Voting Resources:
The following questionnaire was sent to most candidates for Denver Mayor and City Council districts affecting LoDo: District 10: Chris Hinds, District 3: Jamie Torres, District 9: Candi CdeBaca, and District 1: Amanda Sandoval. The questions were also sent to At-large City Council candidates: Penfield Tate, Travis Leiker, and Will Chan. These questions were formulated to address LoDo neighborhood concerns regarding our economic and social health, character, and efforts to improve the 16th Street Mall in lower downtown. The candidates also received notes from the LoDo District appreciating their willingness to respond to the questions, and information about the LoDo District’s focus on the 16th Street Mall in LoDo.
While we do not endorse candidates, we’re providing their responses here to help educate and inform all members of the LoDo neighborhood.
The candidates’ answers are published below:
Mayoral Candidates:
- How do you stand on the common complaint by designers and developers that quality building design which fits its surrounding neighborhood context is too expensive for affordable housing? We’re facing a housing crisis in Denver. It will be a top priority of mine to ensure the City is an active player in building more housing supply – for sale and for rent, subsidized and market rate product – particularly on city-owned property. My administration will partner with developers and neighborhoods to ensure that we are addressing our urgent housing crisis in a way that makes sense for each neighborhood. This includes meeting architectural standards that ensure housing developments are consistent with the neighborhood context. In the case of LoDo, the Lower Downtown Design Review Commission would play an important role in partnering with my administration to ensure we’re getting that right. Bringing people together to find common ground and advance practical solutions is central to my leadership approach and will be a hallmark of my administration. I am impressed with what I’ve seen and learned about innovative approaches to housing when visiting cities across the country and the world – good design and quality construction does not need to be expensive, especially when leveraging new building materials and strategies including off-site construction. When it comes to housing downtown, specifically, conversion of existing commercial building space to residential will be a central element of my strategy. One of the benefits of this approach is that new exterior construction is not required.
- How would you approach the possible conflict between the costs and design impacts of renovating and preserving historic structures and the increased requirements for environmentally sustainable design? I am a big supporter of adaptive reuse. Denver has a great track record in this area – particularly in and around downtown – that we should continue to expand for both residential and commercial projects. One of the most important things I’ll do as Mayor is build a terrific team of leaders to staff my cabinet and serve our city on various Boards and Commissions, including the Landmark Preservation Commission and the four neighborhood-specific Design Review Boards. I will work carefully and diligently to ensure we have thoughtful leaders with diverse perspectives and complimentary areas of expertise to wrestle with these tough issues, navigate potential areas of conflict and set the right path forward for Denver.
- Lower Downtown is probably the most economically and socially healthy portion of downtown. How would you support and improve that health? The successes and struggles of downtown Denver impact the entire region and the entire state, which is why ensuring a healthy and vibrant city center will be a key priority for my administration. My priorities will include: Safety – making sure our residents and visitors feel safe is job number one. If employees and visitors don’t feel safe, stores don’t stay open and hotels close. I am committed to ensuring we have the officers we need downtown. I will focus on filling the approximately 150 vacancies in Denver Police Department, and expanding the co-responder and STAR programs so we free up sworn officers to focus on real crime, while providing residents in crisis with more appropriate support. Homelessness – we must meaningfully address homelessness. My plan to end unsanctioned camping within my first year in office by focusing on housing and sheltering and taking a data-drive, regional approach has been endorsed by five metro-area mayors. Housing – convert some existing downtown office space to residential to ensure activity in the urban core seven days a week, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. I would listen to and learn from residents, visitors and businesses in LoDo with the purpose of expanding on what works to improve in other parts of our City and maintain our successes in LoDo.
- The LoDo District Inc has embarked on a neighborhood-led planning process for the 16th St. Mall in LoDo from Market St. to Wynkoop St. (the LoDo Mall, not included in the upgrade of the rest of the 16th St Mall). How would you support this effort? I think there are three key things I can do as Mayor to best support the planning and execution of the west-end revitalization of the 16th Street Mall. First, appoint great leadership to the Departments of Community Planning and Development and Transportation and Infrastructure (DOTI) so that you have strong partners at the city to work with you in developing the vision and the plan to actualize it. Second, secure funding to make the project happen. Third, and perhaps most importantly, ensure timely, accountable execution.
