Park advocates urge mayor to keep Hentzell Natural Area intact
 
After a strong protest at a community meeting Saturday, neighborhood activists are hoping Mayor Michael B. Hancock seriously reconsiders his proposal to give away nine acres of Hentzell Park Natural Area.
 
Some 30 neighborhood protesters attended the mayor’s “Cabinet in the Community” at in the Harvey Park area.  Most of the activists stood like sentries, holding high large placards and signs across the entire length of the auditorium for nearly two hours.  They faced the dais at which Mayor Hancock, District #2 Councilwoman Faatz, and perhaps 20 of the Mayor’s cabinet members and other appointees were seated. 
 
The activists’ presence was quite apparent to the Mayor and his staff.  At the beginning of the meeting, mayoral community liaison Michael Sapp acknowledged from the podium the large turn-out of Hentzell Park supporters and requested that they be respectful of the agenda and the presence of children in the auditorium.  Park protectors said this admonition was unnecessary, because they had no intention of behaving inappropriately.
 
When the Mayor was introduced, he also acknowledged the presence of the Hentzell Park supporters, and read a prepared statement that was quite similar to what he read to the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board at its December meeting.  The statement had been tweaked to mention the new push by Parks Manager Lauri Dannemiller to have the City Council formally designate many Denver parks which lacked such designation.  While the Mayor refrained from repeating his gaffe of calling the threatened nine acres of Hentzell Park Natural Area “blighted,” he renewed his pitch that his plan would “activate” this underutilized area. 
 
Park advocates say the irony of bulldozing a thriving, active wildlife habitat to “activate” it with people and buildings is apparently lost on the Mayor.  There was no opportunity for public comment during the program in the auditorium, but the Hentzell Park activists interacted with many citizens before and after the program and distributed informational materials to them.
 
As the Mayor entered the auditorium, he had to walk by a phalanx of sign-holders.  When he encountered on activist who asked Hancock to reconsider, the mayor reportedly replied:  “I’m still working on it,” and continued walking ahead.
 
Another protestor, holding a sign, said he tried to talk to Councilwoman Jeanne Faatz at the beginning of the meeting.  She reportedly said, “I support the new school there (at Hentzell Park)” and walked away.
 
At least two residents of the Hampden Heights neighborhood adjacent to Hentzell Park joined the protest.
 
After the meeting, while walking home in central Denver, one park advocate unexpectedly observed a “magnificent hawk (which) slowly flew out from the alley.”  The neighborhood activist says “(the hawk) crossed my path, at my eye level, not more than 15 feet in front of me.  He rose majestically to take perch on a power pole right across 6th Avenue.  I have never had such an up-close-and-personal encounter with a raptor in the wild.”  The activist says he takes this as a sign that the park protectors are on the correct path in campaigning to save the natural area. 
 
In his highly controversial proposal, Hancock wants to give nine acres of the unique Natural Area to the Denver Public School District, in exchange for an office building downtown.  The Parks and Recreation Board voted 11-6 to retain the Natural Area designation, but Hancock’s Manager of Parks and Recreation, Lauri Dannemiller, approved the de-designation.
 
The matter will come before City Council, most likely in March, for approval as a land transaction.
 
For more information, see www.DenverNature.Net and www.DenverDirect.tv.  The scheme has also been covered in depth by the Glendale Cherry Creek Chronicle (www.glendalecherrycreek.com/).

Pictures of Hentzell Park Protesters

Dear Community Leader:
 
The future of Denver parks is under threat.  Advocates for Denver Parks is a citywide coalition dedicated to the protection and preservation of parks and open space in a city which is already deficient in per capita parkland.
 
You may be aware that Mayor Michael B. Hancock proposes to give up nine acres of Hentzell Park Natural Area to Denver Public Schools in exchange for an office building at 1330 Fox.  A school might be built on the land acquired by DPS, and the office building would be used for a domestic violence victims assistance center.
 
Advocates for Denver Parks do not take a position on the need for a new school in southeast Denver or on the location of a home for the City’s Domestic Violence Center. We do assert, however, that the loss of land that has been designated as a Natural Area in order to accomplish these goals sets an unacceptable precedent that could erode the quality and size of Denver’s park system.
 
Advocates for Denver Parks oppose the loss of any of Denver's park and open space property.  We hope you agree that parkland is a precious commodity which cannot be sold, traded, or otherwise removed from public ownership without a public vote.
 
Regardless of your position, it is critically important that you express your views prior to a meeting of the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board this Thursday evening.
 
If you haven’t done so yet, please send an e-mail to city officials, telling them you reject the terrible proposal to destroy nine acres of designated Hentzell Park Natural Area to make it available for a building site. 
 
Your message does not need to be elaborate.  It is only important that Mayor Michael B. Hancock and other officials hear from as many citizens as possible.
 
This consolidated list contains all the e-mail addresses for Mayor, Parks Manager, members of the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board, and City Council: 
 
[email protected], [email protected], [email protected],[email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected],[email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected],[email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected],[email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected],[email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected],[email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected],[email protected], [email protected], [email protected],[email protected], [email protected], [email protected]
 
In addition, please attend the public meeting on the de-designation to be held by the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board on Thursday, December 13th at 5:30 p.m., in the Wellington Webb Municipal Office Building downtown at 201 West Colfax.  Best place to enter is through the doors on Court Place near 15th Street. 
 
The public meeting is on the 4th floor, room 4.F.6.  Please sign the sign-in sheet as “opposed” to the de-designation, and please state your opposition during the “public comment” period at the beginning of the meeting.  A very short statement of your opposition is all that is needed.
 
