Park Hill Golf Course
Denver residents overwhelmingly voted against Measure 2O. The ballot measure, if passed, would have opened up the Park Hill Golf Course to development within the 155 acres.
As a candidate for Denver City Council District 9, I promised that I will support the will of the voters – and I will.
For the last 20+ years, I have been a park advocate. I co- chaired the creation of the Game Plan for a Healthy City – Denver Parks and Recreation 30-year strategic plan. I collaborated with a small group of residents to put to the voters Measure 2A that created a dedicated funding source for parks. I am currently the Chair of Denver Park Trust. We raise funds to increase community access to quality park spaces specifically in historically BIPOC and underfunded neighborhoods.
The responses below detail my positions on questions posed by Save Open Space Denver (S0S).
That future City leaders will respect and honor the conservation easement and its conservation purposes of providing open space and recreation to the people of Denver.
I support the will of the voters 100%. Residents have communicated their support for the conservation easement several times, and voted overwhelmingly against development at the PHGC on April 4. I unequivocally support the will of the voters to respect and honor the conservation easement and its conservation purposes of providing open space and recreation to the people of Denver. As a councilmember, I will work collaboratively with the community to increase access to open space and recreation at PHGC.
That open space and recreation are the ONLY legal and appropriate uses for this land.
I agree that the easement clearly states the uses for this land that are inclusive of open space and recreation. As a council member, I will enforce the existing zoning and protect the easement. I recognize that there are current court case(s) that will litigate certain legal issues outside the purview of City Council.
If Westside Investment Partners chooses not to re-open golf operations, that City leaders will facilitate the City’s purchase of the property for a designated city park at its fair market value (as encumbered by the easement) by using funds from the Referred Measure 2A 0.25% sales tax revenues.
I was honored to work collaboratively with Councilmember Jolon Clark and a small band of community members to put to the voters Referred Measure 2A. Our intention was to ensure that that sales tax is used to provide a 10-minute walk and/or roll to a quality park in every neighborhood, especially neighborhoods along the inverted L. If a purchase of the site for the purpose of creating a dedicated park becomes an option, I will support use of the sales tax as well as other funding sources for that purpose.