Week of July 21, 2022
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An edition of the Littleton Independent A publication of
VOLUME 21 | ISSUE 35
Centennial council approves criteria for evaluating housing strategies New criteria will help working group move forward BY TAYLER SHAW TSHAW@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
To help make sure Centennial City Council gets all the information it needs from the housing study,
during its July 11 meeting, seven criteria points were approved. “Tonight, we’re really talking about the review criteria, which is kind of like one step back,” said Elizabeth Garvin, an attorney and planner at Clarion Associates, one of the consultants for the housing study. “But when we bring you a report at the end of this process that reflects everything that the working group did, we want to kind of, to the extent we can, be able to give you
an apples to apples comparison of strategies.” The city’s Housing Study and Policy Development project, funded through a $200,000 planning grant from the Colorado Department of Local Affairs, is currently having its working group assess nine of the 15 potential housing strategies the state identified to help improve housing affordability. These nine strategies include authorizing accessory dwelling units,
Arapahoe County’s new health department to see familiar faces in leadership
implementing an inclusionary zoning policy, adjusting development fees for affordable housing, providing funds to landlords that allows them to lower prices of rental units, creating a land banking or land donation program to hold land for future affordable housing development, and so on. “As we evaluate all of our strategies moving forward, we want to SEE STRATEGIES, P9
Views differ on whether to stop naming valedictorians Cherry Creek has opted to end longtime tradition BY ELLIS ARNOLD EARNOLD@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Arapahoe’s new public health director, who served as deputy director for Tri-County. “Their work at TriCounty Health Department in the coming months will be instrumental to the continuance of services for residents through the end of the year.”
Soon after the Cherry Creek School District in Arapahoe County announced it would stop designating valedictorians in its high schools, the criticism started pouring in. “The pursuit of excellence has suffered another blow,” wrote George Brauchler, a former Arapahoe County district attorney, in a column for The Denver Post. “The crusade against meritocracy, and for mediocrity, in our schools reached a new level,” the
SEE TRI-COUNTY, P7
SEE TRADITION, P6
The outside of the Tri-County Health Department’s administrative office in Greenwood Village. Several of the soon-to-be-dissolved FILE PHOTO BY ELLIS ARNOLD department’s leadership staff are set to join Arapahoe County by the beginning of next year.
Tri-County Health staff named to key roles BY ROBERT TANN RTANN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
As the clock ticks for the TriCounty Health Department, which
is set to dissolve Dec. 31, much of its leadership will see a new chapter after Arapahoe County announced it would bring on staff for key roles in its new, self-serving health department. “Each individual we’ve hired has a deep understanding of the unique public health needs of Arapahoe County,” said Jennifer Ludwig,
INSIDE: VOICES: PAGE 14 | LIFE: PAGE 16 | CALENDAR: PAGE 19
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July 29, 30 & 31
