Denver Herald 021623

Our in-depth look at the housing crisis

Mushroom legalization faces rough rollout

Regulators unprepared

BY JESSE PAUL THE COLORADO SUN

e Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies recently warned state lawmakers that it is unprepared for its assigned job of implementing the state’s new, second-in-thenation legal “magic mushroom” industry, which voters approved in November.

Governor stresses more housing is key to Colorado’s economic health

BY ELLIS ARNOLD EARNOLD@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

If lawmakers don’t act to make housing more a ordable now, “we will soon face a spiraling point of no return.”

at’s what Gov. Jared Polis said in January, during his annual State of the State Address. He noted myriad problems linked to rising housing costs.

People, he said, “are being forced out of their neighborhoods with no hope of ever living close to where they work.”

“ at means more tra c, lost

time and money spent on long commutes, more air pollution, and greater economic and workforce challenges,” Polis said. Polis added that rising housing prices are “putting the dream of homeownership out of range for more and more Coloradans.”

e governor’s assessment squares with the ndings of Colorado Community Media in our four-week series exploring what many experts say is a housing crisis — one that a ects practically everyone in the Denver area. Lower-income workers are seeing larger chunks of their paychecks

go to landlords. Young families can’t nd starter homes they can a ord. Retirees don’t see any attractive options for moving and downsizing, meaning their homes stay o the market, helping keep prices high.

“Just look west,” Polis said in his address. “In California, decades of poor planning has led to interruptions of drinking water and electricity for entire towns and cities, average home prices over $1 million in major cities and 16lane freeways” with “bumper-to-

SEE STRESSES, P14

e department — which normally oversees sectors like insurance and banking — is tasked with quickly adopting a regulatory structure under which psychedelic mushrooms can be legally consumed by people 21 and older at licensed facilities. e facilities are set to open as soon as late 2024.

DORA will also be responsible for writing regulations governing the cultivation and manufacturing of psychedelic mushrooms, as well as protecting consumers, developing public education campaigns and making recommendations to the legislature about how to shape the industry.

ere’s just one problem: DORA says it has no idea what it’s doing when it comes to psilocybin, the hallucination-inducing compound derived from psychedelic mushrooms.

“ is is an area completely outside the scope of any existing expertise or

SEE ROLLOUT, P2

DENVER’S UNSUNG HERO

Statue will honor the late Maj. Gen. Maurice Rose

Hickenlooper quietly convenes senators representing Colorado River Basin

Western water woes are topic

BY JESSE PAUL THE COLORADO SUN

John Hickenlooper has been quietly convening fellow U.S. senators from six other Colorado River Basin states over the past year in an e ort to assist in the increasingly frantic conservation negotiations around the parched and overtaxed waterway that some 40 million people in the Southwest rely upon.

Hickenlooper, a Democrat, sees the informal, bipartisan caucus as a way to mediate interstate disagreements over how the river should be managed — and who should have to use less of its water — in the hope of preventing federal intervention. While states’ governors may not meet on a regular basis, senators from across the river basin are frequently together in Washington,

“ e idea here is that we’re looking at how to use more carrot and less stick,” he said. “ e key here is the federal government is not the best one to force a deal. e best solution is going to be a solution that all seven states sign o on.”

e group of senators has been meeting every few weeks to discuss Colorado River Basin issues. e gatherings have become more frequent amid Biden administration deadlines for basin states to come to a water conservation agreement that prevents Lake Mead and Lake Powell levels from dropping too low.

e reservoirs are already at historically low levels, yet the negotiation deadlines have come and passed without a deal.

“I think the senators can provide additional information that maybe the states don’t all have,” Hickenlooper said, “and make sure that everyone is working together.”

Hickenlooper didn’t provide details on what the caucus has

discussed, but he said the group has met with Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner Camille Touton, who warned that 4 million acre-feet in existing water use must be pared back.

“We’re all really hearing what priorities and speci c issues are with each state and with the water users in each state,” he said. “As long as we understand that and are working from the same set of facts, we’re probably going to come up with a much better solution than if things degenerate into lawsuits.”

Hickenlooper said the caucus is looking to formalize itself with a chair and subchairs from the upper and lower Colorado River Basin.

is story is from e Colorado Sun, a journalist-owned news outlet based in Denver and covering the state. For more, and to support e Colorado Sun, visit coloradosun.com.

e Colorado Sun is a partner in the Colorado News Conservancy, owner of Colorado Community Media.

regulatory history within the department,” DORA wrote in a budget document submitted to the legislature’s Joint Budget Committee. “ is is unlike anything else the department regulates. e department has

no resources or expertise to begin implementation of this expansive new program involving substances with agricultural, controlled substance, chemical/scienti c and facility issues.”

Proposition 122, which legalized magic mushrooms, passed by nearly 8 percentage points. e measure was unique in that it speci cally charged DORA with rolling out the

psilocybin industry, as opposed to letting the state gure out for itself which of its agencies should be responsible for regulating magic mushrooms. And it doesn’t appear Proposition 122’s proponents reached out to DORA to see if they could handle the responsibility.

“Did they come sit down and say do you want to take this? I don’t think so,” said Katie O’Donnell, a spokeswoman for DORA. “It could have gone in a lot of places. It doesn’t t perfectly in any of them.”

(Patty Salazar, who leads DORA, declined an interview request as her agency works to determine who will take on the psilocybin assignment.)

e Colorado Department of Revenue, for instance, regulates the cannabis industry. Hemp is handled by the Department of Agriculture.

DORA? It houses the Colorado Civil Rights Division and Broadband Deployment O ce. To put it simply: DORA isn’t synonymous with psychedelics.

“It just doesn’t t in the mold of what we regulate,” said O’Donnell, who explained that DORA is preliminarily planning to handle regulations for psilocybin and the other plants through its Division of Professions and Occupations.

Tasia Poinsatte, who leads the Healing Advocacy Fund, an oshoot of the group that funded the passage of Proposition 122, said supporters of the measure thought DORA was an appropriate place to regulate Colorado’s new psychedelic mushrooms endeavor because of its licensure work.

“Proposition 122 was designed to provide breakthrough therapies to Coloradans for mental health and wellness,” Poinsatte said. “At the heart of this new regulated program are the licensed facilitators who supervise the preparation sessions, the natural medicine administration session, and the integration sessions. We believe it’s appropriate for the agency that regulates other health professions, such as therapists, addiction specialists and nurses, to also regulate this new profession of licensed facilitators.”

Still, Poinsatte said she recognizes DORA may need help creating a “program that works for all Coloradoans and is a model for the rest of the country.” Oregon is the only other state where psychedelic mushrooms are legal, and that only happened Jan. 1.

Proposition 122 allows people 21 and older in Colorado to grow and share psychedelic mushrooms. Sales, however, are not allowed. Where DORA comes in will be the state-regulated centers OK’d by Proposition 122, where people will be able to make appointments to consume psilocybin.

Gov. Jared Polis last month appointed 15 people to serve on the state’s “Natural Medicine Advisory Board,” which is tasked with advising DORA on implementing the regulations. 5280 magazine reported there were more than 200 people who applied to be on the board.

But DORA says it still needs more help.

In its budget request to the legislature, DORA said it wants to spend $700,000 this year and next to “contract resources and expertise” to get its trip down the rabbit hole going. It says the speed at which it’s expected to implement rules is unprecedented, and it’s still guring out the fee structure for legal-use facilities under which it will fund its work.

And once DORA gets its psychedelic mushroom regulations squared away, the work may be just beginning.

Proposition 122 gives the Natural Medicine Advisory Board the option to similarly legalize and regulate a number of other naturally derived psychedelics, including dimethyltryptamine (known as DMT), ibogaine and mescaline, which is found in the San Pedro cactus.

is story is from e Colorado Sun, a journalist-owned news outlet based in Denver and covering the state. For more, and to support e Colorado Sun, visit coloradosun.com. e Colorado Sun is a partner in the Colorado News Conservancy, owner of Colorado Community Media.

U.S. Sen. John Hickenlooper speaks at an event regarding new federal funding slated for I-70 on Feb. 23. He has been working with other senators on Colorado River problems.

PHOTO BY ANDY COLWELL / SPECIAL TO THE COLORADO SUN

PUC responds to Polis’ call for utility relief

Searching for answers

BY JOSHUA PERRY THE COLORADO SUN

Colorado’s Public Utilities Commission on Feb. 8 discussed addressing bill price hikes in response to Gov. Jared Polis’s utility cost-reduction directive, but it isn’t clear what the rst steps will be.

Chairman Eric Blank said that the PUC has been tasked with a wide range of objectives to ease an a ordability crisis that made consumers’ utility bills 52% higher on average in December. Some consumers saw their bills double or even triple.

“Among other things, the governor has asked us to identify ways to support customers in the most dire circumstances, improve access to and the capacity of the bill assistance program, nd ways to incentivize utilities to reduce customer costs, analyze approaches for limiting bill spikes, and to expand public engagement on these issues before the end PUC,” he said.

Blank said he didn’t know how the PUC would take action on this directive right now, but they would continue addressing a ordability in the coming weeks.

One way the PUC can make progress is driving down base rates, Commissioner Megan Gilman said. Under the current rules, a utility seeking to add new infrastructure, such as transmission lines or a

power plant, must rst convince PUC regulators that it is necessary. If PUC agrees, it issues a certi cate of public convenience and necessity to approve the request.

Once the project is in operation, the cost of the investment is passed on to consumers through an increase in base utility rates. PUC also has the power to set a return on investment rate, which determines the pro t that utility companies get from these investments. at ROI rate can contribute to higher prices as well.

Base rates have been increasing for years. Higher base rates make periods of extreme price pressure — usually resulting from high fuel costs or unusually cold weather conditions — even worse. e PUC can’t control those factors, but they can drive base rates down in the long run by limiting unnecessary investments by utility companies, Gilman said.

“What are we doing to really try to ensure that rate-payers are protected in the long run and (ensure) that those utility investments that end up being repaid by rate-payers are really the best use of that money, and the best option available?” she said.

Blank said that managing base rates will be part of the discussion on a ordability moving forward. Later at the meeting, the commission also approved updates to its policy for service disconnection reporting, which now will include data on areas with the highest proportions of disconnections in order

to identify geographic disparities in access to utility services.

Additionally, they made plans to meet with assistance program coordinators and utility companies to improve the e ectiveness and accessibility of low-income quali ed programs.

Access to sources of assistance like the Percentage of Income Payment Program, which limits utility costs for low income families to up to 6% of their monthly income, must be improved, according to Gilman. e PUC has taken some steps already to make its process open and easy to understand, she said, but there’s still much room for growth when it comes to working in a mode that en-

PAYING OFF YOUR MORTGAGE

gages the public on addressing longterm a ordability moving forward.

“ is is a massive issue, to take this agency and all of the sudden try to humanize, try to improve accessibility, try to improve language access, try to improve these opportunities,” Gilman said. “By no means do we have it all gured out.”

is story is from e Colorado Sun, a journalist-owned news outlet based in Denver and covering the state. For more, and to support e Colorado Sun, visit coloradosun. com. e Colorado Sun is a partner in the Colorado News Conservancy, owner of Colorado Community Media.

Families are facing higher utility bills this year. Gov. Jared Polis is putting pressure on the state to find answers.

PHOTO BY TAYLER SHAW

Righting a wrong

Colorado recognizes Denver’s unsung hero, Maj. Gen. Maurice Rose

BY CANDY PETROFSKY SPECIAL TO COLORADO COMMUNITY MEDIA

ey say no two roses are alike. And this is the case for one of Denver’s unsung heroes. ere will never be another Maj. Gen. Maurice Rose.

e late Maj. Gen. Rose, of Denver, is known for being the highest-ranking Jewish general killed in action. Former presidents and generals, such as Gen. “Lightning” Joe Collins and Dwight D. Eisenhower, credited him for ending World War II.

And yet, children at the Basisschool Maurice Rose in the Netherlandswhich is where Rose is buried - know more about him than the kids at Denver Public Schools.

Denver resident Paul Shamon is doing something about that.

“I think it’s safe to say, at one time, those kids (attending the Basisschool Maurice Rose) knew more about Rose than our state legislators, rabbis and historians combined,” Shamon said. “It’s nice to see a wrong being righted.”

A few years ago, Shamon attended a book signing by Denver author Marshall Fogel who penned: “Maj. Gen. Maurice Rose, the most decorated battle tank commander in U.S. military history.”

Like Fogel, Shamon rst learned of Rose after seeing his military helmet on display and a picture of him hanging in the lobby of Rose Medical Center — named in honor of the war hero — which is located at 4567 E. Ninth Ave. in Denver’s Hale neighborhood.

e helmet and picture made a great impression on Shamon, who was just a boy. And the same for Fogel, a former lawyer, who decided to write his book on Rose after he closed his law practice. e two eventually shared their great admiration for Rose and developed a strong kinship.

Peoples’ memories of Rose were fading, Shamon said.

“ is man deserved to be honored

and remembered for his extraordinary sacri ce,” Shamon added. “He deserved a statue.”

A statue in Rose’s honor

In 2019, during a time when statues were being torn down across the country, Fogel and Shamon started fundraising for the Rose statue. eir goal was to raise $800,000 to erect a 10-foot-tall statue of Maj. Gen. Maurice Rose, to stand proudly on the grounds of the Denver capitol.

“No taxpayer funds were spent on the statue,” Shamon said. “All fundraising, including the maintenance of the statue, will be taken care of privately, in perpetuity.”

George Lundeen of Loveland was hired to sculpt the statue.

Lundeen’s father was a pilot in WWII, but the sculptor had not known of Rose. e more he learned about him as he worked on the project, it became clear that Rose is “one of the greatest American heroes of WWII,” Lundeen said.

“It’s an honor to work on a piece like this,” Lundeen said.

After three long years, thousands of Coloradoans will nally get to see the Rose statue when it’s installed in its new home at the Lincoln Veterans Memorial Park, with the best place for viewing being at 14th Avenue and

Lincoln Street. e nished product will be complete with a QR code that statue visitors can scan to learn all about the late Rose. e statue’s dedication ceremony is expected to take place late Spring.

`The Clint Eastwood of the military’ Fogel described Rose as “the Clint Eastwood of the military.”