- How do you stand on the common complaint by designers and developers that quality building design which fits its surrounding neighborhood context is too expensive for affordable housing? Good design is a choice that is essential to building a city in which we feel a sense of pride, community, and safety. We cannot afford to build a city that people don’t care about. Our economic prosperity depends in part on buildings that engage passersby, drawing them into shops. Our safety and sense of community depends on buildings that facilitate “eyes on the street” through thoughtful consideration of window size and placement, the presence of stoops and balconies, and other ways buildings interact with street life. Affordable housing and good design are not mutually exclusive choices. We can look to cities like Minneapolis which have established flexible design protocols that boosted the design quality and functionality of new construction and encouraged residents to be more accepting of development that brings needed new, affordable residential development.
- How would you approach the possible conflict between the costs and design impacts of renovating and preserving historic structures and the increased requirements for environmentally sustainable design? Preservation and sustainability work hand in hand. Reusing old buildings takes advantage of the embedded energy costs of the original materials. Renovating these structures sustainably is a function of understanding the unique qualities of an historic structure while identifying the ways in which the structure was designed to keep occupants warm or cool and the spaces well-ventilated and lit naturally. My administration would work with the development and historic preservation communities to help project teams take full advantage of loans and other incentives that are available through federal, state, and local programs like the Colorado Clean Energy fund and historic preservation grant and loan programs. My administration will ensure that staff members are well-versed in emerging technologies and construction products to provide guidance to property owners, contractors, and developers during conceptual design phases. We will expedite permitting for Colorado Clean Energy Fund authorized contractors/developers and LEED-certified projects to make it easier for development teams who are rehabilitating buildings with our sustainability goals in mind.
- Lower Downtown is probably the most economically and socially healthy portion of downtown. How would you support and improve that health? The pandemic has given us the opportunity to rethink how we live and work in our cities. Lower Downtown’s economic and social health is tied to several factors. First, the presence of numerous high density residential structures builds in a customer base for transit, shops, services, and entertainment, making LoDo a 24-hr neighborhood. We can expand that opportunity by transforming office buildings into housing, like the 5 office buildings going into receivership in Downtown. Now that working from home has become an accepted practice, we can repeat successful ideas like the conversion of 1600 Glenarm Place from office to residential use. Second, LoDo also has numerous opportunities for community gathering in a variety of parks, urban plazas, reclaimed alleys and the like. I would continue to look for ways to expand and enhance these opportunities. Third, we can make all of downtown more friendly to transit and people powered mobility by reducing the impact and priority of cars. Fourth, I would increase the presence of STAR Teams on Downtown streets to ensure that unhoused people can find the support they need to move off the streets and into housing and temporary safe outdoor sites and keep our Downtown a place that feels sanitary, safe, and welcoming to all.
- The LoDo District Inc has embarked on a neighborhood-led planning process for the 16th St. Mall in LoDo from Market St. to Wynkoop St. (the LoDo Mall, not included in the upgrade of the rest of the 16th St Mall). How would you support this effort? First, my administration would provide professional staff support and other city resources to help with this effort. Volunteers willing to devote their time to improving their neighborhoods should expect tax-payer supportive services. Second, my administration would encourage the Downtown neighbors and businesses to reimagine mobility and community gathering in Downtown. Denver is grossly underserved for park space, but this kind of an effort presents the opportunity to explore some bold moves. For example, what if we moved the 16th Street Mall Bus to 15th and 17th so that it runs as a continuous circulator? It would allow us to transform the 16th Street Mall into a linear park that supports walking, biking, and community gathering in the heart of our city, similar to New York’s High Line or Paris’s Promenade Plantée or, closer to home, Boulder’s Pearl Street. Urban planning research has taught us two things: people spend money at 3mph and they spend more money when they linger in a place. Placing the transit circulator on 15th and 17th would create a continuous positive tension with 16th, which would activate shops on side streets linking the circulator to the mall. Creating a park through the heart of downtown would encourage a slow pace in an otherwise bustling environment, drawing tourists, workers, and residents alike.
