After the denial of permits for Denver’s 420 Rally, questions are being raised about how permits are granted to organizations holding events in public parks.
Some people believe there should be a more vigorous public discussion before the city gives event organizers a green light.
From the Denverite, a new report on the Audit of Denver Parks and Recs
“Additionally, DPR should be evaluating its fees more often to see if they are adequately offsetting the cost of maintaining the park, the audit said.”
DPR says that they already have a system for customer satisfaction for the major permits, but plan to expand the system to all permit types by the end of the year.
Applications are now being accepted for attendance at the first Denver Marijuana Citizens Academy. Hosted by Inter-Neighborhood Cooperation (INC), Denver’s Office of Marijuana Policy and the Department of Excise and Licenses, the free, two-part Academy will provide 50 participants with information relating to the various marijuana rules and regulations as well as Colorado amendments and Denver ordinances.
The issue is the small lot parking exemption, a component of Denver’s zoning code that allowed developers in certain mixed-use zones to skip the parking when they develop lots that are 6,250 square feet or smaller.
There’s a moratorium in place on using that exemption, and there were two proposals on the table. One, supported by Brooks, would have exempted parking for the first three stories if a project was close to transit and for the first two stories if it were farther from transit. The other, pushed by Councilman Jolon Clark, would require parking after the first two stories for projects close to transit and after the first story further out. Both proposals maintain the full exemption for existing buildings, even if they are being redeveloped for a new use.
Assistant City Attorney David Broadwell said the city believes its ordinance is constitutional and is prepared to make that case.
“The objective of the parties is to strike down the ordinance,” Broadwell said. “They are putting the ordinance on trial, and whenever we adopt any controversial ordinance, we know that might happen. That’s why we have courts, and we respect that process. We’re always prepared to defend our right to have such an ordinance.”
The seven cop shops are all nonprofit with all-volunteer staffs and operate their facilities from the generous donations of the public. INC is pleased to be able to assist the cop shops by providing each of the seven with a gift of $200.00 to help with their incidental expenses.
This case presents several precedent-setting issues of state-wide importance about the integrity of the local land use planning and quasi-judicial rezoning process, which affect all local government officials and Colorado property owners in zoned communities.