“He was a soldier’s soldier and that’s why his men loved him,” Fogel said. e son of a rabbi, Rose enlisted in the military at 17, after dropping out of Denver’s East High School. He had to lie about being Jewish or the Army wouldn’t accept him. Rose had George Clooney-like looks and an obsession with winning WWII. He fought right alongside his soldiers in the 2nd and 3rd Armored Divisionsputting their needs before his - and he had the ear of all the top brass during the time.

“ ere are so many stories of how he made sure his men were fed before he ate. How he refused medical service to remove shrapnel until his men were taken care of rst,” Fogel said. “He’s even buried in the Netherlands, right next to his men.”

In fact, his only criticism was that he didn’t wear all his ribbons on his chest, added Fogel, and he always placed his command posts dangerously close to the front.

In comparison, Rose’s accomplishments are too many to note. But some of Fogel’s most extraordinary ndings include:

• As head of the 3rd Armored Division, Rose liberated numerous towns in France and Belgium.

• He was the rst to breach the Siegfried Line.

• Rose led the rst ground invasion in Germany from the west and fought three Nazi counter-attacks during the Battle of the Bulge.

• He was the rst to shoot down a German plane on German soil and lead a tank unit into Nazi Germany.

• Rose held the record for the

A miniature statue of Maj. Gen. Maurice Rose. This is a small replica of the statue that will be placed in Lincoln Veterans Memorial Park in Denver in 2023.

PHOTO BY CHRISTY STEADMAN

The painting of Maj. Gen. Maurice Rose that hung in the lobby of the Rose Medical Center circa 1949-1989. It has now been recovered and is once again at the Medical Center in a place of honor.

COURTESY PHOTO

HERO

longest one-day advance in history, covering 100 miles.

• Rose captured Cologne, Germany, and moved 16,000 soldiers in 24 hours to circle the Ruhr pocket. e encirclement led to the capture of 325,000 Nazi soldiers, and World War II comes to an end.

Rose earned every honor a general could at the time, including a Distinguished Service Cross, a Distinguished Service Medal, a Silver Star, a Bronze Star, a Legion of Merit, a Purple Heart, a French Legion of Honor, a French Croix and a Belgian

Croix.

Rose was killed in his Jeep during a random stop by the Germans. He was about to surrender, peacefully, when he was shot. According to Fogel, the Germans didn’t know of his rank because they left him to die on the side of the road. Two weeks later, WWII ended.

“Gen. Patton craved the media attention. Not Rose,” Shamon said. “He was just here to win both WWI and WWII. He always ew under the radar and that’s why he was so respected by regular people — and presidents.”

To learn more about the Maj. Gen. Maurice Rose statue, visit rosemonument.org.

Renowned sculptor George Lundeen in his studio in Loveland crafting the full-size statue of Maj. Gen. Maurice Rose. COURTESY PHOTO

Paul Shamon, a Denver resident and Rose advocate; George Lundeen, the statue’s sculptor; Marshall Fogel, a Rose biographer; Fabrice Dolegowski; and Seth Rosenman, the architect for the Rose statue project, gather for a photo at the Rose monument’s construction site at 14th and Lincoln in Denver. PHOTO BY CHRISTY STEADMAN

FROM PAGE 4

Let the ‘Soul Food Scholar’ guide you

Adrian Miller wins second James Beard Award for latest book

BY KIRSTEN DAHL COLLINS SPECIAL TO COLORADO COMMUNITY MEDIA

Denver food writer Adrian Miller loves pork spareribs so much he journeyed to Missouri to become a certi ed barbecue judge.

“A dream come true,” he wrote in his latest book, “Black Smoke: African Americans and the United States of Barbecue.”

When he entered the Kansas City Barbecue Society’s judging classroom, Miller looked around and realized he might wind up wearing an elastic belt.

“I was the only person in the room under ’two ddy,’” he wrote, referring to the hefty average weight of the student body. “And I was OK with that being my future.”

But as Miller moved around the barbecue competition circuit, he noticed an absence of other Black judges — not to mention contestants. He watched the Food Network’s burgeoning coverage of barbecue, and noticed how few African American chefs were interviewed.

He got another shock in 2018 when he discovered that the rst 27 inductees to the American Royal Barbecue Hall of Fame in Kansas City included only one Black chef and one Native American.

Soon after, he started work on “Black Smoke.” Published in 2021, it recently won Miller his second James Beard Foundation Book Award.

The birth of barbecue

A self-confessed ‘cue head, Miller has written a loving, humorous and unsparing account of both barbecue history and the contemporary scene, including pro les of Black and Native American pitmasters who should be much better known than they are. He traces the birth of barbecue, exploring West African styles of cooking which traveled to America along with the slave trade and may have in uenced barbecue’s spicy seasoning and sauces. Another in uence? e Caribbean’s Indigenous people, who cooked plants and small animals on raised platforms over outdoor res. eir delicious barbacoas gave American barbecue its name.

Native Americans also contributed. In Virginia, early colonists and their enslaved workers encountered local Indians cooking on raised platforms, on rotating spits and over shallow pits. Black cooks learned

these techniques and adapted them, adding a powerful dose of hickory smoke.

In the antebellum South, large barbecues became the celebrations of choice for weddings, parties and political rallies. Whole hogs, ox, kid and other animals — including ‘possums and racoons — were smoked over open pits by expert Black cooks, who sat up all night, turning and basting.

“Even though (barbecue’s) roots in pit-style cooking on plantations are well known,” Miller wrote, “it’s largely attributed to the exceptional taste and unique skill of the White pitmasters who have claimed it as their own.”

He faults current media coverage, which tends to glorify White men as the most in uential barbecue chefs. Kind of like claiming that Benny Goodman invented jazz.

In “Black Smoke,” Miller re-distributes the credit where it belongs.

From Denver to the White House and back again e author, who graduated — appropriately enough — from Smoky Hill High School in Aurora, did not expect to become the bard of barbecue. He went on to get a law degree from Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., serve as a special assistant in the Clinton White House and as a policy analyst for former Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter.

Despite these prestigious posts, his heart lay elsewhere. He began exploring African American foodways with his rst book, “Soul Food: the Surprising Story of an American Cuisine, One Plate at a Time,” which won Miller his rst James Beard Foundation Book Award in 2014. ree years later he published “ e President’s Kitchen Cabinet,” which introduced readers to the many talented Black chefs, some enslaved, who cooked in the White House.

Although “Black Smoke” has a national perspective, Miller dishes up many choice morsels of Denver barbecue lore. He takes his audience back to the 1880s when a group of Denver businessmen hired Columbus B. Hill, an African American barbecue chef, to cater a picnic for 2,500 people. e meal, Miller wrote,  featured pit-smoked “…beef, possum and other tempting delicacies.”

One problem: as Hill’s fame spread, thousands of uninvited guests began showing up at his barbecues.

“…and they were hungry,” Miller noted dryly in “Black Smoke.”      Even for possum.

Miller also pro les Denver’s most beloved pitmaster, “Daddy” Bruce

Randolph. e Arkansas native, who started barbecuing as a teen to earn extra money, arrived in Denver in 1960. Daddy Bruce did odd jobs until he could no longer resist the siren call of smoke. He was well into his 60s when he founded Daddy Bruce’s Bar-B-Q in Denver’s Five Points neighborhood. His stellar reputation wafted all over town and eventually he became the o cial caterer of the Denver Broncos. Kind and deeply spiritual, Randolph also began the custom of serving free anksgiving dinners to the needy, a Denver tradition that continues today.

Introducing barbecue royalty

In sidebars throughout the book, Miller pro les 20 notable African American and Native American barbecue chefs. e book is also studded with 22 recipes “straight from the pit,” from Old Arthur’s Pork Belly Burnt Ends to Chef Kenny Gilbert’s Alligator Ribs.  ere are no ‘possum recipes.  But most will not consider this a drawback.

A certi ed barbecue judge to the core, Miller ends “Black Smoke”

by listing his 20 favorite African American barbecue restaurants throughout the country. In 2021, when the book was published, no Denver restaurant made the cut. Still, in the past decade, Denver’s barbecue scene has caught re and there are now many more contenders. Miller’s website currently lists more than a dozen of his favorite Denver-area barbecue sources, including several Black-owned establishments: Hungry Wolf BBQ in Aurora, Plates by the Pound BBQ also in Aurora and Mississippi Boy Cat sh & Ribs in Denver’s Northeast Park Hill neighborhood.  is June, the Mile High City will host the fourth Denver BBQ Festival at Empower Field, a massive cook-o that draws thousands of hungry ‘cue heads. Last year’s 14 competitors included only one Black pitmaster.

But as he surveys the barbecue scene, Miller still nds many reasons for hope. ese include the fact that in 2019, the Royal American Barbecue Hall of Fame responded to his criticism about its lack of diversity — and invited him to join the board.

ing after the talk. “Black Smoke” can be purchased through the History Colorado website, historycolorado.org, or at the museum gift shop. It is also sold at the Tattered Cover.

Tickets cost $15 for the general public and $10 for History Colorado members. Tickets can be purchased on History Colorado’s website.

To learn more about Miller and his books, visit adrianemiller.com.

According to Denver author Adrian Miller, a self-described ‘cue head, “my barbecue touchstone is a pork sparerib. Everything else is secondary.” His book, “Black Smoke,” profiles the largely unsung African Americans who molded barbecue into a major cuisine.

PHOTO BY PAUL MILLER

The Rosenberry Lecture series will present a talk by James Beard Awardwinning author Adrian Miller from 1-2 p.m. on March 22 at the History Colorado Center, 1200 Broadway, in Denver. Miller will provide an entertaining look at the people and places that shaped Colorado’s barbecue traditions, as described in his latest book, “Black Smoke: African Americans and the United States of Barbecue.” There will be a book sign-

Arts events start year going strong

Arapahoe Libraries

Arapahoe Libraries present graphic novelist R. Alan Brooks, who will spend an evening via Zoom with adults and teens on Feb. 23 from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. His graphic hovels include “ e Burning Metronome and Anguish Garden” and he writes the weekly comic “What’d I Miss” for the Colorado Sun. Register and get Zoom information at 303-542-7279.

Big dogs

e Dumb Friends League says adoption fees for big dogs (40 pounds and over) will be reduced by 40% through February. Both the Denver and Castle Rock DFL Centers have more large dogs

SONYA’S SAMPLER

than they can easily manage this winter.

Cly ord Still Museum e Cly ord

Still Museum in Denver will exhibit “AWful Bigness,” a collection of the artist’s biggest paintings, beginning this week, through Sept. 10. 2023. e museum is at 1250 Bannock St., Denver. 720-354-4875, cly ordstillmuseum.org.

Kirkland Museum

”Vance Kirkland’s Cosmos” is open at the Kirkland Museum, 1201 Bannock St., Denver, with a changed display of Kirkland’s art selected by curator Hugh Grant and deputy curator Christopher Herron. 303-832-8576, kirklandmuseum.org.

Soprano performance

Soprano Michelle DeYoung will perform at 7:30 p.m. March 30 at the Newman Center, 2344 E. Ili Ave., Denver. Tickets start at $34. 303-8717720, newmancenterpresents.com. She appears regularly with national and international symphony orchestras and opera companies.

Bird count

e Great Backyard Bird Count, conducted nationally by the Audubon Society, is this week. Take 30 minutes to count birds at your back yard feeder and report to the national organization. e local Audubon Center is looking for new members, including members of the Young Birders Club. See their website at denveraudubon.org for information — and pay a visit if you are not yet acquainted. Potential Master Birders Program members, who train for a year, will begin in July 2023. Check the website for young birder’s outings, Nature walks for adults and more... Urban Interns train March to May. 303979-2473.

IRS to Coloradans: Don’t file your taxes yet

BY SARAH MULHOLLAND COLORADO PUBLIC RADIO

Coloradans may owe federal taxes on last year’s TABOR refunds.

e IRS says the state’s residents should hold o on ling their tax returns until the agency gures out how it’s going to handle the issue. e IRS issued the directive to residents of several states that received refunds or special payments in 2022.

Coloradans shouldn’t have to pay any taxes on TABOR refunds, according to the state’s revenue department. TABOR, which stands for the Taxpayer’s

Bill of Rights, goes back to 1992 in Colorado. e law requires the state to return excess state revenues to taxpay-

ers.

“We have done so on various occasions and through various statutory methods,” Dan Carr, a spokesperson for Colorado’s revenue department, said in an emailed statement. “We have provided this information to the Internal Revenue Service in response to the questions they’ve raised to many states. We will continue to monitor the IRS process and be clear on our position that these refunds are not taxable.”

Colorado’s excess tax revenues totaled about $3 billion last year. at resulted in sizable refund checks of $750 for individuals and $1,500 for joint

lers. Normally those refunds would have been paid this spring, but Gov. Polis and the legislature moved up the timeline to last summer.

Last year, 19 states o ered special tax refunds and payments, according to the Associated Press. Many were meant to provide relief from in ation. Colorado’s TABOR refunds, though not prompted by in ation, were issued at the same time as the other states’ checks.

is story is from CPR News, a nonpro t news source. Used by permission. For more, and to support Colorado Public Radio, visit cpr.org.

Coloradans are being told to delay filing taxes due to issues with TABOR refunds. SHUTTERSTOCK

Most Endangered Places list gains sites

BY CARL BILEK COLORADO PUBLIC RADIO

Preservationists are in a constant race against time to save historic places at risk of being lost not just to the wrecking ball, but also to neglect and the elements.

Each year, Colorado’s Most Endangered Places, a program of Colorado Preservation, Inc., adds new sites to the list. is year’s theme is “Closer to the Heart.”

“It really begins with community. A grassroots movement,” said Katie Peterson, director of Colorado’s Most Endangered Places.

“History is not just museums,” she told Colorado Matters senior host Ryan Warner. “It’s living, you know, just driving by all of the places that my great-great grandparents or my greatgreat-great-grandparents did. Feeling and reliving your ancestors’ past is truly what history is about.”

Colorado’s Most Endangered Places works with communities and partners to raise both awareness and money to try to save sites at risk of being lost. In the past 25 years, it’s highlighted 135 historical sites in Colorado. Fifty- ve were saved and eight were lost.

Junita Martinez lives in the town of San Francisco, Colorado in the San Luis Valley. She is working to save a small one-room adobe structure called the Feminilas Building which was spearheaded by the women’s auxiliary in the 1920s.

“ e building has gone into disrepair, disarray. It’s because I don’t think people understood the signi cance of it even though it was the community’s aunties and grandmas and mothers that belonged to it,” said Martinez. “It brings our community together and we can actually see a building that’s part of the roots of our community, part of the heart of our community, which I like. is building is the heart of our village.”