- How do you stand on the common complaint by designers and developers that quality building design which fits its surrounding neighborhood context is too expensive for affordable housing? For our neighborhoods and the center city to thrive, we need comprehensive planning and development processes that are accessible, efficient, and transparent. I see the future of Denver’s development as one that incorporates both smart planning and community buy in. Our city does not have room to grow in a haphazard manner. Changes to our city must ensure we protect parks & open space, enhance our small businesses, eliminate food deserts, support our schools, and improve housing affordability across the city. Denver is ready for growth that benefits everyone, including Downtown businesses and residents. Denver can do better when it comes to affordable housing. The funding mechanisms in place have not provided the housing Denverites need. I have a track record of championing and passing creative solutions to tough problems like this. For instance, I was a leader in the creation of the Colorado Middle Income Housing Authority that will deliver thousands of housing units for those who make 60-120% of AMI in the next several years. You cannot talk about design without talking about zoning. As currently implemented, zoning can hinder progress toward achieving more inclusive communities, shared prosperity, better health, and stronger environmental protections. But when carefully designed and equitably implemented, zoning can help expand the supply of housing, increase housing affordability, and improve racial equity within a jurisdiction. Zoning can be a particularly effective tool when combined with incentives to develop subsidized housing and policies that discourage the displacement of people with low incomes. But zoning has limits: it defines allowed uses, but any change in a community also ultimately reflects the economy of the neighborhood and metropolitan area, which in turn determines whether developers are willing to invest. While no one zoning reform in a vacuum will solve our housing supply shortfall and subsequent affordability crisis, I am committed to facilitating a city government of continuous improvement driven by a competition of ideas. I envision zoning codes that encourage “gentle density” empowered by pattern zoning, coupled with building code reforms that allow for smaller lot developments, such as single point access stair buildings.
- How would you approach the possible conflict between the costs and design impacts of renovating and preserving historic structures and the increased requirements for environmentally sustainable design? How we heat and cool our buildings is a major contributor both to conventional air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. Reducing those emissions will require a combination of increased building energy efficiency and transitioning off of natural gas for heating and cooling. Electricity will be more renewable every year, so the faster we move from natural gas to electricity for heating our buildings and their water, the faster we can bring down air pollution and greenhouse gasses. But all buildings are not created equal. Some can move from gas to electricity much faster than others. Denver already has a robust plan for electrification of buildings that recognizes the differences among building types and schedules transitions accordingly. I will put a priority on implementing and strengthening it, as well as ensuring that disproportionately-impacted communities benefit from electrified buildings.
- Lower Downtown is probably the most economically and socially healthy portion of downtown. How would you support and improve that health? Denver’s economic development future rests on its ability to educate, train, attract and retain talent. For the first time in 20 years, more people are leaving the Denver Metro area than moving here. This is due in part to employment challenges. However, this is also due to our safety and housing affordability challenges. I have spent much of my legislative career supporting business through tough times and have a track record to prove it I was endorsed by the Colorado Chamber in 2018 and 2020 for my commitment to creating an economically vital and vibrant city. I also recently received the Iron Skillet award from the Colorado Restaurant Association for securing funding to help restaurants stay in business during the pandemic. I understand business and will ensure that Denver not only survives during this tough period, but thrives. LoDo must feel safe to every person who visits. We have serious safety challenges facing our Downtown neighborhoods and businesses and need a leader who can get real results. I learned about the importance of public safety from my father, who served his entire career in law enforcement. Further, my record of working with law enforcement to create innovative solutions to reduce crime is unmatched in the current mayoral field. I helped create the Support Team Assisted Response (STAR) Program. STAR has not only provided the right responder to the right circumstance, but it has also helped to reduce crime in areas where it is utilized more often. Expanding on the STAR Program, and creating a STAR hub in Downtown Denver, is one of the first steps I would take to ensure that Denver’s streets become safer. During my collaboration with law enforcement and the Denver Police Chief on the STAR Program, it became apparent that we also need more investigators in order to ensure that crime is investigated and justice is served for victims. To build a great city, it is critical that people understand crime will not go unchecked in Denver. This is why I will increase the number of investigators in the field and establish a new police precinct near Denver Union Station that serves only the Downtown area. We also need to ensure that businesses want to be in LoDo and can thrive in LoDo. A city is only as strong as its downtown. Returning the center of our city to its full vibrancy is one of my top priorities. In the first 100 days, we will host a Downtown Summit with the Downtown Denver Partnership, Downtown residents, and Downtown business owners. We must increase public safety, get our unhoused neighbors into safe spaces, and make housing more affordable.
