| 10. City parks, especially large ones, have proved to be instrumental in lowering the heat island effect, especially as the climate continues to warm. According to the Trust for Public Land, Denver ranks in the 49th percentile for park acreage. What specifically would you do to increase the acquisition of large open spaces in Denver and significantly expand Denver’s parks and forested areas footprint? | |
| MAYORAL CANDIDATES | |
| Matt Brady | It will be difficult to acquire additional large open spaces with more residential density. That is a reason to leave the Park Hill closed golf course as largely an open space. The Burham Yard Union Pacific property sold to CDOT should be mostly open recreational space with limited residential development. The nearby removal of the old buildings of Sun Valley should make more open space available as long as the new residential buildings are built to minimize their footprint and allow for plenty of open space along the South Platte river. There is still undeveloped land at the I-25 Broadway junction (site of the former Gates Rubber factory) where a major portion of it could be developed as open park space. |
| Jim Walsh | I would immediately identify public spaces that are in line to be repurposed, such as old sports stadiums and business/corporate spaces, setting in place a process to repurpose these into public park spaces. I would also move to plant thousands of trees in existing parks and public spaces. |
| Trinidad Rodriguez | Meeting our goals for a greener city should include development of green belts and other enhanced public realm throughout our city. Limiting our sights only to large open spaces will cause us to miss equally transformational strategies. An overall greener urban fabric throughout our city is as exciting as large open spaces. In addition, it unlocks our ability to bring a green city to every corner of the city even where large open green spaces do not exist. |
| Mike Johnston | I recognize the importance of large open spaces both for recreation and play and also as a tool to combat climate change. I would actively work to identify areas for potential acquisition, and work with community members and city officials to make decisions on what to do with land. It’s also part of why I am voting yes on 2O, to build new affordable housing we desperately need while also building the fourth largest park in the city and prioritizing access to open space. |
| Chris Hansen | As Mayor, I plan to look for every opportunity to expand the parks system. I will work with organizations, like the Denver Park Trust and the Colorado Parks Foundation, and the private sector to fundraise in order to speed up that expansion and acquire additional parcels. |
| Lisa Calderón | Parks and open spaces are the lungs and heart of our community. Once they are developed, we never get them back. And currently Denver has a fraction of the park space recommended per capita. As Mayor, I would vehemently support expanding parks and open space in Denver, beginning with maintaining the conservation easement on the Park Hill Golf Course. In addition, I would support the development of new parks and open spaces, particularly in marginalized communities most impacted by environmental injustices. Our lack of green space in low-income communities impacts air quality, temperatures, extreme flooding, outdoor life, and neighborhood connectedness. We have an opportunity to create community gardens, recreation, and increase our mature tree line to continue cleaning our air. By Denver’s own internal study, we are currently lacking 1,800 acres of open space, and that still wouldn’t bring us to the national average of green space per capita. My administration will improve the quality, accessibility, and usability of Denver’s parkways, including having the Public Works and Park & Recreation departments replace lost tree canopies in the public right of ways so that Denver’s residents have added protections against urban heat and extreme weather events like floods. Open spaces are also a racial and economic justice issue. As of 2019 about 40% of Denver was covered with impervious surfaces, with 60% of that dedicated to cars. Many of Denver’s most diverse and poorest communities lack access to Denver’s culture of outdoor green space. These communities are disproportionately impacted by the heat island effect, raising the temperatures to 7° hotter in their neighborhoods. This has implications for both their physical and mental health well-being, in addition, to higher energy cooling costs. We cannot have the most verdant spaces primarily in the wealthiest neighborhoods in Denver. |
| Kelly Brough | The truth is that Denver has limited land available and, given our growing population, many demands for that land. As such, we must be creative and thoughtful about how and where we grow our park land and increase our tree canopy. When it comes to trees, I’m particularly interested in how we can encourage and support residents to plant more trees on their property, particularly in West and Northeast Denver. I’m open to exploring tax or fee credits for homeowners who plant new trees on their property in order to put resources in their pockets to care for those trees. |
| Renate Behrens | remove golf courses, turn into parks. This is a matter of survival. see above: empty lots… into gardens, parks. Even the smallest lot counts, if we can remove concrete and asphalt and let the earth breath and us too. |
| Deborah “Debbie” Ortega | When very large scale projects are being proposed that will bring new residents and business tenants to an area, the scale of a project’s open space should have a correlation between ultimate developable square footage and our population growth. |
| PAUL NOEL FIORINO (write-in) | Deeds of Educational and Public Use has been manipulated and altered or in this case given away for a vision. Writing in Fiorino, just that name is all you need. That name has carried the hard issues, challenged the status quo and can as your Mayor bring better days for the Green. Vote Vota Voto Fiorino for Denver Mayor. FiorinoforDenver.com |
| Thomas Wolf | A set aside from new developments, like what is required for art, might be a good funding source for acquisitions. As mentioned above, I think all greenspace needs to be on the table, and replenishing the canopy continuously needs to be prioritized. I served on a maintenance district in lodo, and while looking to plant trees in the streetscaping there was no procurement option through the city? Duh, the city should be a power buyer of trees for its greenways. |
| Dr. Abass Yaya Bamba | The matter of acquiring open spaces must be set as a priority in order to have the full attention of my administration. We will set a goal to increase those 49%. I have traveled to many cities around the world. The city of Hong Kong with more than 7 million people has more than 55% as open spaces. Life expectancy is longer because of the quality of air people breath. |
| Terrance Roberts | Standing firm against unnecessary developments of the current expansion of “affordable housing” is the main way to help retain park space in Denver. Developers are taking much needed and wanted park space, not food carts or our unhoused neighbors. |
| AUDITOR | |
| Timothy M. O’Brien | Through comprehensive and thoughtful audits, my team will ensure that expansions of Denver’s parks and forested areas represent a good use of taxpayer dollars and benefit the surrounding communities. This issue is particularly important in this election—Denverites will cast votes on ballot measure 2O, which will decide the fate of the Park Hill Golf Course. This has already proven to be a contentious issue for the Park Hill Community and Denver as a whole, with strong coalitions forming on either side. More broadly, measure 2O is related to Denver’s Game Plan for a Healthy City, Denver’s long-term plan to create and maintain a healthy and equitable parks system. It is up to City Council, the mayor, and other policymakers to decide how to expand Denver’s parks and forested areas. In doing so, these actors make promises to Denverites, which are backed by the use of significant public attention and resources. It will be important to have a qualified and independent auditor in office who has the experience necessary to conduct comprehensive audits of these plans to ensure that the needs of Denverites are being met, and promises are being kept. |
| Erik Clarke | Denver used to be a city in a park. We can return to that mantra by making the investment in green and open space, both in terms of large land acquisition and the acquisition and maintenance of smaller city parks. We need to take an all of the above approach to this issue. While the Denver Auditor is not a policymaking role, the office can make recommendations in line with best practices and established rules to improve land acquisition and parks maintenance. If there is an established best practice, then the office absolutely has a responsibility to base recommendations on that best practice. |
