Denver is a growing city with limitless potential and possibilities. With such rapid expansion and population growth, it抖阴ap no surprise that we are facing serious issues like an affordable housing crisis, displacement, traffic and congestion, and a desire to protect park space. It抖阴ap also no surprise that there many different opinions on which issues are the most pressing and how they should be addressed.
Unfortunately, we are now seeing the same old faces and tactics being leveraged to prevent communities of color that have long been disenfranchised, like the one I live in, from participating in this discussion. Nowhere is this more obvious than in the debate around the now-defunct Park Hill Golf Course, which sits in the middle of the Northeast Park Hill neighborhood.
Compared to the city which is 76% white, our community is a majority BIPOC neighborhood that has been marginalized for years. While the average income in the city is nearly $75,000, the average income in Northeast Park Hill is 30% less and unemployment is 2.5% higher. Our community is in the middle of a food desert with limited access to fresh, healthy foods and is experiencing rapid displacement and disinvestment.
The 155-acres of privately-owned land is currently a defunct golf course adjacent to rail and bus transit. There is currently an easement聽on the property from 1997 that prevents it from being used as anything other than a golf course. As a member of the surrounding community, however, we believe that we should have the same rights as any other neighborhood to work with the city and the landowner to determine how we can best use this space to address our current needs.
We believe we could use this land to address some of the area鈥檚 challenges and create affordable housing, a grocery store, and a business center. The property owner has already committed to a park the size of Cheesman. Unfortunately, Ballot Initiative 301, would disregard what our community wants and instead allow the entire city to decide what should happen with the property.
This is just another example of traditional power structures trying to dismiss and ignore the voice of a community of color. This is a local land-use issue that should be decided by local residents, yet people are seeking to take this choice away. Can we not be trusted to know what抖阴ap best?
Too many times in Denver鈥檚 history, the city has supported projects and initiatives that have ignored the needs of BIPOC neighborhoods. Initiative 302 protects our community鈥檚 right to decide what we want in our neighborhood. 302 does not remove the conservation easement or green light development, it just ensures the conversation around the future of the property is led by our voices.
Supporters of 301 continue to talk about ignoring our needs to preserve a defunct golf course and make it park. But who I wonder will enjoy that park? Certainly not my neighbors who will be pushed out without any additional affordable housing options or even a voice in the discussion.
Denver is facing critical decisions ahead and addressing the affordable housing crisis and ensuring we preserve open space for future generations are both important issues. But the decision between Initiatives 301 and 302 is not about what will or should become of the Park Hill Golf Course. It抖阴ap about who has the right to make that decision. Is it the local, diverse community that has the most to lose or gain from this property, or will we once again allow the larger city to silence us?
In Denver, we should strive to not just talk about a commitment to equity but act on it. Equity doesn鈥檛 mean everyone gets the same vote. Equity means uplifting communities who haven鈥檛 been heard and making sure that their voices are amplified.
It’s time to uplift the voices of our minority communities and vote yes on 302.
LaMone Noles is the administrator of the East Denver Residents Council and serves on the City of Denver steering committee working on the Park Hill Golf Course Area Visioning Process.
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