City Council

Monday, September 28, 2026, 3:30 p.m. (Denver time), Cathy Reynolds City Council Chamber 1437 Bannock Street, Room 450

On the agenda

Roll-call votes

Documents

Summary

The Denver City Council's September 28, 2026 meeting included member announcements (Colfax BRT completion, an uptick in gun violence in Five Points and Cole, a proposed Aurora data center, and budget events), and three proclamations: Suicide Prevention Month, Hispanic/Latina/Latino/Chicana/Chicano Heritage Month, and the 10th anniversary of Cocodei Chocolate, each adopted unanimously. The Council passed Council Bill 26-11-85, rezoning a church-owned property at 3418 W. 14th Avenue from RH-3 to GMU-5 in West Colfax. Council Bill 26-13-05, limiting city collection and disclosure of sexual orientation and gender identity information, was ordered published after a courtesy public hearing, with the vote to come the following week. The Council also adopted resolutions 26-13-41 and 26-13-42 for design and construction of the new Denver Police District 6 station (9 yes votes read aloud), after extended discussion of community engagement concerns and requests from the Colfax Business Improvement District regarding the pharmacy parcel. Ten airline use-and-lease resolutions at DIA were postponed one week over concerns about deportation flight tracking, and a legal services agreement with Wheeler Trigg O'Donnell was also postponed. Sign-ups stated for the evening's public hearings totaled 18 (1, 11, and 6).

Transcript

0:01 weekly general session of your

0:06 Denver City Council. In

0:08 tonight's coverage of Denver

0:11 City Council starts next

0:22 There Good afternoon and thank

0:23 you for taking time to join us

0:26 for the Denver City Council

0:27 meeting today is Monday.

0:29 SEPTEMBER 28th 2026. Tonight's

0:30 meeting is being interpreted

0:33 it being interpreted into

0:35 Spanish. Sam are just mean,

0:36 would you please introduce

0:38 yourself and allow our let our

0:39 viewers know how to enable

0:40 their translation on their

0:43 devices. Yes, thank you.

0:48 Longer My name is Sam Guzman

0:48 with the clc joining you

0:51 virtually through zoom. And

0:53 along with my colleague

0:53 doesn't mean we will be

0:55 interpreting today's meeting

0:57 into Spanish. He's allowed

0:59 come in in Spanish will like

1:01 you. Please let me a many want

1:02 to give instructions in

1:06 Spanish, not access

1:07 interpretation when the status

1:08 of you know someone was mine,

1:11 Clinton to say, let's say. You

1:12 can come into can call,

1:13 doesn't mean it's to put on

1:13 the lettering on in the spring

1:17 on. Too soon to consult with

1:18 tournament that was can

1:21 supplant the yeah They look at

1:25 the same thing that but that's

1:26 opening. I said what on gaze

1:28 from sun and on chart in the

1:29 spring the corner. So those

1:32 presents mentees to in the

1:33 coming. What followed was

1:33 carrying one assistant that

1:35 put the front. But a poll that

1:37 is protecting this point.

1:39 Which is in essence, thank you

1:40 very much. Thank you very

1:45 much. Welcome to the Denver

1:46 City Council meeting Monday,

1:50 SEPTEMBER 28th 2026. Council

1:51 members please join

1:52 Councilmember Flynn in the

2:07 Pledge of Allegiance. But

2:14 council members, And council

2:15 members please join

2:16 Councilmember Flynn in the

2:17 Pledge of Allegiance. We ready

2:18 to the Pledge of Allegiance?

2:21 Thank you very much. Council

2:21 members please join

2:22 Councilmember plan as they

2:24 lead us in the Denver City

2:28 Council land acknowledgement.

2:30 Denver City Council honors

2:32 Rolla that the land on which

2:35 we reside as the traditional

2:36 territory, the huge Cheyenne

2:40 and Arapaho peoples. We also

2:42 recognize the 48 contemporary

2:44 tribal nations that are

2:46 historically tied to the lands

2:47 that make up the state of

2:50 Colorado we honor elders past

2:54 present and future. And those

2:54 who are Stewart of this land

2:58 throughout generations. We

3:00 also recognize that government

3:01 and academic and cultural

3:04 institutions were founded upon

3:05 and continue to an actor,

3:06 racers and exclusions of

3:09 indigenous peoples made this

3:11 acknowledgment demonstrated

3:13 commitment 2 working to

3:13 dismantle ongoing legacies of

3:17 oppression and inequities and

3:19 to recognize the current and

3:20 future contributions, the

3:20 indigenous communities of

3:24 Denver. MADAM Secretary Roll

3:38 Call. Council members Cashman.

