WHEREAS in 2014 the Denver Parks and Recreation Manager approved a concept for a 7,500 square foot building to house the Colorado Music Hall of Fame, presented by Comfort Dental, adjacent to the historic Pueblo Trading Post at Red Rocks Park without public input, Parks and Recreation Advisory Board recommendation, or historic preservation review,
WHEREAS the City has put the project on hold until a fall 2015 public process and committee reviews are completed,
WHEREAS the proposal addresses a number of complex, policy-related issues:
1. the proposed building location is within the Pueblo Trading Post Denver Historic Landmark area, (1994);
2. the building will house a museum collection for a non-profit not directly related to the city or to park uses;
3. the non-profit has strong corporate sponsorship, raising issues of commercialism within the park;
4. the building will remove up to 7,500 square feet of the proposed building, estimated at 7500 square feet, would occupy at least 3000 square feet of parkland open space within a designated Denver park;
5. although the entire park was designated a National Historic Landmark in July 2015 by the Secretary of the Interior, that designation does not provide local review and protection. If additional sites within the park are considered for the Hall of Fame, those proposals would not be protected by Denver Landmark Commission review. Only the Pueblo Trading Post and Amphitheatre areas are Denver Historic Landmarks.
WHEREAS Denver INC believes that a public process scheduled for late October into December 2015 that is intended to resolve this decision is inadequate because:
1. to date, no publicity for this proposal has occurred;
2. Denver residents and neighborhood organizations need more than the mandated minimum 30-day notice of a public meeting to research, understand, and analyze such a complex proposal;
3. the timing of a late October-December public process traditionally often limits public
participation;
4. Denver Parks and Recreation has a new Manager as of 9/21/15;
5. the proposal raises the policy questions outlined above that warrant discussion beyond public meetings, such as with a sub-committee or Task Force.
BE IT RESOLVED that Denver INC requests that Denver Parks and Recreation postpone the public process until 2016 allowing time for a thorough review of all issues and policies, and for meaningful neighborhood discussion. Denver INC welcomes formal speakers, both supporting and questioning the proposal, and discussion at a monthly Delegates meeting.
Map of Red Rocks National Historic Landmark Boundary and Features