- The LoDo District Inc has embarked on a neighborhood-led planning process for the 16th St. Mall in LoDo from Market St. to Wynkoop St. (the LoDo Mall, not included in the upgrade of the rest of the 16th St Mall). How would you support this effort? The 16th Street Mall has to be reimagined to reflect a post-COVID life. Community led planning is at the cornerstone of my economic development plan. We will curate a new form of urban planning that includes an equitable public process that allows for the public to meaningfully participate in the development process at the origination point so that the tradeoffs required of the public planning process are weighed fairly. In addition to making sure all voices are at the table, we will incentivize local restaurants and shops from our diverse neighborhoods to open second locations, and work to attract back the businesses and employees who have left the Mall. We will also look at potentially relocating city departments and agencies to vacant office space in order to increase daily foot traffic.
- How do you stand on the common complaint by designers and developers that quality building design which fits its surrounding neighborhood context is too expensive for affordable housing? I believe there is a way to do both, to insist on affordability and top level design. This was why we built Prop 123 as we did to allow for the financing and construction of high quality market rate units that can also include permanently affordable units in the same development. This avoids the stigma of affordable housing only being included in low quality inferior design locations.
- How would you approach the possible conflict between the costs and design impacts of renovating and preserving historic structures and the increased requirements for environmentally sustainable design? I think this is a place where I have to commit to both – we know we want to preserve the historic look and buildings that make Denver what it is, and we have to not step back from aggressive climate goals to make Denver the greenest big city in America.
- Lower Downtown is probably the most economically and socially healthy portion of downtown. How would you support and improve that health? We need to focus on resolving issues around homelessness, public safety with more visible police presence, and continue to make LoDo attractive to visitors and guests. I was the CEO of a company for 3 years at Union Station and we still can do better to make it an attractive place to work and play.
- The LoDo District Inc has embarked on a neighborhood-led planning process for the 16th St. Mall in LoDo from Market St. to Wynkoop St. (the LoDo Mall, not included in the upgrade of the rest of the 16th St Mall). How would you support this effort? I would be excited to sit down with community members and hear about the plans and Vision for the neighborhood, how it fits into our broader planning for downtown and what the city can do to accelerate and support those plans to make them successful.
- How do you stand on the common complaint by designers and developers that quality building design which fits its surrounding neighborhood context is too expensive for affordable housing? The cost of losing people who relocate from Denver due to their inability to find housing outweighs these costs.It’s important to change local zoning or permitting policies to allow for the building of more housing that can help increase our housing supply while balancing concerns associated with building design, density, and affordability – so the workforce who makes our city run can afford to live here. I will create this balance with our ongoing housing needs by continuing to prioritize development near transportation hubs, repurposing vacant units and/or commercial buildings, and utilizing vacant public lands for manufactured housing.
- How would you approach the possible conflict between the costs and design impacts of renovating and preserving historic structures and the increased requirements for environmentally sustainable design? I will remove barriers to the adaptive reuse (without compromising on safety) of vacant downtown commercial buildings to residential as a means of protecting Denver’s tax base. When it comes to climate, I will prioritize transportation – our largest source of our air pollution according to Denver’s Mobility Action Plan. This will move Denver closer to compliance with the Clean Air Act. I will do this by working with RTD and neighboring jurisdictions to build out the Colfax BRT, from Golden to Aurora. This will change the way our transportation system works by reducing the number of buses coming into downtown. Scooters and e-bikes help close the gap on first and last mile connectivity. Denver has taken steps to reduce emissions with changes to buildings and with solid waste, however, we know that transportation is where we move the needle the most in reducing GHG. I intend to build out our EV city fleets and charging stations, along with Hydrogen fueled vehicles and filling stations. I will continue the city’s efforts to prioritize housing development near public transportation hubs, commercial space, and transit corridors. Doing so will reduce commutes and decrease our city’s carbon footprint.
