At least one city council member wants local legislators to refer the measure to the ballot to protect the public from collecting signatures during a pandemic.
By David Sachs Denverite 5/11/2020
Activists who want to stop homes and businesses from being built on a defunct Park Hill golf course have pitched a ballot measure that would require Denverites to vote before development could occur on that site and other park-like lands in the city.
The Park Hill open space saga is long and complicated, but here’s the quick-and-dirty:
There are 155 acres of grass and trees sitting along Colorado Boulevard, fenced off to the public, that once housed the Park Hill Golf Club. Some people want to see the land rise into a new district of homes, businesses and parks. Others want to see the land preserved and used as a public park.
Westside Investment Partners, a development firm, owns the land. The company has plans to build places to live, work and play near the 40th and Colorado RTD station. While a $6 million settlement last year ensured a public process and approval from the Denver City Council prior to any development, some open space advocates say a 1997 conservation easement on the site prevents any development at all.
The ballot measure, filed by five activists including former state legislator and Denver mayoral candidate Penfield Tate III, would make Westside’s plans for the property moot.