Share this e-mail with all of your like-minded neighbors and friends, and urge them to also send e-mails and attend the public meeting. 
 
For your background and convenience, this message contains an attached guest editorial and accompanying news article from the Glendale Cherry Creek Chronicle so that you can easily read and share the information.
 
You'll find additional information at www.denvernature.net and www.denverdirect.tv.
 
Thank you for your interest.
 
Dave Felice
On behalf of Advocates for Denver Parks

Dear Registered Neighborhood Organizations,

As many of you are aware, the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board will be making a recommendation to Denver Parks and Recreation leadership regarding a proposed land swap between Denver Public Schools and the City. 

The Board’s recommendation will come at their next regularly scheduled meeting which will take place on Thursday, December 13, at 5:30 p.m.  These meetings are open to the public and are held at the Wellington Webb Municipal Building in room 4.G.2 located on the fourth floor.

Over the past several weeks we have received a number of public comments regarding the proposed land swap transaction, which have all been forwarded to the Board for their review.  As we have seen the comments come in to our office, we’re recognizing the need to clarify some misconceptions and provide some additional facts about this proposed transaction and about Denver Parks and Recreation in general. 

We have shared the following information with the Board and with City Council.  We hope that you will also find the information helpful as you form your own opinions about the proposed land swap transaction.

Proposed Transaction
The proposed land swap between Denver Public Schools (DPS) and the City of Denver requires the de-designation of approximately 9 acres of natural area located adjacent to Hentzell Park, but not in the park itself.  This property within the City’s portfolio is unique as it comprises land that is dedicated and land that is not.  The parcel of the property in question is not made up of dedicated park land and therefore is not within Hentzell Park.  It is in a designated natural area adjacent to the park.  The total amount of land involved in the proposed transaction is 11.5 acres.  There is a 2.5 acre parcel located within the Hampden Heights North open space that is not designated as such and, at present, is a vacant parking lot in need of maintenance and repair.

Benefits of Swap
Based on their needs for a school site, we have been asked by DPS to evaluate this particular parcel of land.  Our Natural Resources division has determined that the land in question is severely degraded due to years of vegetation loss from prairie dog colonies and water drainage. 

Should this transaction move forward, DPS is proposing to greatly improve the parcel of land by including sports/playing fields on the site.  Those fields, as well as a new learning landscape playground, will be available to the public and to DPR for youth and other sports programming during non-school hours.  As proposed, activation of this parcel of land makes it more accessible and useable than it is today – a benefit to the community.

In addition, the school’s close proximity to the remaining open space and adjacent park land will give students the opportunity for regular, hands-on outdoor education and environmental learning.

Adding Parkland and Natural Area
The DPR leadership does find it very difficult to review a transaction that involves giving up natural area, but we are required to evaluate it due to 1) the natural areas ordinance and its contemplation of the de-designation process; and 2) the merits of the proposed transaction based on the greater benefits it can bring to the City of Denver as a whole.

That being said, we have heard several requests by opponents of the transaction to see what can be done to make this a zero-net-loss for DPR in terms of acreage and available open space.  We understand their requests and we are determined not to lose acreage should this transaction move forward.  In an effort to achieve a zero-net-loss result, and actually add to our open space acreage, DPR is doing the following:

·         We will work with Councilwoman Lehman to designate by ordinance the remaining 14 acres of the Hampden Heights North Open Space as Hentzell Park.  This will increase the size of the dedicated Hentzell Park from 62.7 acres to 76.7 acres.  This dedication of the park space will require a vote of the people of Denver to make any future changes.

·         We will add to our land portfolio approximately 5.5 acres of designated natural area in the Montbello neighborhood, and we are working on a memorandum of understanding with the Denver Department of Public Works to designate up to 16 additional acres of natural area at Heron Pond.

We’ve Added Significant Acreage Already
In the last five years, DPR has added more than 225 acres of parkland and natural space to our portfolio and we are projected to add 140 more acres over the course of the next five years.  At present, we have nearly 5900 acres of urban parkland and natural areas.

In 2010, our acreage per capita for open space in the City of Denver was 10 acres/1,000 residents, right at the national average and within the goal of 8-10 acres/1,000 residents established in DPR’s own strategic Game Plan.  To suggest that Denver has one of the worst ratios of undeveloped land in the nation, as some of the letters have stated, simply isn’t true. 

While we are at the national average for urban land, our Mountain Parks alone amount to 24 acres/1,000 residents.  When you consider the entire DPR system, we are at 33 acres/1,000 residents – putting us at one of the highest ratios in the country.  While we will always have room for improvement, we have impressive numbers to show for the incredible work that has been done over time to add and protect parkland and open space within the DPR system.

Going Forward – Additional Protection through Designation
As advocates for Denver Parks have pointed out in their comments on this issue, there are a number of parks and other open spaces within our DPR system that have not been designated or dedicated by ordinance.  We agree that this is an issue that needs to be addressed.  While there are some sights that will not be eligible for dedication/designation, DPR is compiling a list of those spaces that are eligible and will work in partnership with the Denver City Council to move forward and ensure more of our available open space and parkland is better protected from any potential future changes.

Lastly, attached to this email is a spreadsheet with additional information about our acreage per capita in Denver.

Please don’t hesitate to contact any of the DPR leadership team with any questions or comments.

Regards,
Jeff Green
Marketing and Communications Director
Denver Parks and Recreation