- Lower Downtown is probably the most economically and socially healthy portion of downtown. How would you support and improve that health? Head on, I will address crime and safety with a multi-prong approach. One example is to work with neighboring jurisdictions to stand-up a Metro Crime Task Force.It’s no secret that our cherished small businesses took a huge hit throughout the pandemic, forcing many to permanently close their doors – while LoDo is a healthy part of town, there’s always more work to be done. I will open an Office of Social Enterprise to foster the entrepreneurial spirit of socially-minded Denverites, including our creative sector. To address the workforce shortages that have severely impacted our small businesses, I’m already getting out ahead of this issue alongside Councilwoman Kniech – having partnered on an upcoming ordinance that will codify a pilot project that supports the job-creating pipeline for skilled trades on large construction projects.
- The LoDo District Inc has embarked on a neighborhood-led planning process for the 16th St. Mall in LoDo from Market St. to Wynkoop St. (the LoDo Mall, not included in the upgrade of the rest of the 16th St Mall). How would you support this effort? I need to familiarize myself with the details of the LoDo District recommendations from your neighborhood lead planning process for the 16th Street Mall and determine what kind of local, state and federal resources could be identified to assist with these improvements. This may have to fit into the annual budgeting process to identify any local matching funds.
Denver City Council Candidates:
- How do you stand on the common complaint by designers and developers that quality building design which fits its surrounding neighborhood context is too expensive for affordable housing? Unfortunately, this is not an uncommon issue in historic districts and it is known when parcels are purchased that they must adhere to these community-determined standards. I think social housing is an option that can address this challenge. When it is not possible for a parcel owner to meet both goals simultaneously, the City could potentially purchase the parcel and invest in it as a city asset with city funds. Additionally, the city could partially own the parcel (like DURA places liens on properties when they support low income people) and loan services and support to meet the goals. For this area of town, I do strongly believe that the public should remain a stakeholder/owner in any taxpayer funds that go into historic building restoration, addition/expansion.
- How would you approach the possible conflict between the costs and design impacts of renovating and preserving historic structures and the increased requirements for environmentally sustainable design? See above. It could be a very similar project to DURA projects but the owner/lienholder/lender could and should be the City. I really wish the City could train and employ an entire actual preservation department that can actually conduct the renovations and preservation. They could create a permanent talent pool for historic preservation at reasonable and transparent costs and could subsidize the costs via grants etc.
- Lower Downtown is probably the most economically and socially healthy portion of downtown. How would you support and improve that health? I’m not sure that is the most accurate statement post-COVID. In fact, I think downtown is suffering not because of drugs and homelessness exclusively but rather because we built an entire city center around people coming and going daily rather than people STAYING generationally. There was never a real “glue” for our downtown area. The generational residents and businesses are the glue in my opinion and when you prize revenue over stability in an area, you diminish the potential for “glue” that will carry a neighborhood through hard times. Homelessness and drug use flourish BECAUSE of the vacant and transient nature of business in the core. I strongly encourage the next administration to begin to consider how to build the “glue” of downtown with adaptive reuse of abandoned commercial buildings.Vertical neighborhoods, less tourist focused activity and more neighborhood-oriented activity. Nobody will ever go back to downtown for commercial purposes the way they did pre-COVID because they don’t have to. We need to adapt.
- The LoDo District Inc has embarked on a neighborhood-led planning process for the 16th St. Mall in LoDo from Market St. to Wynkoop St. (the LoDo Mall, not included in the upgrade of the rest of the 16th St Mall). How would you support this effort? I no longer represent the area but look forward to a warm hand off and being a supportive council colleague to the new representative.