3:45 I'll be the here. Can

3:48 Kenneth's times here and then

3:55 PRESIDENT What here Watson

4:00 hasn't America Apple here.

4:02 Members present. There are 10

4:04 members present council has a

4:05 quorum. Approval of the

4:06 minutes. Are there any

4:07 corrections to the minutes of

4:11 SEPTEMBER? 21st? Seeing none.

4:14 The minutes stand approved

4:15 council announcements. Are

4:16 there any announcements from

4:18 members of council?

4:23 We'll go ahead and get started

4:24 with council member Hines.

4:26 Thank you. MADAM PRESIDENT

4:27 Councilmember, are you

4:30 wearing? A tie today? Well, i

4:33 sure I am county behind Well,

4:34 that's interesting. Now that

4:36 I'm looking at it, so high

4:41 today is the inaugural route

4:42 of are the functional

4:43 completion of the 50 to 80

4:46 Colfax Beer t the to do a

4:50 translator this Colfax Pierre

4:51 t is functionally complete

4:52 throughout district tennis and

4:55 from the Capitol all the way

4:56 to Colorado and were wearing

4:58 these ties in celebration of

5:01 the functional completeness.

5:02 The buses will now be using

5:05 the bus only lanes from now

5:07 into the future, canned. By

5:12 the new buses that that would

5:16 be for the brt when it's fully

5:18 complete. Those are not fully

5:19 available yet. So we'll use

5:22 some of the regular 15 of

5:25 buses for now. But it was

5:27 great to go out earlier today

5:29 and take the new brt from them

5:30 here to loading platform and

5:33 to get all the way back to the

5:35 center city from East Colfax.

5:39 It great to see the

5:41 construction barrels and cones

5:43 Steinmetz in the street

5:45 repaved. I'm really excited

5:48 for what comes next with your

5:51 But we are with all the

5:52 construction through Colorado.

5:54 Thank you, MADAM PRESIDENT,

5:58 thank you. Council member of

5:59 Thank you so much. Council

6:01 PRESIDENT. I'm so excited to

6:03 share. We have a really

6:05 exciting Saturday in district

6:06 7 OCTOBER 3rd, we have fake

6:08 fest at rebel Pred which will

6:10 have competition for the

6:13 heritage sour dough highs,

6:15 bars, candies and squash

6:16 sponsored by the crime action

6:18 Sustainability and Resiliency

6:21 office and also a mystery box.

6:22 So come join us for some

6:25 delicious baked goods. And

6:25 then you can walk it off by

6:30 coming over to port fast. We

6:32 will be in the Baker

6:32 neighborhood. Portraits will

6:35 be having 192 local acts from

6:36 noon to 07:00pm. So come out

6:39 and support local artists. You

6:41 can just come right to Daily

6:44 Park in the heart of Baker and

6:46 that they'll be a full farmers

6:49 market go along to all kinds

6:49 of music around district on

6:53 porches. And you can look at

6:54 Denver Porchfest dot com to

6:56 find out exactly what bands

6:57 and where. So we'll be having

6:57 a lot of fun this Saturday

6:59 come to district 7. Thank you,

7:01 council PRESIDENT, thank you.

