looking for easily when they are returned digitized.

They provide color restoration editing and will upload images to a cloud account.

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CHUN News and Events 

Denver Mayoral, At-Large and District Candidates Respond on Key Issues Facing Denver

In February, CHUN reached out to all the candidates in the Mayoral, At-Large, and Districts 10, 9, 7 and 5 electoral races and asked them to respond to questions regarding key issues facing Denver. These issues included housing, homelessness, historic preservation, transportation, public safety, economic development and climate. 

We thank all candidates for their participation and for their contributions to Denver’s democratic process.

Candidate responses are organized by question, electoral race, and then in the order in which they were received. 

Click here to see all of the responses.​

CHUN Endorses Denver Municipal Ballot Measures 2M and 2N

CHUN endorses the “Good Governance” referred questions on the Denver municipal ballot, 2M and 2N. We believe that a “yes” vote on these questions will support accountability and transparency.
 
2M: The City and County of Denver has held the Board of Adjustment (BOA) in Charter since 1923, and has not been updated since 1956. This measure moves the BOA into the zoning code, allowing for modernization of the board’s structure and purview. In the interest of transparency, the authors of the amendment and others offer the following changes to the board in the zoning code here, with BOA adjustments beginning on page 27. CHUN recommends YES on 2M
 
2N: This updates the zoning code to establish that zoning districts are a matter for council, and who may initiate or sign on to zoning petitions, which if successful require a supermajority of council for zoning approval. Property owners in adjacent counties have participated in the Denver zoning petition process. CHUN recommends YES on 2N
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March 15: ​History Matters Webinar: ​Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) 30 Years Later with Rowena Alegria

​​Capitol Hill United Neighborhoods (CHUN) History Matters is partnering with the City of Denver Office of Storytelling to host a Zoom event designed to share the Emmy nominated "30 Years Later: How the ADA enabled Denver's Disability Community to 'Boldly Go Where Everyone Else Has Gone Before'".

The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, or ADA, is a civil rights law that prohibits discrimination based on disability.

We will show the short film and hold a discussion with Rowena Alegria and others with expertise and experience in the struggle for disability rights in Capitol Hill and beyond.

Learn about the role Denver activists played in fighting for the civil rights of people living with disabilities.
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Wednesday, March 15
6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Please click here to attend Zoom meeting.

March 22: CHUN Happy Hour at Pete's Satire Lounge

Come join us for a few drinks and conversation!

​There is a lot of action in the run up to the municipal election, but the chat doesn't need to just be about politics. Let's take a moment to enjoy a drink in a Colfax institution, get to know neighbors, and celebrate the official third day of spring.

6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Pete's Satire Lounge
1920 East Colfax

CHUN Friends and Colleagues Celebrate CHUN and Long-standing President, Travis Leiker

After more than 7 years, both as a board member and Capitol Hill United Neighborhoods’ President and Executive Director, Travis Leiker completed his tenure with CHUN in January of this year.

On February 16, CHUN friends and colleagues got together at the newly-restored Tears-McFarlane Mansion to celebrate Travis’ journey and share the many accomplishments of CHUN. 

New CHUN president, Christopher Mansour, recognized the financial stability that Travis brought to CHUN and also good neighborhood agreements that led to Safe Outdoor Spaces in Denver and a public/private partnership between CHUN and City Street Investors.

Joe Vostrejs, founder and principal of City Street Investors, spoke of Travis' perseverance and patience that led greatly to his success with CHUN and with their joint agreement.

Peggy Randall presented Travis with an appreciation and leadership award and Debbie Young presented him with a photo memory book.

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CHUN Committee Reports

CHUN History Matters

Mark your calendars! A CHUN History Matters Community Outreach Meeting will take place on March 15 from 6-7:30 pm. [see details above]

History Matters and members of CHUN-UP had a meeting on February 9 regarding progress on the new development at 123 Speer Blvd, the location of the Channel 7 Building and how they are incorporating the memorandum of understanding between CHUN and PMG Development. We heard from Kevin Kelly and Andrea Hamilton about their long involvement in overseeing the project and heard an update from the architects about this essential project at the gateway to Denver. The project remains in its permitting process as design work continues on the process.

1741 Gaylord Landmark proceedings will take place on March 7, at 1 pm. CHUN History Matters has written a letter supporting the Landmark Designation application that has been filed for the unique and historic building at 1741 Gaylord St. on its merits. And we hope that there is a long-term solution for this home to be here for future generations and to allow for adaptive reuse of the spaces around it. It is always difficult to support an owner-opposed landmarking, but we believe that if people approach this decision with the care it deserves that we can work together to find a new and permanent solution. 

CHUN Urban Planning

CHUN Urban Planning asked the Board to vote to approve endorsing amendments to the operations of The Board Of Adjustment . 

CHUN sent a letter of support issued to the Empowerment Program regarding a new permanent supportive housing project at 1777 N Franklin.

CHUN Urban Planning gave a update on their Municipal Candidate Questionnaire. Deadline for submissions was Monday, Feb 20 and we received 35 replies, which are posted on the CHUN website front page. [also see story and link above]

Inter-Neighborhood Cooperation update -  requested Board to Approve INC Motion regarding I-25 and Broadway Intersection 

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Denver and Colorado News and Events

March 7: District 5 and At-large Denver City Council Election Forum

​City Elections are just around the corner on April 4 and Denverites will be voting for a new mayor and a substantially new City Council.  Cherry Creek North Neighborhood Association is holding an election forum on March 7 at 7pm at Bromwell Elementary to meet the Denver City Council candidates for District 5 and At-Large. 
 