- How do you stand on the common complaint by designers and developers that quality building design which fits its surrounding neighborhood context is too expensive for affordable housing? I’m not as current on this conversation in LoDo as I am not actively representing the neighborhood, so perhaps the conversation is different for LoDo. There are 78 neighborhoods in Denver, and 4 of them are considered “high cost neighborhoods.” District 10 currently has two high-cost neighborhoods, and LoDo is one of the remaining 4 along with CBD. While there’s quite a bit of conversation about how Enhancing Housing Affordability has significantly attenuated new permit applications, the applications continue to come in for Cherry Creek and Golden Triangle. The applications include significant high-end ones such as on the scale of a Waldorf Astoria.
- How would you approach the possible conflict between the costs and design impacts of renovating and preserving historic structures and the increased requirements for environmentally sustainable design? One way we helped encourage historic preservation in Golden Triangle is to triple the land value above historically designated structures. That allows TDRs to be more valuable in historic structures and therefore provides more capability for historic buildings in Golden Triangle to afford sustainable modifications. That said, there are numerous funding opportunities coming in from the federal and state levels. CASR also has funding opportunities here in Denver, too. We received a presentation on some of these funding opportunities in Budget and Policy Committee on Monday, March 6th. It is important for us to continue to provide offsets to ensure we meet our 80×50 climate goals, including local, state, and federal financial incentives.
- Lower Downtown is probably the most economically and socially healthy portion of downtown. How would you support and improve that health? First, it is important to attend LoDo meetings. The best way I can represent the people and businesses in District 10 is to listen to you. That said, I am working with RTD to ensure its officers have arrest and booking authority in Denver. It does in every other county in its footprint. That means working with RTD and Denver police chiefs and Denver’s city and district attorneys – and I’m already convening those meetings. This is important because we need to give RTD the power to manage its own house. It plans to move from 11 officers to 220. That will allow it to focus on Union Station, Civic Center Station, and the Mall shuttles. That will also allow Denver Police to refocus on other areas – assuming we in Denver support their move to increased independence. I’m also a firm supporter of getting the police out of the business of responding to things that don’t need police. That means lifting up programs like STAR. It is the socially liberal and fiscally conservative solution. Dispatching a social worker and paramedic in a civilian vehicle to addiction and mental health 911 calls means we are sending people who are purpose-trained to respond to the causes of the call. Also, social workers cost less than police, and that’s the same with social worker vs. police equipment and vehicles. The takeaway is that we are treating causes, not symptoms, and we are also freeing police officers to respond to calls that truly need a police officer to respond to. That said, law enforcement can’t do it all – or, put another way, if we truly had enough police to achieve all safety on its own, I would be concerned that we’re too close to a police state. We should then encourage and empower residents and businesses to do their part for increased safety. To that end, Council has also funded CP-TED (Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design) studies downtown as well as provided funding for businesses to implement the recommendations for additional lighting, cameras, and other environmental safety improvements. City Council is also funding economic development, particularly downtown. This includes the $160m in the 16th Street Mall renovation, and it also includes ensuring we have a robust plan to attract and retain businesses once the 16th Street Mall renovation is complete. This includes giving funding to DDP for them to create programs to achieve that business development and retention. We’ve completed the first phase of a pilot project, and we’re funding a second phase of the pilot with the lessons we’ve learned from phase 1. I want that pilot to move forward with intention so we have a good process ready for when the 16th Street Mall is complete.
- The LoDo District Inc has embarked on a neighborhood-led planning process for the 16th St. Mall in LoDo from Market St. to Wynkoop St. (the LoDo Mall, not included in the upgrade of the rest of the 16th St Mall). How would you support this effort? As Dick Farley knows, I am happy to encourage and support neighborhood-led planning processes. DO-9 and DO-10 in Cherry Creek East were created originally by the neighborhood, and when I took office, I helped shepherd those overlays forward from the city’s perspective. Those overlays ultimately received unanimous support from Council, and I thanked the neighbors for bringing this forward. I would be happy to continue a similar process moving forward with new planning initiatives, particularly if it includes Mr. Farley’s wisdom and expertise.
