Far be it from Denver to kick a diva when she’s down.
But rumbling that Britney Spears may be moving to Cherry Creek North has brought angst to would-be neighbors.
“Guys crawling over the tops of cars to get a picture of her never-ending train wreck? That wouldn’t fly with the residents,” says Ed Thomas, a former councilman who now edits the Glendale Cherry Creek Chronicle.
The Post’s Bill Husted reports that Spears and her boyfriend have deposited $2 million for a house in the tony neighborhood. Her plans remain unclear since her police standoff last week managed to bump even the Iowa caucuses down in the headlines.
Meantime, Cherry Creekers are squawking as if someone had hung a “Highlands Ranch” sign on the street corner.
Their concerns center not only on the bad chi they say Spears would bring to the neighborhood. They’re also freaked about the paparazzi they fear would block streets and ignore stop signs. You know, the same folks who pursued Princess Diana into that tunnel.
“That spectacle day after day would undermine the quiet undertones we enjoy here,” says Gennifer Hobbs, who moved to Milwaukee Street to escape Manhattan.
Until the ’50s, the area was mostly farmland bordered by the city dump where Cherry Creek Shopping Center now stands. When it started booming in the ’90s, Thomas fielded calls from people who had scraped off bungalows to build postmodern condos, only to demand that lots next door be saved as open space.
“It’s an ‘I got mine, now up yours’ mentality,” he says.
Nowhere is that tension more obvious than on the streets, where residents compete for parking spots with outsiders drawn to upscale boutiques and bistros. Even a woman stuck in a snowdrift couldn’t elicit help from neighbors, who only complained she blocked their driveway.
Homeowners enjoy free parking rights and passes for two guests, yet grumble about the inconvenience when hosting parties.
“We try to have a close-knit relationship with our neighbors so we can easily borrow parking passes when we need them,” says Wayne New of the Cherry Creek North Neighborhood Association.
It takes a village.
Tempers flared in 2003 during a fundraiser for candidate John Kerry at an Elizabeth Street townhome. One neighbor was so irked by the news trucks that she threatened to call 911.
They ain’t seen nothing yet.
Given Spears’ 24-hour press corps — not to mention her help — it’s tough to imagine her adhering to the two-guest parking limit.
“We’ll do what we need to protect the public from the paparazzi,” pledges House Speaker Andrew Romanoff, who represents the area and would prefer this column be about his legislative agenda.
Even one of Denver’s most devoted Britney fans is wary about the possibility of Spears speaking Cherry Creek.
Matt Fitz-Gerald — a Denver lawyer and son of congressional candidate Joan Fitz-Gerald — defended the diva through her head-shaving and even sings “Toxic” at karaoke bars.
But his infatuation ended last week watching videotape of Spears on a stretcher “laughing manically.”
“At this point, I could take her or leave her. It’s been hard breaking up with Britney.”
Susan Greene writes twice weekly. Reach her at 303-954-1989 or greene@denverpost.com.
