| 6.A. Many neighborhood residents feel that their input is gathered only after development projects have been planned and approved. Do you support reworking the Neighborhood Planning Initiative (NPI) process to allow for greater input from residents at the planning and approval stages of neighborhood development initiatives? Yes/No | 6.B Please explain. | |
| MAYORAL CANDIDATES | ||
| Matt Brady | Yes | I have seen a number of developments by for-profit developers who act like consultants while looking to make money from their development work. We need separate urban planners to review and work with neighborhoods on any new proposed developments and, if the neighborhood residents approve, we need multiple developers to present plans that conform with the wishes of neighborhood residents. |
| Jim Walsh | Yes | yes, any steps that bring us closer to transparent Democracy, I am in favor of. Residents should have multiple options for participating in this process. |
| Trinidad Rodriguez | Yes | In particular my administration will work to make the planning process more authentic by increasing the ways people can engage, meeting people where they are in their time and interest level so diverse and inclusive participation are ensured. |
| Mike Johnston | Yes | As we work to build more housing across our city to drive down costs and make sure Denver is a place everyone can afford to live, there will no doubt be more development projects in every neighborhood. We have to make sure that the communities who will be impacted by these projects are at the table during the decisionmaking process and that their concerns are being heard. To do this, I will look into reworking the NPI and will commit to bringing neighbors and community members to the table. We also have to ensure that new development projects are helping the communities they’re being built in. That’s why as Mayor, I will create Neighborhood Investment Trusts where the city would contribute land to a developer in exchange for an ownership stake in the project. The city would then distribute that ownership to community members so that as the property generated revenue, neighbors would receive dividend checks and directly benefit from the new development. You can read more about my Neighborhood Investment Trust plan here: https://mikejohnstonformayor.com/issues/equity/ |
| Chris Hansen | Yes | It is important for neighborhood voices to be heard. |
| Lisa Calderón | Yes | Yes and I have worked with INC over the years to push for authentic and transparent community engagement processes instead of being force-fed predetermined plans made in backroom deals by the Hancock administration. I will create an Office of Community Engagement as part of my plan to decentralized the power of the mayors office and share power with residents and City Council. I will build a transparent city government and implement checks and balances including strengthening the Ethics Board and creating an ombudsman office for whistleblower complaints. We have witnessed a severe lack of transparency over the last twelve years, in which input from communities is either gathered too late in planning processes, or requested, and never considered, with no feedback to communities on the progress of projects. As mayor, my administration will center transparency and community engagement at its core. Denverites should have an opportunity to input into the decisions that affect their communities not just at one point in time, but on an ongoing basis, and especially at critical decision points within projects. Additionally, I will ensure transparency of project processes so that community members understand how their input is being considered, the impact it has on the planning process, a report on outcomes and benchmarks, and the overall status of projects. |
| Kelly Brough | Yes | Meaningful community engagement must be two-way dialogue with all impacted stakeholders. It is insufficient to collect community input on the front end of a project or policy development. Instead, we must commit to implementing mechanisms for on-going discussion so we can determine together how to best prioritize work and allocate limited resources. |
| Renate Behrens | Yes | The planning right from the beginning, needs to be in the hands of the residents, the neighborhood |
| Deborah “Debbie” Ortega | Yes | I also believe that rezoning of properties is the tool that ensures the voice of neighborhoods, and is incorporated into the final product that is moved to city council for approval. |
| PAUL NOEL FIORINO (write-in) | Yes | The Loretto Heights project I fought to keep green space and educational as the deed deemed. But even the dead had to go. Five Municipalities have been established by City Council and without regard to the Neighborhoods. Next up? Fiorino for Mayor |
| Thomas Wolf | Yes | Public service is delivering on citizen’s wants and needs, our city can do a much better job of efficiently listening and incorporating these ideas into planning an approval, hint technology can be deployed to assist in this effort, plus leadership that accepts this responsibility and is a willing listener. |
| Dr. Abass Yaya Bamba | Yes | My proposed people forum will allow the contribution of the people. |
| Terrance Roberts | Yes | As explained above I definitely feel that RNO and community groups should have more say in developments coming in their community that will alter the community and may not be needed or wanted by home owners or residents. |
| AUDITOR | ||
| Timothy M. O’Brien | Yes | As described above, after completing my public notice and transparency audit, I made several recommendations to encourage the city’s departments and agencies to be more proactive in engaging community groups. I believe earlier notice, transparent and sincere engagement, and opportunities to give public input early in the process leads to more positive outcomes for the people impacted by city projects and services. |
| Erik Clarke | Yes | Residents of our communities are the greatest sources of insights into what neighborhoods need to flourish. As we conduct neighborhood plans and large development initiatives, early and frequent engagement can make a tremendous difference to improve the overall outcome. Beware the arrogant leader who claims they have all of the answers- folks deserve open-minded engagement from their elected leaders. |