Denver City Council At-Large Candidates:
- How do you stand on the common complaint by designers and developers that quality building design which fits its surrounding neighborhood context is too expensive for affordable housing? There are two tools that could be deployed to streamline our permitting process to ensure we do not compromise quality building design while still addressing the need for more diverse housing options. Council can first expand conservation districts and design overlays for neighborhoods. This creates design standards to complement the zoning code and ensure we can preserve neighborhood character while still allowing growth to happen naturally. Additionally, we can deploy “pattern zoning” which lowers barriers to executing high-quality, incremental infill projects that can meet the real and growing housing needs in Denver.
- How would you approach the possible conflict between the costs and design impacts of renovating and preserving historic structures and the increased requirements for environmentally sustainable design? The City currently has two funds for the preservation of historic structures and energy-efficient development. These programs are managed separately and are difficult to navigate. Simply combining the application process for these two funds would encourage adaptive reuse or other capital projects, while also reducing the bureaucratic burden on developers. Apart from those funding incentives, I would also propose providing zoning incentives to make it easier to preserve historic buildings.
- Lower Downtown is probably the most economically and socially healthy portion of downtown. How would you support and improve that health? There are three key topics that need to be addressed to ensure Lower Downtown can preserve the vibrancy that has been sustained throughout the years. First is safety. People and businesses will continue to gravitate towards Lower Downtown if they feel safe, if they feel they can walk, enjoy entertainment, eat, and shop without their physical selves being at risk. I would continue to support the Downtown Denver Action Partners (DDAP) work in this space and broaden the scope to include increasing hot-spot enforcement, provide wraparound supports and access to trauma services, and invest in the environmental design of buildings that can deter crime. Second is transit. I will continue to promote street safety and efforts to increase walkability in Lower Downtown such as making Larimer Square permanently pedestrian and continue defining Wynkoop as clearly a low car area. Finally, I would provide business incentives to activate the vacant retail spaces along downtown. We must support and make it easier for local, women, BIPOC entrepreneurs to scale and grow their businesses in our city.
- The LoDo District Inc has embarked on a neighborhood-led planning process for the 16th St. Mall in LoDo from Market St. to Wynkoop St. (the LoDo Mall, not included in the upgrade of the rest of the 16th St Mall). How would you support this effort? Connectivity of Lower and Upper Downtown is important, especially as we begin to look at Downtown Denver as a complete neighborhood where both businesses and residents can thrive 24/7. As catalytic investments are improving the 16th Street Mall, I look forward to leveraging, convening, and building a diverse coalition of stakeholders to build and implement the Downtown neighborhood plan. We must include prioritization from stakeholders to secure future funding for the redevelopment of commercial spaces and develop greater public-private partnerships to improve the health of our downtown.
- How do you stand on the common complaint by designers and developers that quality building design which fits its surrounding neighborhood context is too expensive for affordable housing? By most estimates, the city requires about an additional 50,000 housing units to meet immediate demand. Thus, we are going to have to build more housing across the affordability and attainability continuum in order to meet existing demands; this includes market rate housing. In addition, the city and nonprofit partners will need to promote the intentional development of affordable housing to ensure that even-lower income Denverites have access to housing (both in the homeownership and rental space) in order to attain economic self-sufficiency and upward mobility. LoDo is a special circumstance given the historic architecture and unique characteristics that define the neighborhood and its surroundings. I stand ready to work with property owners, designers, developers, and allied organizations to identify feasible paths forward for these challenges. This could include reforms to the current city code(s) or other opportunities that have not been pursued. I would reiterate what I said in my questionnaire for Historic Denver, I prefer to break down absolutes like this. The next council and mayor will help determine HOW we preserve historic or architecturally significant spaces and activate new housing opportunities.
