Category: Parks

Hentzell Park Decision

12/26/2013

Following this summer's court case and petition by the "Friends of Denver Parks," it appears that the Hentzell Park land swap will go ahead. See the decision here: http://www.cobar.org/opinions/opinion.cfm?opinionid=9203&courtid=1

For background information, click the "Hentzell Park" category to the right.

Denver Municipal Band in Southmoor Park!

8/14/2013

Event: Denver Municipal Band will play in Southmoor Park
Host: Robert Finkelmeier
Time: Saturday, August 17, 2013 07:00PM
Location: Southmoor Park

Additional information:
Let's try again -- after being rained out The Denver Municipal Band Jazz Band will play in Southmoor Park Saturday evening, August 17th starting at 7:00 p.m.

Jazz component will play a diverse repertory from Jazz, Pop, Latin, and more.

Bring your family. Bring a picnic. Bring a chair. But leave your wallet at home because the concerts is always free!

Movies in the Park - August 15

8/11/2013

Neighbors,
Please join us for movies in the park at Bible Park on August 15!

Air Bud: World Pup

James A. Bible Park (near parking lot)

Thursday, August 15th

Approximate start time is dusk (around 8:45pm)

Seating: We recommend low-back chairs but all types of seating are welcome. The first several rows are reserved for lawn seating, so bring your blanket and get VIP seating.

Weather: A cancellation due to heavy rainfall will be made around 6pm. Please call the weather line at 720-913-0715 for a weather update.

We would like to thank the following sponsors whose contribution made it possible for Denver Parks to be able to bring a “Movie in the Park” to Council District 4:

Collon Kennedy - Colorado Communique Inc

Columbine Health Plan

Sewald Hanfling Public Affairs

Picnic at Bible Park

6/17/2013

Hentzell Park Petition

6/1/2013

TO ALL WELLSHIRE EAST HOMEOWNERS and
REGISTERED VOTERS in DENVER

There has been a lot of opposition to the action of our elected officials when, in April, agreed to trade the Natural Area (Hentzell Park) at apprx. E. Girard St. & S. Havana St. away from us in a real estate deal.

IT HAS NEVER BEEN DONE BEFORE & SETS A BAD PRECEDENT.

A petition has been formed to place a referendum on the ballot this fall repealing the ordinance that the officials have managed to get approved...........
I have a portion of the petition here at my home, 6750 E. Eastman...for signatures. Please contact me for further information....I also have names of others you may reach. This is a very large movement with several lawyers involved. The committee hopes to get 6,000 signatures this weekend. The drive will be on the entire month of June. My home will be open Sunday, June 2 from 1:00 pm-5:00 pm for information and petition signing. We can also make arrangements for me to come to your address.

Thank you for your concern in this matter.
Lois Kahn

Here is some additional information provided by "Friends of Denver Parks":

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE May 30, 2013
Friends of Denver Parks, a non-profit corporation dedicated to preserving Denver’s park land and natural areas, and two Denver citizens filed suit against City officials and Denver Public Schools, asking the Denver District Court to enjoin City officials from trading of 10.7 acres of park land to DPS in exchange for a downtown office building.

Denver attorney John Case represents the Plaintiffs on a pro bono basis. “The plaintiffs are not suing to benefit themselves. They are sacrificing their time and treasure to preserve this beautiful and unique area for all future generations. After the city sells a park, it is gone forever,” Case said.

The lawsuit claims that in 2011 agents of Mayor Hancock and DPS made a secret oral agreement to transfer 10.7 acres from Hampden Heights North Park. The land is part of the Paul Hentzell Natural Area, a unique 90 acre wildlife habitat along Cherry Creek that is inhabited by deer, fox, coyote, skunk, raccoon, muskrat, prairie dogs, rabbits, beaver, hummingbirds, chickadees, robins, sparrows, magpies, crows, woodpeckers, flickers, finches, doves, blackbirds, other small birds, butterflies, caterpillars, ant colonies, roly poly bugs, insects, crawdads, minnows, bull snakes, garter snakes, ducks, geese, heron, owls, and hawks. Before white men came to the region, native Americans hunted bison and deer along Cherry Creek, leaving arrowheads that can still be found. As prospectors came to Denver looking for gold, they established the historic Cherry Creek Trail, which meanders through the park and is used by thousands of bicyclists each week.

The lawsuit claims that City officials own the park as trustees in trust for the benefit of citizens who elect them. The suit claims that the land swap deal violates Section 2.4.5 of the Denver City Charter, which prohibits City officials from transferring park land without a vote of the people. Denver clerk and recorder Debra Johnson is also a defendant, because she forbade the Plaintiffs from circulating a petition to repeal the land swap.
Renee Lewis, president of Friends of Denver Parks, said, “First the City attorney told us the land swap was a done deal. Then the clerk and recorder told us we could not circulate a petition to repeal the deal without her permission. She said we had to sue before we could petition our own government. So we sued. Lots of people are circulating our petition, and lots of voters are signing our petition. The right of Denver citizens to govern themselves is at stake.”

Copies of the legal documents may be viewed on the websitewww.FriendsOfDenverParks.org

Hutchinson Park

3/31/2013

Since there is no signage, you may not be aware that the parcel of land across the street (Eastman/Girard) to the south is a small continuation of Hutchinson Park. This is the area where, on the 4th of July, the firemen spray the children and many adults ! You may have thought it is owned by Morningside Condominiums. But no, it is City property. Therefore, Wellshire East residents may utilize this area for their pleasure. We have been in contact with Peggy Lehmann and the Parks & Rec Dept. often to request signage , walkways, etc. We are told the budget will not allow such action. Hopefully, this has been placed in the future budgeting.

In the meantime...enjoy it if you wish !

See the map below.
Lois, Joyce & Marge

Goldsmith Gulch Bike Path

2/12/2013

In September 2012, Mark Kelly, a resident of Gun Club Green (a neighborhood near Hampden and Tamarac) initiated an effort to work with the new Target store to connect the bike paths of Rosamond Park to those of Huchinson & Bible Parks via the greenbelt adjacent to the store. See the document he sent to Target here:

Now, more recently, Mark sent along this update to his supporters on the bike path proposed to Target:

Hentzell Land Swap (Part 4)

2/10/2013

The Hentzell Park story continues as the issue works its way through City goverment.

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

Hentzell Land Swap (Part 3)

12/14/2012

Below is Councilwoman Lehmann's position on the land swap deal in Hentzell Park

Hentzell Land Swap (Part 2)

12/10/2012

The Hentzell Park land swap between the city, parks, and schools is becoming a very heated topic. The below email presents the opposing viewpoint from the city's perspective in the previous post.

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

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