Here are the endangered locations featured on this year’s list, as well as one previous structure now listed as “saved” and another previous structure that has been lost.

Endangered: Feminilas Building, San Luis Valley, Costilla County

e Feminilas Building is in San Francisco, Colorado, near San Francisco Creek, which brings water to the region. It is the only known structure separately owned and operated by the women’s auxiliary of the men’s labor organization, La Sociedad Protección Mutua de Trabajadores Unidos (SPMDTU). It was spearheaded by the women’s auxiliary as a place to meet and fundraise.

e one-room adobe building is at risk of collapsing due to the elements. Colorado Preservation, Inc. says the building preserves the unique traditions, language, and culture of the San Luis Valley and the contributions of Hispanic women.

Endangered: Far View Visitor Center, Mesa Verde National Park, Montezuma County

e Far View Visitor Center was built in 1967 and is one of the rst visitor centers in the National Park Service. It closed in 2012. One idea is to preserve and renovate the building which features a unique architectural design and create a center for the Indigenous community in the region. Colorado Preservation, Inc. is hoping to partner with the National Park Service to save this building.

Endangered: Garcia School, San Luis Valley, Costilla County

e Garcia School is another adobe building, constructed in 1913. It is on the State Register of Historic Properties and is one of the last structures of Plaza de Los Manzanares, the site of the rst European settlement in Colorado. e Centennial School District has received a Colorado Department of Education and Connecting Colorado Students Grant (CCSG) for $3.2 million to create an internet and remote learning center in the Garcia School.

Endangered: Koch Homestead, near Aspen, Pitkin County

e Koch Homestead was critical to the settlement and development of Aspen. Also known as the Adelaide Ranch, the remaining structures are deteriorating. e Koch Homestead provided services like meat, produce, dairy, lumber, and fresh water to the rst miners and settlers in Aspen beginning in 1887. e U.S. Forest Service owns the property which is near hiking trails.

Endangered: South Platte Hotel, Je erson County

e hotel was built in 1913 after the original, constructed in 1887, was lost to arson. It is the only building left of the South Platte community and represents Colorado’s narrow gauge railroad history. e building has been owned by Denver Water since 1987 and while it is slated for demolition, there is growing interest among the community and historic organizations to work with Denver Water to nd an adaptive reuse of the building.

Saved: R&R Market, San Luis Valley, Costilla County

e R&R Market, now known as the San Luis Peoples Market in Costilla County, had been family-owned since

1857 and was in danger of being lost to the ravages of time. It was the oldest business in the state. Dr. Devon Peña has since purchased the building and has opened a store that provides fresh produce to the region and will soon o er a hardware store.

Lost: Craig Depot, Mo at County e Craig Depot, built in 1917 in the town of Craig, was demolished in April after plans to relocate it fell through. e depot at one point

served as a key shipping stop in the region for wool. Before it was destroyed, the Museum of Northwest Colorado was able to preserve a clock, a bench, a destination sign, and some of the bones of the building which are made of Carnegie Steel.

is story is from CPR News, a nonpro t news source. Used by permission. For more, and to support Colorado Public Radio, visit cpr.org

TURN TO THE COLORADO SUN FOR NEWS ACROSS THE STATE

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In this way, The Sun contributes to a more vibrant, informed and whole Colorado.

The Sun, launched in 2018, is committed to fact-based, in-depth and non-partisan journalism. It covers everything from politics and culture to the outdoor industry and

education.

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For Colorado Sun stories, opinions and more, and to support The Sun’s misssion as a member or subscriber, visit coloradosun. com.

The South Platte Hotel in Je erson County.

COURTESY OF COLORADO PRESERVATION

The South Platte Hotel circa 1910.

COURTESY PHOTO

Age is not a factor in heart disease risk

Heart issues can attack all ages

BY HALEY LENA HLENA@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

It is a common myth that heart disease does not a ect the younger population. However, Dr. Je Park, a cardiologist with Aurora Denver Cardiology Associates at e Medical Center of Aurora says that is a common myth.

“High long standing blood pressure issues with long standing cholesterol issues, long standing diabetes, yeah, that puts you at higher risk for sure,” said Park. “But there’s de nitely a genetic component.”

Heart disease can present itself in many ways to di erent people and may not always be obvious.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, conditions such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, smoking, obesity, diabetes and unhealthy eating patterns are appearing among younger people and placing them at a higher risk for heart disease.

“ e patients are getting younger, we’ve had heart attacks in patients who are in their twenties,” said Park.

ere are certain genetic conditions where individuals are at increased risk of having a heart attack, Park said. Cholesterol issues is a primary indicator.

One example given by Park is a

condition called familial hypercholesterolemia, or FH. is is a genetic disorder where people have high low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels. People have a predisposition for heart disease at that point as the body cannot recycle bad lipids, Park said.

“You’re like ‘I’m too young to see a doctor’ and I’m guilty of that same concept, you know, but it’s a matter of if you get identi ed early on, it’s a matter of your treatment starts earlier and you’re protected early,” said Park.

Park says it’s never too soon to check one’s heart health. e American Heart Association has ways to help prevent heart disease throughout each stage of life, starting when at 20 years and older.

Heart disease is a man’s disease

“ at’s a false, false, false statement,” said Park. “I think I’ve treated more women than I have treated men, or at least equally, and I guess it’s a matter of what’s the cause of the heart disease that you’re talking about.”

According to Park, heart disease and heart attacks in women present themselves di erently from men.

It might notbe the typical chest pain and it might not be the typical exertional component that people tend to think about, said Park. Women can feel some indigestion but end up having a heart attack.

A map presented by the CDC shows heart disease death rates

1-877-328-1512

among women 35 and older across the U.S.

According to the CDC, between 2018 and 2020, the Colorado average estimated heart disease death rate for all races and ethnicities in women 35 and older was 195 per 100,000 people. e average esti-

mated number for Douglas County was 154.

Symptoms do not always occur while the body is doing physical activity, Park said, symptoms can arise while the body is resting.

“Even if you’re feeling great, you never know,” said Park.

Dr. Je Park with a model heart in support of Heart Month. CREDIT: RACHEL ROBINSON

Thu 2/23

Art: Hands-On Introduction to DSLR Photography (16+yrs)

@ 2am Feb 23rd - Mar 22nd

PACE Center, 20000 Pikes Peak Avenue, Parker

Sun 2/26

Tue 2/28

Stephen Pearcy @ 8pm

Wild Goose Saloon, 11160 S Pikes Peak Dr, Parker

Fri 2/24

CW & Twenty Hands High @ 8pm

The Englewood Tavern, 4386 S Broadway, Englewood

Phat Daddy @ 8pm

Q's Pub and Grill, 10133 W Chat�eld Ave, Littleton

Koyo @ 8pm Gothic Theatre, 3263 S Broadway, Engle‐wood

Friday Movie - The Good House @ 9pm Heather Gardens Clubhouse, 2888 S. Heather Gardens Way, Aurora

Binomio De Oro De America en Concierto @ 10pm / $50-$80

Stampede, 2430 South Havana, Aurora

Fleming Mansion Walkthrough (for permit holders only) @ 10pm

Fleming Mansion, 1510 S. Grant St., Den‐ver. 720-913-0654

Sat 2/25

Highlands Ranch 5k/10k @ 9:30am / $33-$48

9651 S Quebec St, Highlands Her‐itage Regional Park, Highlands Ranch

American Authors @ 8pm

Gothic Theatre, 3263 S Broadway, Englewood

Wed 3/01

Theater: Parker on Broadway (1015yrs) @ 12:30am

Mar 1st - May 9th

PACE Center, 20000 Pikes Peak Ave., Parker

Kids’ Zone: Dino Stomp (3-6 yrs) W/S23 @ 5pm

Mar 1st - Mar 29th

Parker Recreation Center, 17301 E Lincoln Ave., Parker

Declutter Your Home @ 6pm

Mar 1st - Mar 29th

Dan Bremnes: Marriage Date Night @ 6:30pm

Authentic Life Church, 6500 W Coal Mine Ave, Littleton

Bayside "Just Like Home" Tour (with I Am The Avalanche + Koyo)

@ 7pm Gothic Theatre, 3263 S Broadway, Englewood

Trouble Bound: AMERICANA CIRCUS @ 7pm

Moe's Original BBQ, 3295 S Broadway, Englewood

JD Eicher @ 7pm Twenty Mile House Concerts, 11875 Cattle Lane, Parker

Banda Los Recoditos @ 9pm / $50

Stampede, 2430 South Havana, Aurora

Baking Soda Volcano @ 11am

Sinners & Saints, 221 Perry St, Castle Rock

Heather Gardens Clubhouse, 2888 S. Heather Gardens Way, Aurora

Mad Caddies @ 8pm Gothic Theatre, 3263 South Broadway, En‐glewood

DJ Rockstar Aaron: Forbidden Bingo at 'Bout Time Pub & Grub @ 8pm

Bout Time Pub & Grub, 3580 S Platte River Dr A, Sheridan

Thu 3/02

Denver Concert Band: A European Sojourn @ 2pm / $22

Lone Tree Arts Center, 10075 Commons Street, Lone Tree. Info@ DenverConcertBand.org, 720-5091000

Mon 2/27

Modern Swing Mondays @ 6pm / $10 Stampede, 2430 South Havana, Aurora

Volleyball: Youth - Ages 10 to 12Spring 2023 @ 11pm

Feb 27th - May 6th Parker Fieldhouse, 18700 E Plaza Dr, Parker

Shallow Side @ 8pm

Wild Goose Saloon, Parker

HE$H @ 9pm

powered by

Heart of the matter

EDITOR’S COLUMN

We are fully emerged into February, the month each year when medical professionals and healthcare organizations try to bring more awareness to heart health. While it should be a year-round priority for everyone, February is speci cally aimed at putting a focus on cardiovascular health.

I am extremely proud of my name. To be called “ elma” comes with some pride every time I hear it. You see, I was named after my grandmother who died months before I was born. As I am often told, my grandmother wanted a granddaughter so badly.

I never go to meet her. So, I got the next best thing — her name.

My grandmother was 50 years old when she died of a heart attack. My mom’s side of the family is a mess when it comes to genetic health, but the heart is the biggest concern.

My mom was afraid to turn 50 because of heart issues that owed through her family. When 50 came and went — she was relieved, but she de nitely keeps up with heart testing and taking preventative measures.

For me, now in my 40s, I tend to ask my doctor a lot of questions about my heart. I share a name with a woman I never met because in the 1970s there was a lot less information available to people about heart health.

ere really wasn’t a month aimed speci cally at raising hearth health awareness.

A heart problem can be sneaky, since symptoms can present di erently in every individual. Someone with heart disease or heart failure may not experience the same symptoms as another person with the same condition.

While breast cancer tends to get a lot of attention in terms of women’s health and preventative measures — heart disease is actually a bigger culprit each year.

According to the CDC, despite e orts to increase awareness, only 56% of women recognized heart disease as the top killer. As the leading cause of death for women in the U.S., heart disease was responsible for 314,186 women dying in 2020. at equates to 1 in every 5 female deaths.

For personal reasons I write about women, but in reality, heart disease has a huge e ect on the entire U.S. population.

According to the CDC, one person dies every 34 seconds in the U.S. of cardiovascular disease. In total, 697,000 Americans died in 2020 of heart disease. at equates to 1 in every 5 deaths.

According to the CDC, the term heart disease refers to several types of heart conditions because it all goes toward issues a ecting the blood ow around the heart. Decreased blood ow, for instance, can cause a heart attack.

Sometimes heart disease can go completely unnoticed and undiagnosed until a person su ers from a heart attack, heart failure or arrythmia.

Instead of waiting for something major to happen, health o cials continue to stress the need to be proactive in healthcare, meaning taking preventative measures and tests as directed each year.

For more information on issues of the heart, visit the American Heart Association website at heart.org.

elma Grimes is the south metro editor for Colorado Community Media.

LINDA SHAPLEY Publisher lshapley@coloradocommunitymedia.com

MICHAEL DE YOANNA

Editor-in-Chief michael@coloradocommunitymedia.com

THELMA GRIMES South Metro Editor tgrimes@coloradocommunitymedia.com

We cannot manage what we do not know

As a partner and potential sales channel to the enterprise selling team, they were faced with a decision to make about an interaction they had with a new account executive they had just started working with. ere was a lack of follow-up on the account executive’s part and the partner was torn between letting the young account executive’s boss know, or not.

Ultimately, he decided to call their boss because they wanted to provide a coaching opportunity for the young new hire. e leader was grateful and said, “ ank you as I cannot x something that I do not know is broken, and I cannot manage what I do not know.”

ere is so much sensitivity around what we can say and what we cannot or should not say. We fear that it may not be our place to say anything at all, after all we may become the one where others choose to point the nger of blame. We would rather keep our mouth shut and let the next person who receives bad service or experiences a problem be the one to share their concerns. Maybe they are braver than we are in those moments.

e question becomes this, wouldn’t we want to know if something that we, or someone in our family, circle of friends, or company was doing something, or had

CHRISTY STEADMAN

Editor csteadman@coloradocommunitymedia.com

LINDSAY NICOLETTI Operations/ Circulation Manager lnicoletti@coloradocommunitymedia.com

ERIN ADDENBROOKE Marketing Consultant eaddenbrooke@coloradocommunitymedia.com

done something, that wasn’t right and could potentially be harmful to others or to our family or business? Most of us would answer the same way, of course we would.

In the case above, the leader did use it as a coaching moment and the young account executive embraced the feedback and became determined to make a change in his response times and doing what they said they would do when they said they would do it.

Another friend I know stopped going to the same co ee shop they had been stopping by every morning for years. When I asked them why, they said that the shop had started serving co ee that wasn’t as hot as it should be. I asked them if they let the manager know. ey shook their head and said, “No.” is was a simple or minor issue that, if the manager had known or been told, could have been easily resolved.

We know parents who have approached the o cials of the school where their child was being bullied. e o cials were given the opportunity to x what was broken. ey now knew what they had to manage, yet they refused to take action. e nal outcome was that the child was transferred to another school and thankfully, was met with a new set of friends who they became very close with, enjoying a wonderful and safe high school experience.

It’s no di erent at home or in any relationship. If we do not know what is broken,

SEE NORTON, P13

Columnists & Guest Commentaries

Columnist opinions are not necessarily those of the Herald-Dispatch.

