What price Denver’s parks?
How can we get money out of our parks to help support these cherished public spaces? Are corporate sponsorship and naming rights ways to do that?
This political hot potato is being considered and was discussed at a March 9 public meeting called by the Denver Parks and Recreation Department. A task force has drafted proposed new policies and procedures for naming parks, co-sponsorship of events and for a new issue, corporate sponsorship of programs, events, projects and sites.
The city’s park system has an estimated $90 million backlog of capital and maintenance needs.
In the past, parks generally were named for their neighborhoods or an “exceptional city leader or dedicated supporter of parks.” And a nominee had to be dead for at least seven years.
The proposed policy, which defines procedures for naming and renaming parks and handling of major gifts, would require plenty of council and public review and would puts lots of limits on sponsors and donors. Sponsorships must respect “the non-commercial nature of public places.”
But putting important public assets on the auction block is definitely an ethical slippery slope.
Many attending the March 9 meeting strongly objected to the idea of “selling off” the parks and expressed worries about commercialization and possible cluttering of green spaces.
In a Feb. 8 interview, Mayor John Hickenlooper offered similar concerns. “Parks are points of reflection, inspiration, where you might go when you’re trying to make a decision,” the mayor mused. “It’s one thing to sell naming at the Auditorium, sports venues, a lecture hall, but another to rename a whole or part of an existing park. Obviously you don’t want commercialism in a park. But we have a $90 million deficit in park infrastructure, and we have to meet that somehow.”
Denver Parks and Recreation has 202 named parks and 30 recreation centers, 16 outdoor swimming pools, six golf courses, a skate park and about 100 unnamed parcels. An updated inventory of the entire system is underway. Named parks, parkways and golf courses total 5,696 acres. The 24 mountain parks have 13,500 acres, including Red Rocks. Parks and Recreation’s budget is almost $45 million in public money, up from $44 million in 2005.
In April, the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board will meet to review all of the public comments and make final changes/recommendations before presenting the final proposal to the Mayor.
Another way to raise money for parks is to form a conservancy for a specific park, such as the Civic Center Conservancy that supports the Civic Center. But this method raises the prospect of some parks getting help from a conservancy, leaving those without one at a disadvantage.
Conservancies can have other problems. A year ago, the Civic Center group devoted many hours – with public participation – and money to developing a master plan that enhanced the historic City Beautiful aspect of Denver’s premier gathering spot. But now it is contemplating an inappropriate “conceptual vision” by New York architect Daniel Libeskind for the same space.
The concept includes a 330-foot tower in the middle of Civic Center, a large shallow pond covering most of the Great Lawn and a couple of new buildings. And, up to now, there’s been too little information given the public about this concept.
Other current proposals for the city’s public spaces are also problematic.
One is a new drawing of the Skyline Park restroom , which looks like a tacky gas-convenience store. Planned for a spot on Arapahoe Street just off the 16th Street Mall, it’s to hold restrooms, vendors and a coffee shop/restaurant. With dozens of coffee shops, restaurants and vendors up and down the mall, why would the city give away park space?
The city spent $5.6 million to change Skyline Park from its award-winning design by architect Lawrence Halprin to a mundane open space. Why? Too many youths and transients hung out there, and the city wanted it to be less inviting. In certainly is.
Our parks are irreplaceable city assets. Right now there are too many questionable proposals being floated without adequate public scrutiny. The Hickenlooper’s administration needs to show a commitment to transparency and honesty in planning the future of Denver’s parks.
Joanne Ditmer’s column on environmental and urban issues for The Post began in 1962 and now appears on the fourth Sunday of the month.
