Denver City Council and leaders are going against their constituents by working on removing barriers such as zoning so that developers can build, faster, higher, and everywhere. Our green spaces are rapidly disappearing. Our precious tree canopy and large green landscapes around small, affordable historic homes are being bulldozed to be replaced with high-priced unaffordable duplexes and multi-unit "box" structures that cover nearly every inch of the permeable ground.
Construction trucks, debris, dumpsters are everywhere in the city as people tear out historic homes, throwing the materials into the dumps, and replacing them with larger, but lesser-quality buildings that are not built to last. The traffic on our roads increases daily, and our polluted air continues to grow worse – in fact, we are in the top 10 for cities that have the most air pollution in the country!
As the Denver Post puts it in this article: “As development eats away at Denver’s green space, the “city within a park” is becoming a concrete metropolis. Green space per capita decreasing in the Mile High City as leaders sign off and developers transform urban environment. ” Read the article »
More Construction means more flats from construction debris, I can't tell you how many screws and nails I pick up from our streets while out for bike rides or walks. I figure every one I pick up saves someone from a day and bank account ruined by a flat tire.
Construction debris and messes in our roads and alleys is common everywhere in Denver. Here's another flat waiting to happen.
A new form of blight on Colfax are the new buildings that have been developed, which are promptly been abandoned by the developers and property owners. An example of this is this abandoned Auto Zone, built just a few years ago, at Niagara and Colfax. The building is now often vandalized with graffiti, has loiterers in the parking lot, and trash is dumped on the premises regularly. There are other vacant buildings along Colfax as well in this area, including the new but now abandoned 7-11 on Monaco and Colfax (formerly an open green space that was seasonally used as a Christmas tree lot prior to being bulldozed and the 7-11 constructed). These empty buildings are heated and sit vacant, while just down the street, homeless camps scrape out an existence outside of buildings such as the Bluebird, and throughout Capitol Hill.
The latest assault to our Denver neighborhoods is the installation of 5G by a third party company, causing destruction of property.
Broadband Integrators has been digging in yards, and drilling right through sewer pipes and sprinkler lines – with NO advance notification to the homeowners that giant boxes would be buried in their lawns. They drove tractors and trailers and trucks right this lawn, shown above, running over sprinkler heads and lines with no concern or care. I've seen these giant boxes buried right next to a mature healthy tree, they just cut right through the roots with no regard to the tree's health. When the homeowners come out to frantically ask what is going on, they are told that there is nothing they can do, and that if there are any damage including broken sprinkler heads and lines to contact the president of Broadband Integrators, shown on the card here. The Broadband Integrators representatives said they could also put us in touch with their lawyer (why would we want to talk to THEIR lawyer?!)
Why are the property-tax paying homeowners completely disregarded by our city? Why are third-party companies allowed to come in and damage our property with no advance notice? Why would they not consult with homeowners to ensure that sprinkler lines and tree roots are not damaged in this process?
With no regard for sprinkler heads or landscaping, Broadband Integrators drove up on lawns without consulting property owners. Think about it, when you have an aeration company come out, you mark all your sprinkler heads with flags so they don't damage the sprinkler heads. Why are these third-party companies allowed to drive onto and dig in our lawns without notifying and consulting with us first to make sure as little damage is done as possible during this process? Damaging sprinklers and landscapes and trees is extremely wasteful – especially knowing it could be prevented if they worked WITH us instead of sneaking onto our properties without our knowledge.
We witnessed and spoke with several neighbors who only knew this was going on when they saw tractors and trucks driving up on their landscapes – and, when they came out and asked what was going on, they were passively dismissed with a business card to call if they had any problems. Well, they won't know they have any sprinkler problems until spring when we can turn them on, I wonder how easy it will be to get a resolution to get the sprinklers and other damage fixed? What if a giant healthy tree dies after the box was dug right next to it, destroying some of the main roots? What if it falls on a home? Who is responsible? If we have to repair the damage, can we use our trusted irrigation specialists or tree people and get reimbursed? How long are they responsible for the damage done? And, most importantly, why were we not consulted on if the neighborhood even wants all these additional 5G poles?
Water Pollution:
Another article from the Denver Post discusses the water pollution that also comes with density:
From article: “The E.coli and other pollution come from multiple sources — including dog waste, industrial plants, homeless camps and malfunctioning septic systems — that are whisked from paved surfaces into runoff.”
Denver needs to slow down!
We are calling our city planners and council to SLOW down this non-stop building, and focus on taking care of what we already have – we need to improve and fix our infrastructure and figure out public transportation to go to the mountains before we stack more people on top of people in our city. We have already had unchecked growth for the past 10 years, now we need to slow down and figure out the best way forward for all of those who live here. We need to protect any and all of the last of the remaining green spaces and trees to keep our city from becoming an endless hot, polluted concrete heat island.