We welcome letters to the editor. Please include your full name, address and the best number to reach you by telephone.

Email letters to letters@coloradocommunitymedia.com

Deadline Wed. for the following week’s paper.

Thelma Grimes

We must focus on the programs that garner bipartisan support

I’ve been around a long time, but the last couple of years of politics has drained me. I’ve grown tired of the constant ghting, bickering and general feeling of resentment. While politics has never been happy-go-lucky, when I was young it seemed like politicians got things done. I am hoping that over the next few years something will change, and we can get back to working together to make our lives and our country better.

Until then, I think it’s important we focus on the programs and services that garner bipartisan support. One of those programs that has wide bipartisan support, both at the federal and state level,

is Medicare Advantage. Providing highquality, a ordable health care to seniors and people with disabilities should not be a controversial topic, and I’m glad our legislators seem to agree.

e reason for this bipartisan support is that Medicare Advantage has proven itself to be an e ective program, accomplishing its purpose of providing top-quality health care to some of our most vulnerable Americans, while also being a scally responsible program.

I encourage our federal and state representatives to support bipartisan policy, starting with Medicare Advantage.

Sincerely,

Pauline Pfundstein, Denver

MAZING DENVER WITH WARREN STOKES

Denver workers deserve leadership Workers deserve to be paid for the work that they do. is is a simple concept and seems like common sense, but folks would be surprised to learn that there are frequent cases in which employees are not paid correctly. We refer to this as “wage theft” and Coloradans lose roughly $728 million in stolen wages, annually.

Denver City Council unanimously voted in favor of providing Denver Labor new tools to ensure that employees are paid properly. Denver City Council should be lauded for doing the work to collaboratively pass this legislation.

ese new rules will require thoughtful implementation and a clear fåocus on equity since the majority of stolen wages target people of color, immigrants, refugees, people with disabilities and other vulnerable populations. I’m running for auditor to bring this kind of forward-looking vision to the Denver Auditor’s O ce. Denver’s workers deserve leadership.

Erik Clarke is a manager at a large accounting rm focused on nancial advisory and strategy. He’s a candidate for Denver City Auditor in the upcoming municipal election.

ABOUT LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Colorado Community Media welcomes letters to the editor. Please note the following rules:

• Email your letter to letters@coloradocommunitymedia.com. Do not send via postal mail. Put the words “letter to the editor” in the email subject line.

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we cannot manage or x what we do not know. We have to provide others a safe environment to share what they see as a problem or an area that can be improved, and then be vulnerable enough to acknowledge that it can be better and then take the steps necessary to x the problem.

Two of the most important ingredients to any successful relationship, husband-wife, parentchild, teacher-student, employeremployee, company-customer, or any other relationship are com-

munication and trust. And when we can honestly and openly share with others what needs to change or be managed better, most times we will be seen as being helpful as again, none of us can x or manage what we do not know is broken or a problem in the rst place.

How about you? Do you feel safe and comfortable sharing with your boss, partner, co-worker or the manager of a store where you frequently shop what is broken or needs to be managed better or di erently? Or would you rather someone else take that responsibility? I would love to hear your story at gotonorton@gmail.com, and when we can be open to managing and xing what we know to be bro-

ken, it really will be a better than good life.

Michael Norton is an author, a personal and professional coach,

consultant, trainer, encourager and motivator of individuals and businesses, working with organizations and associations across multiple industries.

This maze art features “Daddy” Bruce Randolph, a Denver restaurateur known for his humanitarianism -- particularly feeding the hungry. In Denver, he has both a school and a street named in his honor. This maze can be solved by starting at the S in any of the four corners, and mazing-out to about the middle of the picture to the W for win near Randolph’s eyes.

The Long Way Home

State leaders, communities search for solutions

BY MICHAEL DE YOANNA MICHAEL@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

For a month, our reporters and editors brought you stories of your neighbors, your would-be neighbors and even people who struggle to survive under bridges. We are all a ected by the rising costs of housing across the Denver area.

e problem is clear: Prices for homes and rents have skyrocketed in recent years. And though the trend shows signs of leveling out, prices are nothing like they were just a few years ago. Jumps in values of hundreds of thousands of dollars were common in the past ve years. For instance, in Brighton, northeast of Denver, and in Littleton, to the south, home values rose $225,000-$300,000, respectively, between 2017 and 2022. Renters are also giving more of their paychecks to their landlords.

Experts at Denver-based Root Policy Research, which studies housing issues, say 700,000 Colorado families are “cost burdened.” e term describes households that devote 30% or more of their income to rent or mortgages. Alarmingly, even families earning as much as $75,000 can be considered burdened.

is week, we look at potential

STRESSES

bumper tra c.”

solutions, starting with some espoused by Jared Polis, the Democratic governor who last month surprised us with his intense focus on housing during his annual State of the State Address. Colorado “will soon face a spiraling point of no return” if housing remains on the course that it is now, Polis said.

Senior Reporter Ellis Arnold rushed to the Capitol for Polis’ news conference after the speech, getting a few o -the-cu answers. Billions of dollars have already been spent in recent years to make housing more a ordable, the governor says. He highlighted federal American Rescue Plan Act funds, the stimulus that came during the COVID-19 pandemic. Also, Colorado voters in November decided to earmark hundreds of millions of dollars a year through Proposition 123, which backs local housing a ordability e orts.

Yet, for all the tax dollars involved, the governor says, “We can’t just buy our way out of this.” Local rules, like zoning, need to be addressed too, he said.

Experts have told our reporters the same. Reporter McKenna Harford looks at how changes to zoning, among other strategies, can make housing more a ordable. Meanwhile, reporter Luke Zarzecki looks at how the devel-

opment of our cities contributes to health-harming pollution and how ideas like better-planned transit can improve our air and reduce climate change. Reporters Belen Ward and Steve Smith look at tiny homes and how di cult it can be to nd a home, even with some help.

In the end, there is no one solution and, frankly, the problem looks like it will continue, and potentially worsen, in the months ahead. Yet we acknowledge e orts to reverse the trend, including collaborations between federal, state and local o cials on myriad projects in our communities. We also hope that they are successful and that Colorado does not turn into what Polis decries — his portrayal of California as a poorly-planned nightmare, where residents face shortages in drinking water, commute on clogged highways and pay $1 million for a typical home.

In the months ahead, we plan to follow up with o cials and hold them accountable for their promises to improve the situation. We will ask for speci cs and then seek out local leaders and residents for their reactions. We also plan forums where our readers and local leaders can join us to speak about the work that needs to be done. In the meantime, we welcome your letters with ideas.

people their rst foothold in homeownership, a home that they can build equity in and, as their family grows, sell and reinvest the pro ts to upgrade to a bigger one.

Contributors to the project include:

e governor then pivoted to what he sees as solutions. Since 2019, he said, billions of dollars have been invested in housing. For instance, American Rescue Plan Act funds have gone toward projects around the state, he said. And Colorado voters in November passed Proposition 123, which is expected to bring hundreds of millions more dollars to a ordable housing e orts in the years ahead. “But we can’t just buy our way out of this,” Polis added.

Public o cials, he said, need to break down rules that stand in the way of building more housing. at idea resonates with experts like Christy Rogers, who teaches housing policy at the University of Colorado Boulder.

“Where are our starter homes?” Rogers said. “Where’s our ability to provide housing for a bunch of di erent income levels?”

Many communities need more variety. Some need more density, housing units built closer together, she said.

Housing advocates often point to “the middle,” homes that are neither large, single-family units nor big apartment complexes. e middle consists of smaller single-family units and condos that get

e governor appears to be headed in a direction where that kind of market is more possible. He said he wants to “legalize more housing choices for every Coloradan” while “protecting the character” of the state.

Yet it is an idea marked mostly by the sweeping language of the governor’s speech — at least for now.

Colorado Community Media asked the governor for more details since his address. In one statement, the governor said only that “across our state we need more housing for purchase and for rent at a lower price, and I look forward to working on all ways we can help make this happen.”

In another sign, the governor touted Lakewood’s “forward-looking vision” after he visited an apartment complex that includes some below-marketrate units and sits next to an RTD rail line.

Big spending

Another hint at what the governor wants came in response to questions after his State of the State Address. Polis said that he doesn’t want the state to get mired in age-old local debates over what the ideal mix is between a ordable and market-rate housing.

“ ere is no state AMI gure that works for

Summit County, for Denver (and) for Boulder,” Polis said, in a reference to area median income, a measure often used to determine who is eligible for housing assistance.

However the mix of new homes might look, Colorado is wading deeper into spending to boost the supply of less costly housing.

Just days before the governor’s speech, the state announced a new program expected to help create up to 5,000 “high-quality, low-cost” housing units over the next ve years. e Innovative Housing Incentive Program directs funding to Coloradobased housing manufacturers in an e ort to boost the supply of houses that aren’t built traditionally. at includes modular homes, or factory-made houses, that are assembled at the location where the homeowner will move in.

The state Capitol in Denver in January.

PHOTO BY ELLIS ARNOLD

Cities where six-figure salaries can’t buy homes

BY MCKENNA HARFORD MHARFORD@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

Aldjia Oudachene’s Littleton home is “a wish come true.”

e house is close to the school bus stop, near work and even has a guest room where Oudachene’s father stays when he visits.

“We have good neighbors who have children the same age, so they play together and I’m so happy here,” Oudachene said.

Originally from Tizi Ouzou, Algeria, Oudachene, her husband and two children moved to Littleton in October 2020. In Algeria, Oudachene’s family lived in a house they could a ord on her and her husband’s incomes as French teachers. When they moved to Littleton, Oudachene said it was a challenge.

“When we came here, we started our life from nothing,” she said. “Here, to teach French, I have to learn English rst.”

To make ends meet, Oudachene and her husband took full-time positions with Walmart, but, even then, the high cost of housing put homeownership outside of their budget. Instead, they rented a two-bedroom apartment.

“With the apartment, life was stressful for us,” she said. “ ere wasn’t a lot of space and no place for (the children) to play.”

Oudachene’s family needed more space and privacy. So they kept looking for a house. Oudachene said her family friend told her about Habitat for Humanity. e national nonpro t vision is a “world where everyone has a decent place to live.” And a ordability is a major part of the organization’s vision. e application process took about a year, but Oudachene said there was no way her family would have a house without Habitat for Humanity Metro Denver’s help. In the end, the organization provided an opportunity for the family to invest in a home within their budget.

“We would have had to wait to have the budget without Habitat,” she said. “It was so fast. Now, I’m happy to pay the mortgage because it goes into our home.”

From 2017 to 2022, the average home price in Littleton has gone up $300,000, but the city is not alone. Over the same period, Brighton saw home prices increase $225,000, Arvada saw a $275,000 increase and Lone Tree homes are up more than $470,000 on average.

As nding a ordable housing becomes harder for a growing number of Colorado families, municipalities and nonpro ts are looking to expand existing solutions like inclusionary zoning, community land trusts and deed restrictions.

Communities that have implemented one or more of these approaches report increasing their a ordable housing stock, though o cials emphasized that the complexity of Colorado’s housing situation means there is no silver bullet.

However, across the board, a key element to getting support for the expansion of a ordable housing programs is changing the mindset of who bene ts from them.

Supply, but for whom?

Another impact of rising housing

costs throughout the metro area, many communities are reaching a critical point where a majority of workers can’t a ord to live where they’re employed.

Corey Reitz, the executive director for South Metro Housing Options, an a ordable housing provider that serves Littleton and Arapahoe County, said housing prices are now una ordable even for people who take home a solid paycheck. at includes earners topping $82,000, the median household income in Adams, Arapahoe, Douglas and Je erson counties, according to data from the Colorado Housing and Finance Authority.

“In the past there was an a ordability issue around those lower (area median incomes), but we’re to a point right now where a ordability impacts so many people across a larger spectrum,” Reitz said.

Across the state, the share of housing a ordable to Coloradans has dropped signi cantly. In 2021, just 51% of the state’s housing stock was a ordable for median income earners. at’s down from 76% in 2015, according to research from the Colorado Futures Center, a nonpartisan research group out of Colorado State University.

Phyllis Resnick and Jennifer Newcomer, the authors of the study, said they believe the continuous rise in pricing, even as the housing supply grows, indicates a mismatch in the kind of housing needed and the kind of housing being built.

“ ere’s supply, but supply for who?

At what monetary level?” Newcomer asked.

It looks like this: subdivisions of fourand ve-bedroom homes, handfuls of luxury apartments and few, if any, condos and starter homes.

“ e thing that we’re trying to gure out how to illuminate most speci cally is this nuanced distinction between total rooftops and this notion of supply with respect to availability,” Newcomer said.

Resnick said the current market doesn’t incentivize the construction of lower-cost housing. Per her 2021 analysis, housing values in Colorado would need to drop by roughly one-third to return to the 2015 levels of a ordability – something unlikely to happen, experts have told Colorado Community Media throughout our four-week housing series.

e ones feeling the crunch the most are those who earn the least money,

salaries.

“I suspect when we nish our research, we’re going to nd that housing that is a ordable to people who are closer to the economic margins is sort of not feasible in the sense of being pro table for the folks who need to be out there building that housing,” Resnick said.

A Golden gap

Without the market providing entry-level housing or starter homes, nonpro ts and local governments have stepped in to try to ll the gap by subsidizing building and buying costs.

An extreme example is the city of Golden, where 95% of its workforce lives outside city limits.

Just this month, the city applied for a grant to support a $65 million partnership with Habitat for Humanity to construct 120 for-sale condos and townhomes for residents making 80% of the area median income for households.

at’s roughly $65,000 for an individual and around $93,000 for a family of four.

Golden recently completed a housing needs assessment in October, which found that both housing prices and rent increased exponentially in less than a decade. e cost of the average house in the city doubled between 2015 and 2022. For the rst half of 2022, the average single-family home sold for $1 million, up from $533,000 in 2015.

is means even relatively high-income earners in Golden are considered by the city to be burdened by housing costs.

“ e majority of the housing that we’re projected to need in the next 10 years will need to serve households at or above 120% area median income,” Golden Housing Coordinator Janet Maccubbin said. “So you’re looking at households that would make well into six gures and yet there’s not housing that exists for them in Golden.”

Maccubbin said the newly formed A ordable Housing Committee is expected to meet in February and will begin to shape the city’s response and goals for addressing housing needs.

