Monthly Archives: August 2009

If you’ve worked with Judy on FasTracks station area planning and/or the long process of siting the Commuter Rail Maintenance Facility (CRMF), be sure to review the Gold Line Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) and submit your comments. The FEIS includes all final station locations and station aesthetics — and it features a description of the CRMF, including its impacts and proposed mitigation measures.

The Gold Line will run from Denver Union Station through Northwest Denver to Ward Road in Wheat Ridge.

The FEIS was officially released about 10 days ago (August 21), and comments are open until September 21. This document represents the final step in the environmental process before the project is formally submitted to the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) for approval. There will be two public hearings on the FEIS in mid-September; details to follow.

Helpful links:

• Gold Line main project page
• Review the FEIS online
• Comment on the FEIS

The FEIS is an updated version of the Draft EIS (DEIS) that was published last summer, and it includes all previous public input and comments. It also has a more in-depth analysis of the Preferred Alternative: The project team completed more detailed engineering design, updated the project’s impacts analysis, and refined all mitigation measures.

Judy will be speaking this afternoon at the Fiesta Cookout, sponsored by Servicios de La Raza in partnership with La Voz Newspaper. The goodwill and fundraising event will take place from 4 to 8 p.m. at 41st and Tejon St.; it is free and open to the public. Look for free food, music, kids’ games and activities, a petting zoo, face-painting, and Entertainment by the Mighty Nice Band, the Grupo Tlaloc Aztec dancers, and El Centro Su Teatro.

Councilperson Rick Garcia, Colorado State Senator Paula Sandoval, and Colorado First Lady Jeannie Ritter will be joining Judy at the dais to congratulate Servicios de La Raza. For the past 37 years, Servicios de La Raza has been providing care, comfort, and proactive support to families and communities in poverty. It is the only organization of its kind in the state that delivers a wide-range of services to the Latino community.

A big thank you to everyone who attended the New Zoning Code meeting on Wednesday night. There were well over 100 people in attendance, with all District 9 neighborhoods represented — an excellent showing. Here are a couple of pixs from the gathering:

The district-by-district public workshops for Draft 2 of the New Code are now complete. City planners will spend the next few weeks making revisions, addressing questions, and incorporating changes and suggestions into the zoning maps. Keep an eye on this space (and on the New Zoning Code website) for updates about the release of Draft 3 of the code.

Judy wanted to express her thoughts on the passing of Senator Edward Kennedy. During his long career, Sen. Kennedy made many significant contributions to the lives and well-being of people who are heavily represented in District 9 — including Latinos, immigrants, and low-income Americans. His dedication, sense of justice, and lifelong advocacy for the most vulnerable Americans served as an inspiration to Judy and many other District 9 residents.

Senator Kennedy gave a voice to children, immigrants, women, and other populations who often are ignored by the political system. He also conducted himself with civility toward those who disagreed with him — and above all with respect for the law and the institutions of government.

Judy admired Ted Kennedy deeply, and she shares her sorrow with all in District 9 who mourn the Senator’s passing.

One last reminder — New Zoning Code meeting for District 9 is tonight at 30th and Vallejo, starting at 6 p.m.  Hope you can be there.

Two other items of note:

• Nominations are being taken for the 2008 Mayor’s Design Awards at http://www.denvergov.org/MDA. The deadline is September 5. Mayor Hickenlooper launched this award program in 2005, and District 9 has fared extremely well every year — we got 2 awards in 2005, 6 in 2006, and 8 in 2007.
• LoDoNA and DDRO are holding their annual No-Garage Garage Sale and Block Party this weekend. The sale runs from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Wynkoop Street, between 15th St. and Manny’s Bridge over Cherry Creek; who knows what sort of treasures may be on sale. The block party kicks off at 3 p.m. and will feature live music, food and drink, and good times.

Join Judy and the Denver Office of Cultural Affairs (DOCA) tomorrow afternoon (August 26) at Broadway and Blake for the dedication of “Trade Deficit,” a trio of sculptures by Joseph Riche. The dedication will take place from 4 to 5 p.m., followed by a reception from 5 to 6 at Plus Gallery (2501 Larimer St.). Both the dedication and reception are free and open to the public.

An artist who lives and works in River North (or “RiNo”), Riché created “Trade Deficit” from metal shipping containers that are commonplace in the neighborhood. They’re intended to create a gateway to this up-and-coming district, while symbolizing River North’s history and bright future, as well as Denver ‘s connection (via commerce and culture) to the rest of the world. The sculptures will have a five-year anti-graffiti coat.