7:03 Councilmember Watson, thank

7:03 you so much. Council PRESIDENT

7:06 Might to add to Councilmember

7:08 Hines presentation. We know

7:10 that throughout the process

7:10 for bus, rapid transit all

7:13 along Colfax corridor, there's

7:16 been for residents as well as

7:18 small business It is our hope

7:20 and expectation as this

7:23 process moves to those small

7:24 business owners and residents

7:27 will see the benefit of having

7:29 a dedicated line for a bus

7:31 dedicated spaces for folks who

7:34 are stopping to purchase an to

7:36 hang out at the spaces and

7:37 places up and down the

7:38 corridor that they will see

7:40 the benefit of that. I wearing

7:41 bolo tie. Not because it's

7:43 cute, but because I wanted to

7:43 definitely demonstrate support

7:45 to our department

7:47 transportation infrastructure,

7:49 all of the community members

7:50 that have participated engage

7:50 in this process. And as if

7:53 City Council needs more

7:53 unhealthy treats, we have a

7:58 box of muffins in room

7:59 forty-five's. If you want to

8:00 take a break whenever it

8:02 through throughout down so he

8:03 can go and get them off on

8:07 behalf and that provided

8:08 volunteers and and the city

8:09 agencies out of work on making

8:12 sure that this actually is a

8:14 successful rollout. I've got a

8:16 2 things I want elevate.

8:18 That's going to be not not not

8:21 happy discussion as of this

8:22 and the 5 points community as

8:25 well as in the cold community

8:29 since spring. We have seen an

8:29 uptick and gang violence and

8:30 gun shots and folks being

8:33 harmed in our communities.

8:34 We've had several meetings,

8:37 actually 3 town halls,

8:39 community members, nonprofits,

8:41 tpd folks or providing

8:42 alternatives to Denver police.

8:44 We've held 3 of those town

8:48 halls. We will continue to do

8:50 so in the 3 weeks, there have

8:51 been continued gun violence

8:53 within both on the cold

8:55 neighborhoods and as well as

8:58 and 5 points. You know that I

9:00 am working with community

9:01 members, nonprofits within

9:02 those communities to find an

9:04 opportunity for us to continue

9:06 those live discussions with

9:08 you specifically about your

9:10 neighborhood seeking solutions

9:11 built by community and finding

9:12 ways that we can come together

9:15 to reduce the violence of the

9:16 families are impacting

9:18 recently last 3 weeks. My

9:18 heart goes out to you. But

9:20 more importantly, as your

9:21 elected official is more

9:22 important for me not to simply

9:24 morning on the harm to your

9:27 family members find ways in

9:28 which reduce this harm.

9:30 looking at really what is the

9:32 origin, these pains and

9:33 finding ways that we work

9:35 together to solve We're

9:38 hosting community discussion

9:41 of public safety on Wednesday,

9:45 SEPTEMBER 30th from 6 to

9:47 07:30pm, at Cross Purpose

9:48 Center 30 50 Richard Allen

9:51 court. That's going to be an

9:51 overarching discussion about

9:53 public safety, not specific to

9:54 5 points. And 2 encourage

9:56 neighbors to come out this

9:58 Wednesday night at all across

10:00 purpose of 30, 40 Richard

10:01 Allen court on for a

10:02 discussion from 6 to 7.30

10:04 Thank you. MADAM PRESIDENT,

10:06 thank Councilmember Gilmore.

10:11 Thank you. MADAM PRESIDENT.

10:12 Wanted let the members of the

10:16 public that many people

10:19 tonight are at the Aurora City

10:20 Council meeting. We found out

10:23 in the far northeast midweek

10:26 last week that there are filed

10:30 plans for a 500 megawatt data

10:30 center called Trident. It's

10:37 poised to be built near e

10:38 4.70, Green Valley Ranch

10:42 Boulevard. It will be 143

10:45 acres. They're proposing that

10:47 it will utilize 11 times the

10:50 energy of Denver International

10:52 Airport and have 28 diesel

10:53 generators. The side of

10:54 school, the size of school

10:57 buses. I drove over and took a

11:00 look at this location last

11:02 week and it is directly across

11:06 the street from new homes that

11:06 or being built in the

11:10 reserves. Green Valley Ranch,

11:12 its aurora, but is is directly

11:14 across Piccadilly Road off of

11:16 Green Valley Ranch Boulevard.