Land and options

Habitat for Humanity Metro Denver’s approach to providing a ordable housing is to tackle two of the most expensive elements of housing — land and labor.

CEO Heather La erty said the organization, which works in Adams, Arapahoe, Denver, Douglas and Je erson counties, relies on partnerships with developers, as well as volunteers and program recipients to provide the labor.

To create a ordable housing that stays a ordable into the future, the organization utilizes Colorado Community Land Trust and deed restrictions. Under the land trust model, land is owned by a community trust or nonpro t, so homeowners only pay for the cost of the home. e trust currently has 215 properties, including townhomes and single-family homes, which serve households at or below 80% median income.

“It used to be that if we could just create an a ordable product, it would be something that would be a ordable in the future, just naturally, and that’s not the case today,” La erty said. “What (the community land trust) does is, then in law in perpetuity, it only allows those homes to be sold to homebuyers in a similar income category. So it provides a ordability initially, but it also ensures 20 years from now it is sold with an income restriction.”

In addition to the trust, Habitat for Humanity Metro Denver also uses deed restrictions to ensure homeowners meet income requirements.

La erty said the models are successful because they provide lower-cost housing, while allowing homeowners to still build equity and eventually move into market-rate housing.

“What we nd is that a homebuyer is able to get into homeownership at a price point that works for them and they then are able to build equity,” she said “It’s really a steppingstone for people who are trying to get into homeownership and bene t from the equity homeownership allows households to build. But it also means that it’s not the kind of thing that happens for one family only.”

One of Colorado’s largest land trusts, Elevation Community Land Trust, which serves Denver, Boulder, Aurora, Longmont and Fort Collins, has created 700 a ordable homes and served around 2,000 residents in its rst ve years of operating.

Rodney Milton, a board member for the Elevation Community Land Trust and executive director of the Urban Land Institute, said another bene t to having shared land is it helps to prevent displacement and keeps communities intact.

“ e problem with reaping full equity is you can leave and the next person who buys the house could a ord to buy it at a higher price and you lose the a ordability,” Milton said. “( e land trust) locks in a ordability, but it also locks in community dynamics.”

Habitat’s plan to purchase more land in its ve-county service area is evidence that the organization believes in the land trust model for successfully housing more people, La erty said.

“We don’t anticipate land getting any less expensive, even if the market cools,” she said. “We have an urgency and a problem today that we’re trying to meet, as well as a long-term problem that we anticipate, so we’re trying to solve for

Aldjia Oudachene and her husband, Idir Ouarab, pose with their children, Yacine and Anais, at their home in Littleton. Originally from Algeria, Oudachene applied to Habitat for Humanity Metro Denver for a home in Littleton, where average home prices have gone up $300,000 between 2017 and 2022.

COURTESY OF ALDJIA OUDACHENE

Metro Growth:

The Hidden Cost of Urban Sprawl

BY LUKE ZARZECKI LZARZECKI@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

Drive along the interstate into Colorado from its eastern side and the rolling plains slowly transform into vast hills of lights.

Shelley Cook, a former director with the Regional Transportation District and a former Arvada councilor, moved to the city in 1983. Back then, those lights weren’t as bright.

“(I moved) back when Olde Town was that sleepy little place and property values were cheap,” she said.

Over the decades, Denver and the cities and towns that surround it have grown together, absorbing wide open spaces in all directions. Every decade for almost a century, the region’s growth rate has outpaced the national average, according to the Metro Denver Economic Development Corporation, and prices did too.

“People aren’t able to live right in Olde Town, property values are expensive,” Cook said.

In the last 10 years, the region grew fast, and the Regional Transportation District is keeping track. RTD expects the population to keep rising, from 3.36 million people in 2020 to 4.41 million by 2050.

at means more roads, more water pipes, more single-family homes and ultimately more greenhouse gas emissions. In the past 30 years, Colorado has warmed substantially, and estimates project a rise by 2.5-5 degrees Fahrenheit by 2050.

“I’m very concerned too, have been for years,” Cook said. “But for the world, for the people who follow us and the people who live in other places and people in developing countries who are the hardest hit in many cases, I’m very, very concerned.”

Zoom in from the mounting pressures of a world issue and see Colorado’s local municipalities — and residents — at the forefront of a solution. Climate anxiety may be alleviated with solutions that aim to reduce emissions.

Housing is part of the equation.

Increasing density, building developments near transit lines and planning for other vehicles, like e-bikes, can all be solutions to the climate crisis. ough, they may come with other issues too.

Higher density results in less lawn use, accessible transit increases ridershi[ and electric cars emit less pollution. However, people are less inclined to live in dense areas, funding for transit remains low and electric cars may outsource pollution elsewhere.

Part of the problem is traced to housing and the way Americans live, according to one study from the University of California Berkeley. Households in the United States alone directly or indirectly bear responsibility for about 20% of the world’s emissions of greenhouse gases, and those households represent only 4.3% of the total global population.

Local leaders have identi ed the scope of the problem, solutions and, in some cases, new problems created by attempts at solutions.

Pouring sand on a map

Christopher Jones, director of the CoolClimate Network at the University of California, analyzed the relationship

between density and carbon emissions per household.

To measure the carbon footprints, Jones and his team looked at six key variables to estimate consumption: household income, household/family size, size of their homes, home ownership, education level and vehicle ownership.

Overall, Jones said they didn’t nd any correlation between overall density and emissions. Looking at zip codes everywhere, there are very rural areas with very low emissions, very rural areas with high emissions, cities with low emissions and so forth.

However, there exists a strong correlation between dense cities and emissions.

“It’s only when you get into the very, very high density areas that you have low emissions,” he said.

Looking at New York City, those living in Manhattan or Brooklyn have low carbon footprints, but that doesn’t necessarily mean lower emissions overall. Large cities are associated with extensive suburbs.

“It’s like pouring sand on a map. You can pour more sand in the middle and the pile just gets bigger and bigger. What you really need to do is pour the sand in a cup on the map and have it go up without going out, and we haven’t seen that in the United States,” he said.  ey don’t know if density is causing sprawl: they just know that’s what happened historically.

“Large populous cities actually have higher carbon footprints overall, even while the people who live in the urban core, their carbon footprints are much lower. So what you really need to do is prevent sprawl,” he said.

Sprawl by design

e Denver area isn’t zoned for density. Instead, it encourages the kind of growth Jones nds problematic.

Jones sees building density as a shortterm solution to reducing carbon emissions from housing. Technology and decarbonizing the economy in the long term will be much more e cient. at serves those who don’t want to change their lifestyle, as well as those who can’t a ord to live in dense areas, since density sometimes leads to pricing owners out of the area.

In Colorado, vehicle fuel and electricity are the two highest contributors to

one’s carbon footprint, according to the CoolClimate Network data.

“If you can get truly renewable electricity to power your vehicle and your home, that’s certainly the quickest thing you can do,” he said.  ough, that may take years to come.

Carrie Makarewicz, an associate professor of urban and regional planning at the University of Colorado Denver, said roughly 80% of land in the metro area is zoned for residential single-family homes.

“Of the percentage of land in the region (included in the Denver Regional Council of Governments, or DRCOG) that is zoned only for residential, whether the zoning is for low, medium or high density residential (but excluding agricultural land that allows residential), the very low density zoning is 83.9% of land. Our de nition of low density is almost exclusively single family detached,” Makarewicz wrote in an email.

Just 4.4% of the built housing units is for two-to-nine unit housing.

A lot of communities in Colorado are mostly single-family homes, resulting in less density and forcing developments to sprawl out. Within Denver metro communities, that means space is limited.

According to Root Policy Research, between 2000 and 2019, Adams County increased single-family attached homes by 34%, Arapahoe County by 26%, Douglas County by 76% and Je erson County by 11%.

Progress to diversify housing stock has picked up in some areas, such as in Douglas County. e county increased duplexes by 174%, developments with three to four units by 179%, developments with ve to 49 units by 220%, and developments with 50 or more units by 471%.

However, numbers for denser residential developments are much lower than single-family homes. In 2000 in Douglas County, there were 54,428 single-family attached homes, 103 duplexes, 738 of three to four units, 4,453 of ve to 49 units and 773 of 50 or more units.

With most of the land zoned for single-family homes, the process for developers to build anything else is more arduous for them. It means they’ll most likely face hurdles, including public hearings and approval processes

involving elected o cials.

Local purview

Zoning rules, infrastructure and transit between communities all impact climate change and a ordability. So does hyperlocal opposition to projects. at’s because housing plays a major role in how people live, and it’s decided by local electeds.

“Land use decisions are the purview of local governments exclusively,” said Jacob Riger, the long range transportation planning manager for Denver Regional Council of Governments.  It puts power within municipal government, since housing policy is local: cities set codes, they vote on plans for development and they decide how they want their land to look. at accounts for the housing stock today.

Infrastructure within cities can address climate change. Dense, walkable neighborhoods with public transit have the potential to lower carbon emissions and there are plans for such neighborhoods popping up along the Front Range — along with ghts over them.

Bill Rigler, principal at Boulder-based Greenlight Strategy, has seen it all.  “NIMBY tactics are literally the same in every community across the Front Range,” Rigler said. “I will never not be astounded by what a group of 10 or 15 angry individuals with the working knowledge of Nextdoor and Facebook can do to scuttle or dramatically alter the proposals for housing.”

NIMBY stands for Not In My Back Yard, but given the adamant opposition of groups to some projects, Rigler said a new attitude has appeared: “NOPE,” standing for Nothing On Planet Earth.  “ ere is rarely — if ever — a time I can think of where opponents to these projects have relied 100% on the truth. ey have a very uid relationship with facts,” Rigler said.

Rigler’s group works with developers to help get mixed-used and a ordable housing projects approved and only accepts developments if they reach a certain standard regarding sustainability.

He noted each one he works on goes above city building requirements, like water usage, by a factor of two or three. Even so, approval isn’t guaranteed and extra e orts by the developer increase costs.

Some of those NIMBY arguments cite defense of the environment, Rigler said. e groups cite dense developments as taking up land that would otherwise be used as open space, or that the new housing would attract more tra c, causing more pollution.

New research may counter those stances.

What about water?

When Makarewicz thinks about density and water use, she thinks of leakage from pipes.

“ ere’s a lot of leakage in our water pipes,” she said. “Each time you create those joints and individual pipes and stretch them farther out into undeveloped parts of the county, you’re losing water.”

She also thinks of lawns. Lower density areas usually require more

A map of average U.S. household carbon footprint by zip code of a zoomed-in portion of Colorado. The blue zip codes have lower carbon footprints (mostly in Denver, Boulder and mountain counties) while red have higher carbon footprints. The map is a screenshot from the CoolClimate Network. https://coolclimate.org/ maps COURTESY OF COOLCLIMATE NETWORK

The battle over tiny homes began with a bill

BY BELEN WARD BWARD@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

For some Coloradans, the American dream is a spacious home. It might have four bedrooms, several bathrooms, high ceilings, a two-car garage and a yard with a vegetable garden. For others, the dream looks di erent — and the house, smaller. Much smaller.

A “tiny home” is a fraction of the dream, often a single room with a loft. And it can be had at a fraction of the price of a traditional home.

Tiny homes are a reality after Gov. Jared Polis signed House Bill 1242 last year. e law recognizes tiny homes as a new option amid skyrocketing home values. Prices have risen so fast in recent years that many Coloradans are simply priced out of the market.

e Polis administration, in an announcement, said the law is meant to “preserve and protect housing a ordability and expand access to a ordable housing.”

While tiny home builders have applauded the bill, it wasn’t always that way. Builder Byron Fears said the legislation in its current form almost did not come together.

“ ey didn’t have the realistic side of what a tiny home is about and what it takes to build a tiny home,” Fears said.

Fears is the owner of SimBlissity Tiny Homes in Longmont. He is also on the executive committee of the nonpro t Tiny Home Industry Association, which launched in Colorado under the leadership of former Gov. John Hickenlooper and has expanded across the country.

But Fears said the original draft of the bill had the potential to put tiny home builders out of business.

He turned to state Rep. Cathy Kipp, D-Larimer County, one of the bill’s sponsors.

“We did a Zoom call the next day and then another Zoom call the following day with more people involved,” Fears said.

Boon to the industry

Eventually, changes to the bill came and the industry got on board.

e industry looks at tiny homes as a boon to the state’s tight housing market. And they’re supported by a movement: tiny-house advocates who emphasize the environmental and personal bene ts of living in smaller spaces.

e dwellings can be as large as 400 square feet but many are much smaller. Some cost around $50,000, with prices ranging up to $200,000, depending on size and amenities — a ordable, especially when compared to median Colorado home prices that are well above $500,000.

Like regular homes, they must pass a code inspection to hook up to water, sewage and utilities. e new law also addresses manufactured homes, also known as mobile homes, simplifying contract and disclosure requirements and establishing a raft of standards from escrow to inspections meant to protect homeowners.

Fears said legislators and others worked closely with builders, too.

e new law relies on the 2018 International Residential Code model, building codes written by builders around the world and adopted by individual counties, cities and towns.

e IRC’s Appendix Q speci cally addresses tiny homes and spells out the size and shape of the buildings, stairway standards, lofts and doors.

From industry to county

It all may sound dull, but those residential codes are the bread and butter of the business because they standardize tiny homes, giving builders, local communities and buyers an idea of what they can expect.

But writing the codes for national industry standards is one thing, getting counties to change zoning laws is another. e new state law simply makes it possible for county o cials to adopt tiny home rules of their own, Fears said.

works and utilities department, thinks there’s much more room to grow.

“It still going to take a lot of work to get the di erent counties to adopt the Appendix Q IRC, which is what most of the building requirements will be based around,” he said.

Fears’ group met with o cials in Adams County and said they were not interested. Adams County o cials provided no comment when contacted by Colorado Community Media.

But Fears said other counties are amenable to the idea.

“Some counties are already starting to talk with us,” Fears said.

Weld County began allowing tiny homes even before the state law passed. Tom Parko, director of the Department of Planning Services, said the county created its own policy a couple of years ago allowing people to buy a parcel of land to park a tiny home.

“We wanted to make sure the tiny home was hooked up to either a well or a public water system for potable water and then also a septic system,” Parko said. “We still do require a permanent foundation. So, the tiny home cannot be on wheels. at would be considered more of an RV and a temporary situation.”

Requirements like that can be a sticking point for some buyers. Some tiny homeowners want to have semipermanent foundations that keep the homes secure but allow them to be moved. e state is working on clarication about the foundations, Fears said.