- How would you approach the possible conflict between the costs and design impacts of renovating and preserving historic structures and the increased requirements for environmentally sustainable design? The National Trust for Historic Preservation writes, “The preservation movement has long touted the notion that historic preservation is the “ultimate recycling,” and rightfully so. Now is the time to be persistent—by bringing old buildings into the future to demonstrate their compatibility with adaptability and flexibility-based frameworks.” My 8 Point Policy Plan includes a number of opportunities in this realm: (1) leveraging historic properties as opportunities for new housing, small business development, city capacity building, etc.; (2) promoting and encouraging adaptive reuse to provide significantly affordable and supportive housing; (3) implementing city grants and stipends for older properties for minimal improvements to contain costs and upgrade facilities; (4) updating city code to facilitate easier updates and thoughtful reuse of old properties to reduce our carbon footprint and expedite neighborhood revitalization; and (5) convening architects, developers, and property owners in proactive ideation around these and other topics. With the right leadership, and proper city engagement, I believe Denver can lead in this realm — with LoDo playing an essential part.
- Lower Downtown is probably the most economically and socially healthy portion of downtown. How would you support and improve that health? I believe this question is alluding to concerns re: crime, safety, and systemic mental and homelessness prevalent in our urban core. In order for Lower Downtown to succeed, city policy must balance accountability, enforcement, and compassion. Unsanctioned encampments cannot be the status quo. We need better data about the homeless population and where shelter capacity exists (e.g., shelter vacancies, available services, etc.). I will not support efforts to overturn current city policy. Instead, I will advocate compassionate enforcement coupled with effective, efficient delivery of services. The next mayoral administration, in partnership with city council, will need to improve coordination among service providers. I will be looking for new strategic partnerships, as well as contracting opportunities, with housing providers and mental health professionals that can deploy services swiftly. I have called for more effective policing strategies such as increasing the number of security personnel along business corridors (e.g. 16th Street Mall) and investing more resources in co-responder programs–ensuring that law enforcement and licensed health professionals work collaboratively and responsibly. Additionally, the city is behind peer municipalities vis-a-vis coordinated training and programming. I support new, centralized training facilities for first responders including police, sheriff, firefighters, and others. Evidence shows that interagency training is more effective and such models are being adopted by peer cities. Accountability is going to be critical in the next four years; the city must establish clearer benchmarks for the organizational recipients of city funds. I support investing more in novel approaches to get people housed.
- The LoDo District Inc has embarked on a neighborhood-led planning process for the 16th St. Mall in LoDo from Market St. to Wynkoop St. (the LoDo Mall, not included in the upgrade of the rest of the 16th St Mall). How would you support this effort? LoDo will always have a special place in my life. It is where I first explored the Mile High City and made the commitment to one-day call the Mile High City home. I am eager to actively participate in ongoing discussions and learn more about the outcomes of this process. LoDO, and the entire Downtown, are essential to Denver’s future successes. You have my unequivocal support and advocacy as councilperson at large.
- How do you stand on the common complaint by designers and developers that quality building design which fits its surrounding neighborhood context is too expensive for affordable housing? As a public finance attorney and former board member of Colorado Housing and Finance Authority, I understand the financial challenges to affordable housing. Frankly, I hear this same complaint from developers of market rate housing. These are the kind of issues that need to be considered with neighborhood stakeholders before plans come before the Planning Board and Council.
- How would you approach the possible conflict between the costs and design impacts of renovating and preserving historic structures and the increased requirements for environmentally sustainable design? The challenge, it seems, is identifying the financing for the upfront capital costs of environmentally sustainable design which are offset by savings in operating costs over the lifecycle of the project. I was the bond attorney for the renovation of the Auditorium and believe strongly in preserving architectural history of Denver with an eye on a healthy future.
- Lower Downtown is probably the most economically and socially healthy portion of downtown. How would you support and improve that health? First, my council door would be open to listen to what Lower Downtown residents, businesses and other stakeholders believe are needed to support the vitality of this area. Ensuring public safety and transitioning the homeless to stable housing are two issues that come to mind.
- The LoDo District Inc has embarked on a neighborhood-led planning process for the 16th St. Mall in LoDo from Market St. to Wynkoop St. (the LoDo Mall, not included in the upgrade of the rest of the 16th St Mall). How would you support this effort? I would welcome the opportunity to observe and/or participate in this process in the belief that planning led by the neighborhood should be the model. Too often, I hear the complaint that planning is one to neighborhoods instead of with them.