11:21 And so this got through or

11:22 government because of the

11:23 industrial zoning that it

11:26 falls under the city manager

11:27 or the city Council except

11:30 have not required. This

11:34 Trident data center to comply

11:38 with any public meetings,

11:39 informational meetings to at

11:41 least let the public know of

11:44 the public health and safety

11:44 issues. One great example. I

11:49 can guarantee even a fraction

11:53 of those 28 diesel generators

11:53 catch fire. Aurora Fire

11:54 Department is not equipped to

11:59 put those out. That would

12:02 require a regional cooperative

12:05 with Denver International

12:05 Airport Denver Fire with

12:07 Commerce City fire with

12:11 others. And so I'm employee

12:12 imploring and tonight a good

12:14 portion of the Denver

12:16 community is also at the dam

12:18 at Aurora City Council meeting

12:25 seeing approve a one-year

12:26 moratorium for data center

12:29 similar to what Denver has

12:31 what Thorton and other

12:32 municipalities have so that we

12:36 can get some on the books

12:37 around what is exactly

12:39 happening with our energy and

12:41 our water resources without

12:46 any public process. And

12:48 believe COUNCILMAN Luis might

12:50 be mentioning this meeting

12:54 that we have in the tomorrow.

12:56 So all pause and my remarks.

13:00 Thank you. Thank Councilmember

13:05 Luis at hope you're ready to

13:07 start with budget, clipped

13:07 edge of a club ground.

13:09 Theresa, thank you all for

13:13 joining us last week. We have

13:14 another 3rd and final budget

13:15 book club. Pick 2027, which

13:17 I'm really excited about. So

13:18 this meeting will happen on

13:21 the first floor of Carla

13:22 Madison Rec creation Center

13:23 this Saturday, OCTOBER 3rd

13:26 from 12:00pm to 01:00pm. And

13:28 in this session, we ask

13:30 community come and bring their

13:31 suggestions for the proposed

13:32 will have the opportunity to

13:35 work through answers to work

13:36 an answer questions facilitate

13:37 conversations and to

13:38 incorporate proposals from the

13:42 community. Into the council

13:43 budget proposals, workshops

13:45 that's going to be happening

13:47 on OCTOBER, OCTOBER 8th. And

13:49 so this is a really important

13:49 conversation is probably the

13:50 most important of the 3 that

13:53 we've had the best. This is a

13:56 you'll have the best chances.

13:56 The citizens of Denver to make

13:57 your voices heard and to

13:59 ensure that those that they

14:01 count towards the impact of

14:02 the budget. I can't wait to

14:04 see you are there. It is free

14:06 to attend. However, we'd like

14:07 to request that folks sign up

14:08 in advance and you can sign up

14:11 on my link tree. The second

14:13 that I like to let you all

14:18 that. But you know the Denver

14:19 in partnership with the

14:21 different Basic Income

14:22 Project. We are hosting a

14:26 screening and panel discussion

14:27 of unconditional is stories

14:27 from the Denver-based again,

14:28 the project. If you not seen

14:30 it is incredible. The event

14:32 will take place this

14:34 Wednesday, SEPTEMBER 30th from

14:38 68 pm at the Denver Street.

14:39 Paternity of if you not been

14:39 there, it's a beautiful

14:41 location. It's beautiful space

14:42 for community gathering. It's

14:45 located at 87 20 East Colfax

14:48 Avenue. Number 8, 0, 2, 2, 0.

14:49 There's plenty of parking. And

14:50 so we would love to see you

14:54 there. And then finally,

14:58 there's tweak. There's also a

14:59 community conversation

15:01 happening this SEPTEMBER 29th

15:02 from 5.30, to 07:00pm at the

15:03 Struggle of Love Foundation

15:05 has the on the House. It's a

15:08 Denver Citizens Oversight

15:10 board. So they're hosting a

15:12 community conversation about

15:12 police and Sheriff

15:13 accountability in Denver and

15:16 so will discuss recent changes

15:17 to to police this up

15:18 discipline proposed changes to

15:20 the Denver Police Department's

15:21 Taser policy and Department of

15:23 Safety Rule affecting sheriff

15:25 discipline in public

15:26 transparency. And so please

15:26 make sure you all come to have

15:29 your voices heard tomorrow

15:30 night. And I also want to make

15:31 you aware for those that

15:33 participated in the Quebec

15:34 Corridor task force that was

15:38 led by my office. But there's

15:40 also a conversation happening

15:41 tomorrow. That's overlapping,

15:44 unfortunately with them with

15:46 conversations with the Denver

15:48 citizen Oversight. We did

15:49 request from the mayor's

15:52 office to move that meeting

15:52 because this community