“It is one of our most signi cant sticking points and that clari cation will become guidelines counties can adopt or not adopt,” Fears said.

Weld County has more to explore, Parko said. e current rules treat a potential tiny home community like a mobile home park.

“It would allow somebody to buy 40 acres, and then allow 20 tiny homes to park on one parcel very similar to what you might nd in a mobile home park,” Parko said.

boundaries as population increases.

Parko said it gets a little more complicated when considering utilities. Weld County is not a water and sewer provider in unincorporated areas and in communities like Fort Lupton. Special districts and utilities need to provide those services.

“Also sewerage and septic also have to be addressed,” Parko said. “It’s those types of things we’re kind of batting around a little bit to accommodate more of a tiny home community. But we certainly allow tiny homes in Weld County, if it’s just one per parcel.”

With tiny home living an option, Parko recommended contacting the local planning and zoning departments in the county where you are interested in living before making a purchase to ensure they’re allowed.

Home, sweet tiny home

But for residents and buyers of tiny homes, all the regulatory wrangling is worth it. Sandy Brooks is one of those people. She was 75 years old when she purchased her tiny home in 2019.

“I’m older than most, and tiny homes are wonderful for older people,” she said. “I would rather buy a tiny home and live in it for many years than pay a lot for independent living. I feel like I’m living independently now.”

Brooks describes her tiny home as akin to a small apartment. It has a bedroom, closet, living room, and o ce space. It even has a kitchen with a dishwasher and a bathroom with a washer and dryer.

“It has all the amenities, Brooks said. “I love it, don’t regret it, and am grateful. I love my location. I live in Durango on the side of a mountain. It’s beautiful.”  Brooks said her place is perched alongside 24 other tiny homes.

“An engineer, therapists, and retired people live here, and our community helps each other,” Brooks said. “We all communicate and respect each other, and it is a wonderful place to live.”

square feet of lawns. With more units, less water is going towards Kentucky bluegrass.

Less density doesn’t always mean less water usage, either. She said it really comes down to per-person usage and how many water-based appliances are in the home.

at’s where more e cient technology plays a role. In Westminster, water consumption declined in the past two decades despite an increase in population and commercial use. In fact, Westminster added 15,000 residents to the community and 150 new commercial business accounts.

Senior Water Resources Analyst Drew Beckwith said technology a ects a large portion of that decline, like newer highe ciency toilets that use less water than older ones.

e question of how much technology can continue to improve remains, though Sarah Borgers, interim department director of Westminster’s public

“Industry-wide, I think the sense is we are not close to there yet. ere’s still a long way to go before we hit that plateau,” she said. “We don’t know what the bottom is, but we aren’t there yet.”

Pro-density ratings are low

e majority of Americans are increasingly opposed to the idea of living in dense areas. In fact, about 60% want “houses farther apart, but schools, stores and restaurants are several miles away.”

e number of Americans wanting homes “smaller and closer to each other, but schools, stores and restaurants are within walking distance” went from 47% in 2019 to 39% in 2021.

e Pew Research Center said the shift occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic with increased “telework, remote schooling and pandemic-related restrictions on indoor dining and other indoor activities.”

Despite attitudes shifting against density, Riger said the region mostly will densify with many municipalities at build-out and reaching their outward

“I think it’s going to be a mix of growing out and growing up,” he said.

With higher density comes transit options, because land use is a transportation strategy.

According to the Colorado Department of Public Health, transportation was the second largest greenhouse gas contributor for the state by sector, losing to electric power as the rst.

With mixed-use, well designed, higher density areas, residents are able to walk more, reduce their travel times and distances, and have the ability to support transit lines and bike lanes.

An example could be seen in Olde Town Arvada.

Housing on transit lines

Since Cook moved into Arvada back in 1983, she’s seen the city transform into something di erent, crediting transit oriented development with bringing life into Arvada’s Olde Town.

Cook, along with several others, teamed up with Forward Arvada, a nonpro t looking to revitalize Olde Town in the 90s. ey tasked themselves with making an idea — to run a train line along decommissioned

railroad tracks — into a reality to make sure Olde Town began to thrive.

Eventually, the G Line opened in 2019 and development began to spring up.

It didn’t happen without opposition, though. Residents voiced concerns over sacri cing the historical character of the town. In fact, the city faced lawsuits from a group called All the People regarding approving development plans to add to the transit oriented development, or TOD.

e city prevailed and the new transit oriented development transformed Arvada, Cook said. It created a center that attracts citizens from around the area and which bene ts merchants, restaurants and others.

All of that can also be attributed to the mixed-use, higher density design model, where someone can live above a bakery or right next to a co ee shop.

With less emphasis put on cars, which Cook sees as a good thing, residents can live in a place where they can walk to various places. She said it contributes to more of a family feel.

See more on urban sprawl online at coloradocommunitymedia.com/longwayhome/index.html.

BY STEVE SMITH SSMITH@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

Lisa Hojeboom has a new place to call home.

It’s a one-bedroom apartment near Chat eld Dam complete with a walkout basement, a washing machine and a neighbor’s water feature “that sounds like a babbling brook.”

It’s quite a change. Hojeboom spent a year and a half living in places other than apartments. She lived in her car. She lived in a shelter. She lived at the Northglenn Recreation Center, where she slept on the oor of the gym and could get a 30-minute shower for $4.50.

“ e rst thing I did when I moved in was soak in a hot tub,” she said. “It was so nice.”

She was among many forced out of living arrangements because of the high cost of housing.

“I never pictured myself in that situation,” she said. “I did what I had to do.”

Hojeboom lived with her brother, but soon had to move.

“New owners bought the place, and they were going to raise the rent,” she said. “When my brother found out, he bailed. I had no job. I had just broken my elbow and was out of work for six months. I was getting hired for full-time work and getting part-time hours.”

On top of that, Hojeboom said, she

MISSING MIDDLE

both today and tomorrow.”

La erty said one of the biggest challenges to expanding programs to serve more lower-income households and add moderate-income households is money. Last year, her organization received a $13.5 million donation from philanthropist MacKenzie Scott, an Amazon stakeholder, which allowed the organization to buy more property.

Even still, La erty said that Habitat likely only meets “a fraction of a percentage” of existing demand.

“We have a need in the metro area for tens of thousands of a ordable houses,”

Fighting the Odds

su ered from post-traumatic stress disorder and was on medication, making it di cult to work, not to mention driving to work.

But she did. She did it while struggling with numerous other health issues — from a blockage in her small intestine to insomnia. rough multiple visits to the hospital and bouts of extreme pain, she held onto various jobs.

After losing her home she went looking for a new place to live. But the $1,400 per month rents she could nd were out of her price range.

“ ere’s nothing to live on,” she said, a reference to how little money she would have left after paying rent. “It’s ridiculous. I wasn’t the only one in this situation.”

She felt she had no other option.

“I couldn’t a ord living anywhere except my car,” she said. “I saw no end. I couldn’t a ord rent.”

Hojeboom found herself living on the streets.

“ ere was one industrial street in ornton, LeRoy Drive,” she said. “One of the parks had a ush toilet. I was never harassed. But when I got to Northglenn, the police told me I couldn’t stay on the streets overnight. I stayed employed through this.”

She even worked in airport security. Hojeboom also had a job as a construction site agger, one that paid employees by the day. While she was

La erty said. “ at’s why we need bigger, bolder action.”

Inclusionary zoning

Another tactic some municipalities are taking is to use a relatively new tool in Colorado, inclusionary zoning ordinances. State lawmakers in 2019 approved a law to allow cities and towns to require developments to include a certain number of a ordable housing units or pay fees.

So far, only six communities have implemented inclusionary zoning: Broom eld, Boulder, Longmont, Superior, Denver and, most recently, Littleton.

Littleton’s inclusionary housing ordinance, which went into place in November, requires all new residential

recuperating from illness, she carried a cardboard sign to solicit money.

“I was fortunate,” she said. “It was Christmas and people were generous. I made $200. I froze my ass o , but I did what I had to do.”

Eventually, Hojeboom got into the City of Northglenn’s temporary winter housing program, which ran from December 2021 and ended in August. e partnership between Adams County, the city and the Denver Rescue Mission opened a temporary, 25-bed program inside the former Northglenn Recreation Center.

Northglenn’s program has since ended, but more programs are coming. Voters in November approved a ballot measure earmarking tax revenue for a ordable housing, and Gov. Jared Polis made the issue a point of emphasis in his ongoing agenda.

ose who took advantage of the program met with case managers once a month.

“I slept on the gym oor on a mat for the last six months,” she told Colorado Community Media last year. “We were given breakfast, a sack lunch, a shower and a warm place to stay.”

Finding a permanent place wasn’t easy.

“I responded to ve ads,” she said. “Only one was legitimate. e rest were scams. I thought, ‘I’m not going to give you information if that’s the way you roll.’”

developments in the city with ve or more units to make at least 5% of those units a ordable to people at or below 80% area median income for households, which is $62,000 for an individual or $89,000 for a family of four.

If developers do not include a ordable units, the inclusionary housing ordinance will levy hundreds of thousands in fees against them to be paid to the city that can then be used on other a ordable housing-related projects.

With upcoming development in the city, more than 2,500 proposed housing units will now be subject to the ordinance, presenting the potential for at least 125 a ordable units.

Littleton District 3 Councilmember Steve Barr said at the Nov. 1 council meeting that he is “not under any impression that the ordinance is going to solve housing a ordability in Littleton or south metro Denver,” but that it provides a critical tool for addressing the crisis.

e one legitimate ad turned into her new home near Chat eld Dam. It’s the rst time she’s had roommates. e city of Northglenn paid her deposit and gave her $200 more than what was necessary to secure the unit.

It’s quite a turnaround. She’d owned her own home at one point.

“I am not a loser,” Hojeboom said. “I’ve had success in my life. My career just took some bad twists. Breaking my elbow? at sucks. Not collecting disability? at sucks.”

“Being homeless sucks. I went to a food pantry, but I had no refrigeration,” she added. “I had a cooler, but I couldn’t keep food. My eating habits were not ideal.”

“It’s been a trip.”

She landed a job as a medical transport driver for a rm associated with the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center.

“My personality is perseverance, but I’m worried for people who don’t have it together,” she said. “What do landlords expect? ey are pricing everyone out of the market. Interest rates are going up, which will make it harder to nd homes.”

She drives a Jeep Wagoneer for her job.

“I never wanted to wave a cardboard sign,” Hojeboom added. “I’m resilient. I’m a diehard. I smile through the face of adversity. People like my spirit. I was an inspiration to a lot of people.”

She said when the ordinance was initially in place, a majority of developers chose to pay the fee instead of building a ordable units.

“It allowed us to provide seed money to our new independent housing authority, the Broom eld Housing Alliance, and other critical a ordable housing projects,” she said. “However, we recognized that we needed to make some adjustments to our original approach — both based on the initial data from the program, as well as through comments from developers, other stakeholders, and the community — that create better and more balanced opportunities for developers to provide on-site units while still providing the option to pay the cash-in-lieu fee.”

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Developers and others at the meeting voiced concerns about the ordinance making development too costly or di cult and warned it could result in a decrease in the overall available housing. Morgan Cullen, director of government a airs for the Home Builders Association of Metro Denver, told the Littleton council that the ordinance could burden developers to the point where projects wouldn’t be pro table, resulting in no new developments.

“ e additional a ordable units required by this ordinance will not be built if developers and builders decide that Littleton is not a suitable place to invest in the future,” Cullen said.

However, Broom eld Housing Programs Manager Sharon Tessier said in an email that its inclusionary housing ordinance has resulted in 580 a ordable rental units and 43 a ordable for-sale homes in two years.

e original ordinance required forsale single-family home developments with more than 25 units to restrict onetenth of the units to 80% of area median income or pay a fee-in-lieu. e new ordinance, updated late last year, requires for-sale single family home developments with more than 25 units to restrict 12% of the homes to 100% area median income. It also increases the fee-in-lieu based on market rate adjustments.

Tessier said the reason the inclusionary housing ordinance was implemented in 2020 was to provide the chance for more people to live where they work.

“ e idea was to expand housing affordability and to target those households that typically fall in the middle of the housing needs spectrum, meaning it would bene t those who are low middle to middle income earners,” she said. “In other words, it assists essential workers like the people who teach our children, who ght res and keep our city safe.”

Nina Joss, Rob Tann and Corrine Westeman contributed to this story.

Polis touted a company from the mountain town of Buena Vista, saying it “can build a home in roughly 18 working days, compared to close to a year for traditionally built homes.”

Alone, 5,000 new homes over several years won’t make a huge dent, but the state is also armed with other new initiatives.

Proposition 123 requires state o cials to set money aside for more a ordable housing and related programs. e money could go toward grants and loans to local governments and nonpro ts to acquire land for a ordable housing developments.

Funds could also go to help develop multifamily rentals, including apartments, and programs that help rst-time homebuyers, among other e orts. As Proposition 123 ramps up, eventually about $300 million a year will be spent around the state on such e orts.

Polis’ o ce also highlighted how millions of dollars in federal economic recovery funds were spent amid the response to the coronavirus pandemic.

In the last year, the state invested roughly $830 million into housing, including roughly $400 million based on funds from the federal American Rescue Plan Act in programs passed by state lawmakers, including:

• A ordable-housing spending detailed in House Bill 22-1304, which provides grants to local governments and nonpro ts toward investments in a ordable housing and housing-related matters.

• A loan program under Senate Bill 22159 to make investments in a ordable housing.

• e loan and grant program under Senate Bill 22-160 to provide assistance and nancing to mobile home owners seeking to organize and purchase their mobile home parks.

• e expansion of the “middle income access program” of the Colorado Housing and Finance Authority under Senate Bill 22-146. e authority, a state entity, invests in a ordable housing.

• e “Infrastructure and Strong Communities” program, also under House Bill 22-1304, to provide grants to enable local governments to invest in infrastructure projects that support a ordable housing.

ose investments build upon an additional $460 million in emergency rental

assistance, $180 million in homeowner assistance and $7 million in vouchers that Colorado also invested using federal funds, the governor’s o ce told CCM.

Polis portrayed housing as integral to the fabric of Colorado, placing it in the larger context of climate, economic and water policy.

“Building smart, e cient housing statewide, especially in urban communities and job centers, won’t just reduce costs, it will save energy, conserve our water, and protect the lands and wildlife that are so important to our Colorado way of life,” Polis said.