Here’s a picture of one of the “Trade Deficit” sculptures:

Riche owns and operates Demiurge Design, a design/build studio in RiNo.

Finally, one last reminder (ok, probably not the last . . . ) The District 9 meeting for the New Zoning Code is tomorrow night. Participation has been high so far, and extremely constructive —- keep it up!

Just another friendly reminder that the 2nd round of public workshops on the New Zoning Code comes to District 9 on Wednesday evening. The meeting runs from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Asbury Events Center (30th and Vallejo); there will be a 40-minute presentation by city staff, followed by 90 minutes of facilitated small-group discussion. Here’s a copy of the meeting agenda.

The public response has been terrific so far — Judy was hoping that District 9 residents would pore over the plan in detail, and you haven’t disappointed. There are somewhere between 3 dozen and 4 dozen active issues that originated within District 9 — ranging from overarching zone definitions to street-level questions about the designation assigned to an individual property.

To date, 3,388 people have attended meetings on the New Code, and NewCodeDenver.org has attracted 18,889 unique visitors. Community input from these sources was incorporated into revisions of the second draft code and draft map.

All of this input can only make the final product better, more fair, and more user friendly —- so keep it up, everybody. Judy and staff will be on hand Wednesday night. If you haven’t seen the 2nd draft of the code yet, take a look online. You can also leave online comments at that link.

And keep an eye on your mailbox — the city has sent a postcard to every owner of property in Denver, outlining important information about the New Zoning Code and the public input process.

Yesterday’s post mentioned that Denver is experiencing a spike in the theft of items from automobiles. Citywide, such crimes increased by 32 percent in the first half of 2009 (compared to the first half of 2008). DPD has put out a list of tips for how to avoid getting victimized by this type of theft.

First of all, the 5 most common items stolen from cars this year have been:

1. IPods / MP3 players
2. GPS units
3. Cash
4. Tools
5. Stereos

DPD notes that this is usually a crime of opportunity — an impulse act rather than a premediated crime. So if you take a few common-sense precautions to minimize the bad guys’ opportunity, you’re far less likely to get your car broken into. Those common-sense steps include:

• When you leave your vehicle for any length of time, check your car to ensure there are no items of value that may be visible to someone who is walking by.
• When you park your vehicle, whether inside a parking structure or on the street, remember to lock it. (You’d be surprised how many people blow it and leave the car unlocked.)
• Never leave your vehicle unattended with the keys inside it.
• Park your car in the best-lit, most heavily populated area possible. Even if you you have to walk an extra block or two, it may be worth it.

Most of these crimes occur between 9 p.m. and 1 a.m., so if you park your car on the street or another unsecured location overnight, be especially careful to follow the steps above.

Citywide, crime increased 8.1% comparing January through July 2008 to January through July 2009. By geographic area: 65.4% of the neighborhoods in Denver experienced an increase in crime along with 4 of the 6 Police Districts and 10 of the 11 Council Districts.

Council District 9′s overall crime-rate increase for the first half of 2009 matched the citywide average of 8.1 percent. Only three Council Districts had significantly lower crime-rate increases than District 9 —  Districts 1, 5, and 10. We experienced a decrease in the rate of most felony crimes (including homicide, burglary, robbery, and aggravated assault), but an increase in auto theft and larceny. Click here for a complete detailed breakdown.

One of the sharpest increases citywide (and in District 9) occurred in theft of items from a vehicle. The most common items stolen from vehicles include I-pods, GPS units, money, tools, stereo face plates, purses, laptops, cell phones, credit cards and CD’s. There are approximately 20 thefts from motor vehicle per week, and the peak hours are between 9:00 p.m. and midnight.

Click here for more detail by type of crime, police district, council district and statistical neighborhood.

Tomorrow night (Thursday, August 20) brings the final installment of the Riverfront Park Fashion Series — with benefits to support the Railyard Dogs off-leash park in the CPV, an idea Judy has long championed. The theme of the show will be the “Revolution of Vitality.” It will include couture from Robert Rodriguez and beauty from Luxe Salon. Wine, beer and cocktails will be served, in addition to appetizers from Tamayo, with an after-party to take place at The Jet Hotel. The show takes place from 5:30 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.; tickets start at $50 and include all food and drinks.

Visit the Railyard Dogs website for more info. An update on the project’s status is at this link.