“Metropolitan cooperation” in these parts has largely been a one-way street.
We suburbanites pay all kinds of taxes to metropolitan districts, yet most of the money winds up in the core city.
Still, residents of the ‘burbs are often portrayed as ungrateful freeloaders who don’t appreciate what the Mother City does.
But now, a day of reckoning has arrived. For once, Denver seems hungry for some real cooperation.
The issue at hand is a plan for developing the area around Denver International Airport into something called an “aerotropolis,” which is another word for “revenue source.”
Apparently, Denver can no longer look at all that vacant property around DIA without trying to develop it into a commercial and industrial hub that could provide a boatload of new tax money.
But not so fast, Denver.
The relocation and expansion of the old Stapleton International could not have occurred without a long “flagpole” annexation of land in Adams County. The entire DIA complex is now in Denver, but it was once Adams.
The annexation required approval of Adams County voters. And they gave it only after a high-powered election campaign and the endorsement of many Adams County elected officials.
It was noted at the time that perhaps a five- or six-county airport district should be formed. Or, maybe Denver area counties could join with El Paso County and create a Denver-Colorado Springs airport in Douglas County. How about sharing the risks and the riches?
No, Denver said. There would be no new airport unless it was Denver’s.
Fortunately, the annexation agreement contained an “intergovernmental agreement.” It states that any other development at the airport be “airport-related.” An aerotropolis with manufacturing plants, office parks and perhaps even housing developments hardly meets the legal intent of the agreement.
Officials of Adams County and the cities therein, including Aurora, will have to sign off on a new agreement — and Denver now wants to negotiate.
There are signs that Aurora Mayor Steve Hogan and other Adams officials will drive a hard bargain. That’s good. Stick it to ’em, I say. After all, a big share of the future income from an aerotropolis rightfully belongs in their communities. Plus, they likely will be stuck with the costs of providing more roads into the new development.
During the negotiations, they should also remind the Mother City that suburban taxpayers helped finance a new football stadium for the Broncos, the Denver Art Museum, a new baseball park for the Rockies and the revamping of Union Station. All are in Denver. The latter two projects have helped revitalize LoDo. Yet, ironically, Denver voters turned down the Coors Field plan.
Yet, when there was talk about possibly building a new facility for the National Western Stock Show in Aurora, Denver officials went ballistic. And developers of a large Western-themed hotel and convention center in Aurora, partially financed by regional tourism funds, have been stymied by a lawsuit primarily brought by downtown Denver hotel operators.
Thus, it would be nice if Denver would also sweeten an airport deal with more than just a share of the tax income.
That would be a real gesture in the spirit of metropolitan cooperation.
Dick Hilker (dhilker529@ ) is a retired Denver suburban newspaper editor and columnist who writes twice monthly for The Denver Post.
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