Beyond spending, zoning is an important tool that o cials — from the governor to city leaders — are looking at tweaking in hopes of alleviating the rising cost of housing and its e ects on communities.

State role in the mix

It’s a conversation that is older than many Coloradans. Making the case for new policies today, Polis harked back to changes from ve decades ago.

“ e last time Colorado made major land-use changes was in 1974 — before I, and most of you, were born,” Polis said. “We were a di erent state then.”

e governor’s o ce didn’t specify to CCM more about those changes, but at least two pieces of legislation arose that year that a ected how local governments regulate how land is used.

Polis seemed to tease at the possibility of state intervention in how local communities govern housing.

“Since issues like transportation, water, energy, and more inherently cross jurisdictional boundaries, it becomes a statewide problem that truly impacts all of us,” Polis said.

He spoke of the need for more exible zoning to allow more housing and “streamlined regulations that cut through red tape.” He touched on expedited approval processes for projects like modular housing, sustainable development and more building in transit-oriented communities.

e governor and his o ce also didn’t specify what changes to zoning policy he would support or oppose. Polis has not said that he wants the state to require zoning changes in cities. Instead, the governor spoke about the state leaning in on an existing policy.

“We want to lean in to allowing local governments to use tools like inclusionary zoning to help create the right mix for their community, and I think that local input in design is very important,” Polis

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Legals

Summons and Sheriff Sale

Public Notice

CITY & COUNTY OF DENVER, DISTRICT COURT

COLORADO CIVIL COURT

Denver City & County Bldg. 1437 Bannock St., Rm. 256 Denver, CO 80202

Plaintiff: Cenco Building Services, LLC, a Colorado limited liability company,

Defendants:

H+L Development, LLC, a Colorado limited liability company and Bryant W. Long, an individual

Case Number: 22CV30744 Div. Ctrm. 280

NOTICE OF LEVY OR SEIZURE

Sheriff Sale No. 22004964

STATE OF COLORADO )ss

COUNTY OF DENVER

TO THE JUDGMENT DEBTOR

BRYANT W. LONG:

Notice is hereby given that on May 9, 2022, a judgment against Bryant W. Long from the District Court of the City and County of Denver, Colorado, entered in favor of CENCO BUILDING SERVICES, LLC, in the original amount of $36,522.62, and that on December 2, 2022 the Clerk of the DENVER County Court issued a Writ of Execution commanding the Sheriff of DENVER County to levy, seize and take into possession the following real estate, to wit:

LOT 22 AND SOUTH ONE-HALF OF LOT 23, BLOCK 31, MCCULLOUGHS ADDITION 3RD FILING TO DENVER, CITY AND COUNTY OF DENVER, STATE OF COLORADO.

Otherwise identified or referred to as 2127 High Street, Denver, CO 80205 (the "Property").

You have legal rights that may prevent all or part of your money or property from being taken. That part of the money or property that may not be taken is called "exempt property." Notwithstanding your right to claim the property as "exempt," no exemption other than the exemptions set forth in C.R.S. Section 13-54-104(3), may be claimed for a Writ. The purpose of this Notice of Levy is to tell you about these rights.

If the money or property which is being withheld from you includes any "exempt property," you must file within 14 days of receiving this Notice of Levy a written claim of exemption with the Clerk of the Court, describing what money or property you think is "exempt property" and the reason that it is exempt.

You must act quickly to protect your rights. Remember, you only have 14 days after receiving this Notice of Levy to file your claim of exemption with the Clerk of Court. Your failure to file a claim of exemption with 14 days is a waiver of your right to file.

Now therefore, you BRYANT W. LONG take notice that within fourteen (14) days from the date of service hereof, if served within the state, or if served by publication, within fourteen ( 14) dates after service hereof, exclusive of the day of service, you may file with the Clerk of the above-entitled Court, a written claim of exemption which you may have under the statutes of the State of Colorado; and in case of your failure to make and file such written claim of exemption with the Clerk of said Court you shall be deemed to have waived your right of exemption under the statutes of this state.

Elias Diggins, Sheriff City and County of Denver, Colorado

By: /s/ Deputy Sheriff Sergeant Line

CERTIFICATE OF LEVY

I, Elias Diggins, Sheriff of Denver County, State of Colorado, do hereby certify that by virtue of a certain Writ of Execution to me directed, from the Denver County District Court, State of Colorado, in favor of Cenco Building Services, LLC, and against Bryant W. Long and H+L Development, LLC, jointly and severally, Defendants, dated December 2nd, 2022, I did on this 5111 day of January, 2023, levy upon the following real estate, to wit:

LOT 22 AND SOUTH ONE-HALF OF LOT 23, BLOCK 31, MCCULLOUGHS ADDITION 3RD FILING TO DENVER, CITY AND COUNTY OF DENVER, ST A TE OF COLORADO.

Otherwise identified or referred to as 2127 High Street, Denver, CO 80205 (the "Property").

Situate in the City and County of Denver, Colorado.

Elias Diggins, Sheriff City and County of Denver, Colorado

By: /s/ Deputy Sheriff

AND AGAINST DEF IN THE AMOUNT OF 36,522.62 WITH INTEREST AT THE RATE OF 10% PER ANNUM, JOINTLY AND SEVERALLY.

Debtor (s): HAND L DEV LLC BRYANT W LONG Creditor(s): CENCO BLDG SERV LLC Balance of Judgment to Date: $36,522.62

To the Sheriff of Denver County,

You are commanded to satisfy the above judgment plus interest and costs executing against any property legally subject to levy of the above-named judgment debtor(s) and to return this execution within 90 days from the date of issue, unless sale is pending under levy made.

This Summons is issued pursuant to Rule 4, C.R.C.P., as amended. A copy of the Complaint must be served with this Summons. This form should not be used where service by publication is desired.

WARNING: A VALID SUMMONS MAY BE ISSUED BY A LAWYER AND IT NEED NOT CONTAIN A COURT CASE NUMBER, THE SIGNATURE OF A COURT OFFICER, OR A COURT SEAL. THE PLAINTIFF HAS 14 DAYS FROM THE DATE THIS SUMMONS WAS SERVED ON YOU TO FILE THE CASE WITH THE COURT. YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR CONTACTING THE COURT TO FIND OUT WHETHER THE CASE HAS BEEN FILED AND OBTAIN THE CASE NUMBER. IF THE PLAINTIFF FILES THE CASE WITHIN THIS TIME, THEN YOU MUST RESPOND AS EXPLAINED IN THIS SUMMONS. IF THE PLAINTIFF FILES MORE THAN 14 DAYS AFTER THE DATE THE SUMMONS WAS SERVED ON YOU, THE CASE MAY BE DISMISSED UPON MOTION AND YOU MAY BE ENTITLED TO SEEK ATTORNEY’S FEES FROM THE PLAINTIFF.

TO THE CLERK: If the summons is issued by the clerk of the court, the signature block for the clerk or deputy should be provided by stamp, or typewriter, in the space to the left of the attorney’s name.

Legal Notice No. 82031

First Publication: January 19, 2023

Last Publication: February 16, 2023

Publisher: Denver Herald-Dispatch Public Notice

District Court, City & County of Denver, Colorado 1437 Bannock Street, Room 256 Denver, CO 80202

Plaintiff(s)/Petitioner(s): Kenny A. Tadolini

v.

Financial Services; LVNVFunding LLC; City and County of Denver Manager of Public Works; Master HOA for Green Valley Ranch; and All Other Persons who claim any interest in the real property which is the subject of this action

Attorneys for Plaintiff: HELLERSTEIN AND SHORE, P.C.

Address: 5347 S. Valentia Way, Suite 100 Greenwood Village, CO 80111

Phone Number: (303) 573-1080

Fax Number: (303) 571-1271

E-mail: dshore@shoreattys.com jelsner@shoreattys.com

Atty. Reg. #: 19973 (David A. Shore) 55149 (Jacob B. Elsner) Case Number: 022CV32986

SUMMONS

The People of the State of Colorado

To the Defendants Named Above: All Other Persons who claim any interest in the real property which is the subject of this action.

YOU ARE HEREBY SUMMONED and required to file with the Clerk of this Court an answer or other response to the attached Complaint. If service of the Summons and Complaint was made upon you within the State of Colorado, you are required to file your answer or other response within 21 days after such service upon you. If service of the Summons and Complaint was made upon you outside of the State of Colorado, you are required to file your answer or other response within 35 days after such service upon you. Your answer or counterclaim must be accompanied with the applicable filing fee.

If you fail to file your answer or other response to the Complaint in writing within the applicable time period, the Court may enter judgment by default against you for the relief demanded in the Complaint without further notice.

This is an action under C.R.C.P. 105 to foreclose a Deed of Trust encumbering real property located in Arapahoe County, State of Colorado, more particularly described as follows:

LOT 1, BLOCK 11, GREEN VALLEY RANCH FILING NUMBER 20, CITY AND COUNTY OF DENVER, STATE OF COLORADO.

The following documents are also served with this summons: Complaint with Exhibits 1-4 and Civil Case Cover Sheet.

DATED at Greenwood Village, Colorado, this 10th day of October, 2022

HELLERSTEIN & SHORE, P.C.

Pursuant to C.R.C.P. 121, 1-26(7), original signature is on file at the offices of Hellerstein and Shore, P.C. and will be made available for inspection upon request

Legal Notice No.82048

First Publication: January 26, 2023

Last Publication: February 23, 2023

Publisher: Denver Herald-Dispatch

Public Notice Broncos Towing, 303-722-3555 (office) will be applying for title to the following vehicles, abandoned.

1)2021 Kia Forte Blue 270608

2)2008 VM Boat Trailer 032694

3)2007 Blue Water Boat 00G708

4)2014 Top Hat Trailer 138091

5)1996 Glastron Boat 1215802

6)2016 Lark UnitedmTrailer 021046

7)1979 Chevy MalibuTan 418488 8) 2009 Dodge Van White 573337

Legal Notice No. 82067

First Publication: February 16, 2023

Last Publication: March 9, 2023

Publisher: Denver Herald-Dispatch

Notice to Creditors

Public Notice

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

Estate of Deirdre Hills, Deceased Case Number: 2022PR31665

All persons having claims against the above named estate are required to present them to the personal representative or to the Denver Probate Court of the City and County of Denver, Colorado on or before June 16, 2023, or the claims may be forever barred.

Defendant(s)/Respondent(s):

ROSALYNE E. MCDONALD; and all unknown persons who claim any interest in the subject matter of this action.

Address: R. Scott Fitzke, #35293 Fitzke Law, LLC

4 West Dry Creek Circle, Ste. 100 Littleton, CO 80120 Phone #: (303) 285-4470 Fax #: (303) 285-4379

E-mail: scott@fitzkelaw.net

Atty Reg No : 35293

Case Number: 2023CV030343 Division 209

SUMMONS BY PUBLICATION

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF COLORADO TO THE ABOVE-NAMED DEFENDANT(S):

You are hereby summoned and required to appear and defend against the claims of the complaint [petition] filed with the court in this action, by filing with the clerk of this court an answer or other response. You are required to file your answer or other response within 35 days after the service of this summons upon you. Service of this summons shall be complete on the day of the last publication. A copy of the complaint [petition] may be obtained from the clerk of the court.

If you fail to file your answer or other response to the complaint [petition] in writing within 35 days after the date of the last publication, judgment by default may be rendered against you by the court for the relief demanded in the complaint [petition] without further notice.

This is an action: to Quiet Title the title of the Plaintiff in and to the real property situate in the City and County of Denver, State of Colorado, and more particularly described as follows:

A strip of land 6-inches wide located in the South One-half (S ½) of Lot Five (5), Block One (1), Sundine Subdivision, City and County of Denver, State of Colorado

Dated: January 31, 2023

/s/ R. Scott Fitzke (Original signature on file)

Attorney for Plaintiff(s)/Petitioner(s)

R. Scott Fitzke, #35293 Legal Notice No. 82066

February 16,

Martin Wilson, Personal Representative 432-2300 Mansfield Drive Courtnay, BC VN9 3S3 CANADA

Legal Notice No. 82075

First Publication: February 16, 2023

Last Publication: March 2, 2023

Publisher: Denver Herald-Dispatch

Public Notice

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

Estate of Marilyn H. Shaw, Deceased Case Number: 2022PR31463

All persons having claims against the abovenamed estate are required to present them to the Personal Representative or to the Probate Court of the City and County of Denver, Colorado on or before June 9, 2023, or the claims may be forever barred.

Benjamin G. Shaw, Personal Representative 3219 Folsom St. San Francisco, CA 94110

Legal Notice No. 82062

First Publication: February 9, 2023

Last Publication: February 23, 2023

Publisher: Denver Herald-Dispatch

Public Notice

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

Estate of Francis Dennis Burns, a/k/a Francis Dennis Burns, Jr., a/k/a Francis D. Burns, a/k/a Francis Burns, a/k/a Frank Burns, Deceased Case Number: 2023PR30028

All persons having claims against the above named estate are required to present them to the personal representative or to the Denver Probate Court of the City and County of Denver, Colorado on or before June 16, 2023, or the claims may be forever barred.

Pamela Pei-Ling Liu

Personal Representative

Patrick R. Thiessen (40185)

FRIE, ARNDT, DANBORN & THIESSEN P.C. 7400 Wadsworth Blvd, Ste. 201 Arvada, CO 80003

Phone Number: 303-420-1234

Attorney for Pamela Pei-Ling Liu

Personal Representative

Legal Notice No. 82077

First Publication: February 16, 2023

Last Publication: March 2, 2023 Publisher: Denver Herald-Dispatch PUBLIC NOTICE

NOTICE TO CREDITORS Estate of Randy Leroy Willmarth, deceased Case Number: 23PR27

All persons having claims against the above named estate are required to present them to the Personal Representative or to Denver Probate Court of the City and County of Denver, Colorado on or before June 02,

Estate of Guadalupe Reyes Gonzales, a/k/a Guadalupe R. Gonzales, a/k/a Guadalupe Gonzales, Deceased Case Number: 2023PR30015

All persons having claims against the above named estate are required to present them to the personal representative or to Denver Probate Court of the City and County of Denver, Colorado on or before June 9, 2023 or the claims may be forever barred.