This forum will be a chance to meet the candidates that want to represent Cherry Creek and those at-large candidates that will represent all of Denver. Come and find out about the key issues identified by the candidates and their respective visions for Denver and, specifically, Cherry Creek. Remember that Cherry Creek North, Country Club Historic, and Cherry Creek East will be moving from District 10 to District 5, thus now combining with Lowry, Hilltop, Montclair and other neighborhoods to the north and east.
 
Denver City Council District 5 Candidates:

• Councilwoman Amanda Sawyer, Michael Hughes

At-Large Denver City Council Candidates:

• Will Chan, Dominic Angelo Diaz, Serena Gonzales-Gutierrez, Tim Hoffman ,Travis Leiker, Sarah Parady, Penfield Tate III, Jeff Walker, Marty Zimmerman

 April 5:  All things ¡Viva! Streets - Come Play in the Streets!

Join the ¡Viva! Streets project team on April 5th from 5:30 - 6:30 PM to chat about all things ¡Viva! Streets during this CHUN-exclusive webinar! The discussion will provide basic information about ¡Viva! Streets and leave plenty of time to answer any questions you may have about the program.

The webinar will cover topics such as:

• The ¡Viva! Streets route, road closures impacts, and other program logistics
• Brainstorming on what things you want to see at ¡Viva! Streets
• How to get involved in ¡Viva! Streets planning and programming
• How to get involved as a volunteer (individual or group)
• Best ways to spread the word about ¡Viva! Streets

¡Viva! Streets Denver offers everyone the chance to walk, bike, roll or scoot down activated streets in the heart of our city. You will be able to enjoy the diversity of our community in a unique way, free from motorized vehicles on Broadway, from Alameda to Downtown Denver and Welton, from 20th Street to Five Points!

This event is free and open to all! If you have any questions before the webinar, feel free to reach out to Sam McCrory at sam@denverstreetsparntership.org

Registration Link 

Draft Program Requirements for Patios on Private Property Available for Public Review

Denver’s Outdoor Places Program builds upon the success of temporary patio spaces used by local businesses during the pandemic. While the temporary outdoor dining program was created in May 2020 to help restaurants and bars safely expand their serving capacity during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the permanent program currently in development will allow these and other businesses to use private and public space for outdoor operations after the temporary program ends.
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The city has released draft Outdoor Places requirements for outdoor patios on private property. 

​Click here to read more about the amendment, the guidelines, how to apply for a patio space and how to submit comments or attend a virtual meeting regarding the proposed requirements.

Denver's Auto Theft Protection Program

The Denver Police Department is committed to reducing auto thefts in Denver by utilizing a data-driven approach to identify areas where auto thefts occur and targeting those areas.

The DenverTrack program works with any vehicle with an installed tracking device, including factory-installed or after-market devices, and GPS and Bluetooth tracking devices to track stolen vehicles in real time. 
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The program requires vehicle owners to register for DenverTrack to preauthorize Denver Police access to the GPS location data only in the unfortunate event that their vehicle is stolen. If a registered vehicle is reported stolen, DPD will then confirm consent from the vehicle’s owner to access the vehicle tracking information in real time, with the goal of quickly locating and returning the vehicle to the owner and arresting the suspect(s). 
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To obtain tools, please contact the district station that serves your neighborhood. Not sure which police district station to contact? Use our interactive map.

District 3

​March 6th to March 10th from 4:30pm to 7pm register your vehicle with DenverTrack and pick up your DenverTrack sticker at the District 3 Station – 1625 S University Blvd. Also, while supplies last, tamper resistant license plate fasteners will be available.

Denver to Receive more than $575k in USDOT Grant Funding for Safer Streets

The City and County of Denver is excited to announce it has been awarded $576,000 in a first round of funding from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) grant program to identify opportunities for safety improvements on nine (9) stretches of roadway in Denver, listed below.
 
Denver’s Department of Transportation and Infrastructure (DOTI) will utilize the funding to hire an outside, independent, multidisciplinary team to formally examine these roadways and identify ways to mitigate safety issues utilizing a specialized approach known as a Road Safety Audit, or RSA. A RSA employs systematic processes to consider the safety of all road users and human factors that may contribute to unsafe road conditions and recommend safety countermeasures. RSAs have been proven to reduce crashes and the severity of crashes though safer street designs.  Corridors that DOTI chose for this round of RSAs were based on crash rates and areas of greatest need:
 
·         Alameda Avenue from Kearney Street to Fairmount Drive
·         Broadway from E. Colfax Avenue to 29th Street            
·         Colorado Boulevard from Mississippi Avenue to Iliff Avenue
·         Speer Blvd from Federal Blvd to Elitch Circle
·         University Blvd from Iowa Avenue to Yale Avenue
·         W. 38th Avenue from Federal Blvd to Fox St
·         Evans Avenue from Colorado Blvd to Quebec St
·         Tower Road from 45th Avenue to 56th Avenue
​·         Tower Road from 56th Avenue to 71st Avenue
 
Eight other corridors in the city have been studied in Road Safety Audits, with improvements currently in design or with designs completed and being prioritized for funding.