February 3rd, 2016

Dear Mayor Michael B. Hancock and the “Platte to Park Hill: Stormwater” Project Team,

We are the Cole Neighborhood; a collection of over 1,700 rooftops and thousands of concerned citizens. This is a letter written by the Cole Stormwater Working Group on behalf of Cole, our neighbors to the North and West, and the citizens of Denver.

Over the past several weeks the Cole Neighbors, and specifically a working group of 20 or so, has been dedicated to learning as much about the Platte to Park Hill: Stormwater initiative (referred to herein as “Stormwater”) and have been exploring the consequences (both intended and unintended) of the proposed options for the Lower Montclair Basin. We began this working group under the mission statement “No homes lost in Cole”. We stand by our original mission and are asking you to remove “Alternative 1: Open channel with detention in the Cole neighborhood” from your list of viable options. The loss of homes in Cole is not an acceptable option.

We are concerned for our neighbors whose homes would be acquired in “Alternative 1”. We are concerned about the environmental impacts to Cole and our surrounding communities. We are concerned that there are not longer-term and more environmentally sound options being considered. We have gathered over 500 signatures from our Cole neighbors opposing the installation of a detention pond in Cole. We had hundreds of neighbors turn up in-person at the last Cole Neighborhood Association (CNA) meeting to voice their concerns and our neighbors have written letters, emails and made phone calls to express as much to your organization. We expect that you have heard our community loud and clear that no homes are to be lost in Cole in the name of the Stormwater initiative.

With that said, it has become more clear to us over the past weeks that Stormwater initiative is inextricably linked to myriad major redevelopment and infrastructure projects taking place under the North Denver Cornerstone Collaborative, namely the National Western Center and the Interstate 70 Reconstruction / Expansion projects. It is our belief that the Stormwater initiative in the Lower Montclair Basin needs to be taken back to the drawing board and redeveloped to eliminate the current environmental and community impacts that would be felt in either Alternative 1 (Open channel with detention in Cole neighborhood) or Alternative 2 (open channel with detention in City Park Golf Course). It will be of the utmost importance to incorporate the designation of official parks (not the inclusion of “park-like amenities”) in the open channels proposed in future alternatives to mitigate trash collection, further storm water contamination, and assuage safety concerns for our citizens and our pets. It is our belief that there are more forward-thinking and environmentally sound alternatives to the current Stormwater proposals; many of which are laid out by the National Resources Defense Council in their comprehensive 1999 report Stormwater Strategies, and many of which include naturally treating storm water prior to release back into natural water sources.

The neighbors in Cole love their community and love the City of Denver. We know that Denver, and its elected officials, are known widely for our forward-thinking and innovative problem-solving and we believe that the current proposal for Interstate 70 expansion and the Stormwater projects in the Lower Montclair Basin, are not reflective of our collective best ideas. We are asking on behalf of, not only our neighborhood, but on behalf of our neighbors in Globeville, Elyria, and Swansea as well, for you to halt the Interstate 70 expansion project and with it, to reevaluate the options for storm water mitigation and treatment in our neighborhoods. North Denver was once a vibrant, thriving, and connected community until Interstate 70 severed our communities and began polluting our air, our property and our families. We are asking the City of Denver to take what they can from the years of research and development and apply this knowledge to the Interstate 70 Expansion Project and set the rest aside in honor of pursuing the best possible solution for our City, one which we believe lies in the proposals put forth by Unite North Metro Denver.

We welcome and respect your comments and look forward to working with you, collaboratively, to improve on our City’s shared future.

Sincerely,

Margo Sweany, 3357 Williams Street
Paul Kaiser, 3440 Humbolt
Rebecca Gumaer, 3357 Gaylord
Cynthia Wake, 3779 Williams Street
Kim Morse, 3437 Gilpin Street
Jay Morse, 3437 Gilpin Street]
Jeff Allen 3529 Franklin Street
Tim Allen 3529 Franklin Street
Heidi Sue Harris, 3838 Gilpin Street
Diane Rhodes, 3839 Williams Street
Kris Ullstrup, 3839 Williams Street
Chris Ronlund