Rose E. Ruffino

Personal Representative Patrick R. Thiessen (40185) FRIE, ARNDT, DANBORN & THIESSEN P.C. 7400 Wadsworth Blvd, Ste. 201 Arvada, CO 80003 Phone Number: 303-420-1234

Attorney for Rose E. Ruffino

Personal Representative

Legal Notice No. 82060

First Publication: February 9, 2023

Last Publication: February 23, 2023

Publisher: Denver Herald-Dispatch Public Notice

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

Estate of JANE MARIE CARLSTROM, also known as JANE M. CARLSTROM, and JANE CARLSTROM, Deceased Case Number: 2023PR30029

All persons having claims against the above named estate are required to present them to the personal representative or to the Denver Probate Court of the City and County of Denver, Colorado on or before June 9, 2023, or the claims may be forever barred.

Mary C. Rutherford-Birkey, Personal Representative 200 Rampart Way, #410 Denver, CO 80230

Legal Notice No. 82063

First Publication: February 9, 2023

Last Publication: February 23, 2023

Publisher: Denver Herald-Dispatch Public Notice

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

Estate of Melver L. Anderson, Jr., Deceased Case Number 2023PR30052

All persons having claims against the above named estate are required to present them to the personal representative or to the Denver Probate Court of the City and County of Denver, Colorado on or before June 16, 2023, or the claims may be forever barred.

Stephennie E. Anderson Personal Representative 9436 East 59th Avenue Denver, Colorado 80238

Legal Notice No. 82073

First Publication: February 16, 2023

Last Publication: March 2, 2023

Publisher: Denver Herald-Dispatch Public Notice

NOTICE TO CREDITORS Estate of ERIN PATRICIA STARK, a/k/a ERIN P. STARK, a/k/a ERIN STARK, Deceased Case Number: 2023PR30026

All persons having claims against the above named estate are required to present them to the personal representative or to Denver Probate Court of the City and County of Denver, Colorado on or before June 16, 2023, or the claims may be forever barred.

Susan Weinstein - Personal Representative 2024 Vine St. Denver, CO 80205

Legal Notice No. 82065

First Publication: February 16, 2023

Last Publication: March 2, 2023

Publisher: Denver Herald-Dispatch Public Notice

NOTICE TO CREDITORS Estate of PAMELA SUE WINSOR, a/k/a PAMELA S. WINSOR, a/k/a PAMELA WINSOR, a/k/a PAM WINSOR, Deceased Case Number: 2022PR31527

All persons having claims against the abovenamed estate are required to present them to the personal representative or to the District Court of Arapahoe County, Colorado on or before June 16, 2023, or the claims may be forever barred.

Samantha K. Mauck Co-Personal Representative 1747 Dahlia Street Denver, CO 80220 Chloe E. Winsor,

said in a Jan. 17 news conference, following his address.

So-called “inclusionary” housing policies typically ask property developers to set aside a percentage of units in new developments for a ordable housing, although developers are given di erent options to ful ll those requirements, e Colorado Sun has reported.

e landscape of local governments’ power to a ect housing a ordability in Colorado saw a big change recently. In 2021, Polis signed state House Bill 211117, allowing cities to impose a ordable housing requirements on new or redeveloped projects, so long as developers or property owners have alternatives.

For example, they could trade those for a ordable units built elsewhere, pay a fee into an a ordable housing fund, or any number of other options, the Sun reported.

It’s unclear whether Polis would support anything further than the existing allowance for cities to use inclusionary zoning.

As of late January, the governor was focused on gathering input to work with state lawmakers and develop a proposal on land-use policy. As of press deadline, no bill had been introduced.

‘Can’t expect to lose money’

Polis noted the wide gap that has opened between housing prices and people’s income over the last several decades, putting homeownership out of reach for many families.

More government spending on housing is part of the solution to a ordability, experts told CCM, including Yonah Freemark, senior research associate at the nonpro t Urban Institute, based in Washington, D.C.

“Assuming that we can rely entirely on the private market to address the a ordable housing need is, I think, unrealistic and unlikely to address the needs of the people who have the lowest incomes,” Freemark said.

Ron roupe, associate professor of real estate at the Daniels College of Business at the University of Denver, said “it’s inevitable” that government must provide the needed funding to bolster the supply side of the housing market.

“We do things (on) the supply side, but it’s not enough,” roupe said. “And you can’t expect a developer to build something and lose money.”

Spending from higher levels of government could bene t in particular the suburbs, which are struggling with housing a ordability but have less political appetite to tackle the problem themselves, Freemark said.

“Ultimately, the most exclusionary places, which are often suburbs, have no

Public Notices

Co-Personal Representative

11515 E Center Drive Aurora, CO 80012

Legal Notice No.82068

First Publication: February 16, 2023

Last Publication: March 2, 2023

Publisher: Denver Herald Dispatch

Public Notice

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

Estate of PAUL M. RAY, aka PAUL MUNCY RAY, aka PAUL RAY, Deceased Case No. 2023PR30042

All persons having claims against the abovenamed estate are required to present them to the Personal Representative or to Denver Probate Court of the City and County of Denver, Colorado on or before June 3, 2023, or the claims may be forever barred.

Ruth Ann Curtis, Co-Personal Representative 1796 S. Cole St. Lakewood, CO 80228

Gregory Ray, Co-Personal Representative 495 Powerhouse Road Lewistown, MT 59457

Legal Notice No. 82052

First Publication: February 2, 2023

Last Publication: February 16, 2023

Publisher: Denver Herald-Dispatch

Public Notice

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

Estate of Ronald Edward Rico, a/k/a Ron Rico, a/k/a Ronald Edward Sedillo, a/k/a Ronald Edward Sedillo Rico, Deceased, Case No.: 2022PR31235

All persons having claims against the abovenamed estate are required to present them to the Personal Representative or to the the Probate Court, City and County of Denver, Colorado on or before June 16, 2023, or the claims may be forever barred.

Doreen Steffes, Personal Representative c/o Siffring Law, P.C. 2049 Wadsworth Blvd., Suite K-157 Lakewood, CO 80214

Legal Notice No. 82057

First Publication: February 2, 2023

Last Publication: February 16, 2023

Publisher: Denver Herald Dispatch

Public Notice

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

Estate of Deo C. Fredrickson, Deceased

Case Number: 2023PR030120

All persons having claims against the above named estate are required to present them to the personal representative or to the Denver Probate Court of the City and County of Denver, Colorado on or before June 16th, 2023, or the claims may be forever barred.

Representative or to the Denver Probate Court of the City and County of Denver, Colorado on or before June 16, 2023, or the claims may be forever barred.

incentive to invest in a ordable housing” because “they don’t see a ordable housing as (needed) by their residents,” Freemark said.

at said, creating housing a ordability for key workers like teachers, police and re ghters is an important part of the puzzle for communities, roupe said.

“You lose your teachers, and then you lose the quality of your schools, and it hurts the area. Same with police and re,” roupe said.

In the larger business community, housing plays a crucial role too, Polis said.

“Coloradans have to be able to a ord to live in our communities where they can earn a good living, and companies need to be able to nd the workers they need to thrive,” he said in the speech.

‘We are not California’ e governor’s one-liner when speaking about housing — “We are not California. We are Colorado” — raises the question of where the state could be headed if it doesn’t change course.

Net migration, the di erence between the number of people coming into and the number of people leaving an area, has long been positive in Colorado. In 2015, net migration was about 69,000 people, according to the State Demography O ce. Although the number reached a recent pre-pandemic low in 2019 with about 34,000, newcomers are

All persons having claims against the abovenamed estate are required to present them to the personal representative or to Denver Probate Court of the City and County of Denver, Colorado on or before June 1, 2023, or the claims may be forever barred.

Deborah Hall, Personal Representative

c/o Davis Schilken, PC 7887 E. Belleview Ave., Suite 820 Denver, CO 80111

Legal Notice No. 82056

First Publication: February 2, 2023

Last Publication: February 16, 2023

Publisher: Denver Herald-Dispatch Public Notice

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

Estate of Linda E. Canaday, a/k/a Linda Ellen Canaday, a/k/a Linda Canaday, Deceased Case Number: 2022PR31593

All persons having claims against the above named estate are required to present them to the personal representative or to Denver Probate Court of the City and County of Denver, Colorado on or before 06/16/2023, or the claims may be forever barred.

Richard Canaday, Personal Representative c/o Carleton H. Hutchins 1999 Broadway, Suite 1400 Denver, CO 80120

Legal Notice No. 82079

First Publication: February 16, 2023

Last Publication: March 2, 2023

Publisher: Denver Herald-Dispatch Public Notice

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

Estate of Freda Mae Oliver, Deceased Case Number: 2022PR31693

All persons having claims against the above named estate are required to present them to the personal representative or to the": Denver Probate Court Denver City and County Building 1437 Bannock Street, Room 230 Denver, Colorado 80202 on or before June 16, 2023 or the claims may be forever barred.

still owing in.

“ ere are (home) buyers moving in from out of state, and many of them come from higher-priced areas, so they don’t have sticker shocks,” roupe said, speaking to the sustained high demand and high prices in metro Denver.

Looking to the future, roupe doesn’t think the metro Denver housing market is on a similar trajectory that large metro areas such as New York City and San Francisco have experienced in terms of high housing prices.

“New York is a coastal city and a nancial center — same with (several) California (cities), San Francisco. We’ll never be that. We’re our own animal,” roupe said.

“ e choice between those cities and Denver pricing-wise has been extreme; it’ll tighten up. It’ll never be their prices, but it’ll tighten up,” roupe added.

Freemark noted that geographically, Denver has less of a physical barrier to new construction than in places like San Francisco — and that New York City is largely surrounded by water.

Rogers, the teaching assistant professor in the program for environmental design at CU Boulder, described the metro Denver housing market’s future in terms of uncertainty.

“I think that we are in a place we’ve never been before, so I can’t extrapolate the future from that,” Rogers said. “I feel like we’re in unknown waters.”

Clark David FitzSimmons Personal Representative 4036 N Clay St Denver, CO 80211

Legal Notice No. 82054

First publication: February 02, 2023

Last publication: February 16, 2023

Publisher: Denver Herald Dispatch Public Notice

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

Estate of Ramona Juanita Valdez, a/k/a Ramona J. Valdez, and Ramona Valdez, Deceased Case Number: 2023PR30049

All persons having claims against the abovenamed estate are required to present them to the personal representative or to: Denver Probate Court City and County of Denver, Colorado 1437 Bannock St., #230 Denver, CO 80202 on or before June 16, 2023, or the claims may be forever barred.

Jose Reynaldo Valdez, Personal Representative c/o Law Office of Byron K. Hammond, LLC 500 Cherry Creek Drive South, Suite 960 Denver, CO 80246

Legal Notice No. 82072

First Publication: February 16, 2023

Last Publication: March 2, 2023

Publisher: Denver Herald-Dispatch

Public Notice

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

Estate of Ralph Charles Eggen, Deceased Case Number: 2022PR031661

All persons having claims against the above named estate are required to present them to the personal representative or to the Denver Probate Court of the City and County of Denver, Colorado on or before June 16, 2023, or the claims may be forever barred.

Gary Eggen, Co-Personal Representative 1309 Dixon Dr. Jefferson City, MO 65101

All persons having claims against the above named estate are required to present them to the personal representative or to the Denver Probate Court of the City and County of Denver, Colorado on or before June 2, 2023, or the claims may be forever barred.

Phil N. Michaelson, Personal Representative c/o 11479 S. Pine Dr. Parker, CO 80134

Notice No. 82055 First Publication: February 2, 2023

Publication: February 16, 2023

Attorney for Personal Representatives

The Hickey Law Firm, LLC 1075 South Yukon Street, Suite 260 Lakewood, Colorado 80226 Legal Notice No. 82070 First Publication: February 16, 2023

Susan Danaher, Co-Personal Representative 628 N. Maplewood Hills Rd. Nixa, MO 65714

Legal Notice No. 82078

First Publication: February 16, 2023

Last Publication: March 2, 2023

Publisher: Denver Herald-Dispatch

Public Notice

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

Estate of Brent Thomas Walker, Deceased Case Number: 2022PR031614

Denver, Colorado 80222

Legal Notice No. 82059

First publication: February 02, 2023

Last publication: February 16, 2023

Publisher: Denver Herald Dispatch

Public Notice

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

Estate of MARY D. HADDON, AKA MARY DENISE HADDON, AND MARY HADDON, Deceased Case Number: 23 PR 30018

All persons having claims against the abovenamed estate are required to present them to the Personal Representative or to the PROBATE COURT OF CITY AND COUNTY OF DENVER, COLORADO, on or before June 15, 2023 or the claims may be forever barred.

Timothy John Haddon Personal Representative 1201 N. Williams Street #18A Denver, CO 80218

Legal Notice No. 82061

First Publication: February 9, 2023

Last Publication: February 23, 2023

Publisher: Denver Herald-Dispatch Public Notice

NOTICE TO CREDITORS Estate of GEORGE RAMIREZ, Deceased Case Number: 2023PR30039

All persons having claims against the abovenamed estate are required to present them to the personal representative or to the Denver Probate Court, Colorado, on or before June 16, 2023, or the claims may be forever barred.

Christine Ramirez, Personal Representative c/o Law Office of Jennifer S. Gormley, PC 6060 Greenwood Plaza Blvd., Suite 300 Greenwood Village, CO 80111

Legal Notice No. 82071

First Publication: February 16, 2023

Last Publication: March 2, 2023 Publisher: Denver Herald-Dispatch

Public Notice

NOTICE TO CREDITORS Estate of MIRIAM KNIGHT FARRINGTON, a/k/a Miriam Farrington, Deceased Case Number: 2023PR30061

All persons having claims against the abovenamed estate are required to present them to the Personal Representative or to the Denver Probate Court of the City and County of Denver, Colorado on or before June 16, 2023, or the claims may be forever barred.

Christine Farrington Fullerton, Personal Representative 375 Lafayette Denver, CO 80218

Legal Notice No. 82074

2022PR031387

All persons having claims against the above named estate are required to present them to the Personal Representative or to District Court of Denver County, Colorado on or before June 02, 2023, or the claims may be forever barred.

All persons having claims against the above named estate are required to present them to the Personal Representative or to Denver Probate Court of the City and County of Denver, Colorado on or before June 02, 2023, or the claims may be forever barred.

Amy Walker, Personal Representative 3453 South Bellaire Street

First Publication: February 16, 2023

Last Publication: March 2, 2023 Publisher: Denver Herald-Dispatch ###

16, 2023