City Council

Monday, August 25, 2025, 3:30 p.m. (Denver time), Cathy Reynolds City Council Chamber 1437 Bannock Street, Room 450

Video of the meeting

On the agenda

Roll-call votes

Documents

Summary

The Denver City Council meeting of August 25, 2025 included council announcements, four proclamations, a consent agenda of resolutions and bills, and one required public hearing. The Council adopted proclamations recognizing International Overdose Awareness Day, KUVO 89.3 FM's 40th anniversary, the Ashunda celebration of the Colorado Yoruba diaspora community, and the legacy of former Mayor Federico Peña, who attended with Mayor Michael Johnston and members of his administration. The Council passed CB 25-1117, requiring that non-monetary settlement terms be reported to the Citizen Oversight Board and Office of the Independent Monitor within 30 days, and approved a block of resolutions and bills. After a public hearing, the Council approved rezoning CB 25-0994 for 3025 West 3rd Avenue (11 ayes) to allow five townhomes including an income-restricted unit. The meeting adjourned with a hearing on CB 25-1137 scheduled for September 8.

Transcript

0:07 A Denver. It's time for the

0:10 weekly general session of your

0:17 of Denver City Council starts

0:17 Denver City Tonight's coverage

0:19 now.

0:30 Thank you for taking the time

0:33 to join us for Denver City

0:34 Council meeting today is

0:38 Monday. AUGUST 25th 2025.

0:41 Tonight's meeting is being

0:42 interpreted into Spanish.

0:44 Hammer at Would please

0:45 introduce yourself and let our

0:45 viewers know how to enable

0:48 transition on their devices?

0:49 Yes, course, thank you having

0:52 us. Hello, everyone. My name

0:56 is Sam Guzman with the clc.

0:59 And tonight we will be

1:00 interpreting today's meeting

1:00 into Spanish. Please allow me

1:01 a quick minute. Willing to

1:03 give instructions in Spanish

1:06 and how to access

1:07 interpretation. Status of

1:07 number, someone was

1:12 mindfulness and the city do

1:13 with them and to come, you can

1:14 just means that it will sink

1:14 the putt on the mountain on

1:16 the Orient U.S. From noon too

1:17 soon can also tells me that

1:20 one meant his his room was

1:21 consultant. Week. One of the

1:22 global could be saying that,

1:26 but that's Hopefully Don't

1:27 need the nice and extend their

1:27 love this content in this. But

1:30 you. Thank you very much. Into

1:36 the Thank you very much. Them.

1:38 Welcome to the Denver City

1:42 Council meeting Monday, AUGUST

1:43 25th 2025 Councilmember

1:43 Council members. Please join

1:44 Councilmember Watson in the

1:59 Pledge of Allegiance.

2:09 Council

2:11 members to comes from the end

2:11 as they need us. And the

2:12 Denver City Council land

2:15 acknowledgement the Denver

2:16 City Council honors and

2:17 acknowledges that the land on

2:20 which we reside. It's a

2:21 traditional territory of the

2:23 huge Cheyenne and Arapaho

2:25 people us. We also recognize

2:26 the 48 contemporary tribal

2:28 nations that are historically

2:29 tied. Lands that make up the

2:32 state of Colorado. We on our

2:34 elders past present and

2:35 future. And those stewarded

2:37 this land throughout

2:39 generations. We also recognize

2:41 the government, academic and

2:42 cultural institutions were

2:45 founded upon and continue to

2:46 enact exclusions and erasers

2:49 of indigenous peoples. MAY

2:49 this acknowledgment

2:50 demonstrate a commitment to

2:52 working to dismantle ongoing

2:54 legacies of oppression and

2:55 inequities and recognize the

2:56 current and future

2:57 contributions of indigenous

3:01 communities in Denver. Thank

3:02 you. Councilmember MADAM

3:10 members area the things here.

3:10 Secretary will call. Council

3:18 Glenn. Care sounds good us.

3:23 Times Cashman Louis, PRESIDENT

3:27 Hear from Eric Ample But us

3:27 here, Watson on the presence

3:34 and the ball here. 12 members

3:35 present their top members.

3:38 Present council has a car

3:39 approval of the and there any

3:39 corrections to the minutes of

3:44 AUGUST. 18th. Seeing none the

3:48 minutes and approved council

3:48 announcements. Are there any

3:49 council announcement this

3:55 afternoon? Kunsman really

3:57 today's start us off. Thank

3:58 you. I just wanted to give

4:00 council in Watson a quick

4:04 shout-out on amazing

4:06 performance. Everyone in their

4:10 life needs of the neck onesie.

4:11 Now she was amazing at Dancing

4:12 with the Stars. Thank you so

4:15 much for having me. It was

4:15 amazing get a standing ovation

4:17 through the whole room and I

4:19 have no idea. He had such

4:20 said about. Thank Thank

4:20 great dance So just wonder

4:22 Councilmember the ice. I can't

4:29 follow that But you did do so

4:30 wanted to thank everyone who

4:31 had the opportunity to attend

4:32 the district. A town hall on

4:33 Saturday. We had a great time.

4:34 Great discussion thank you all

4:35 for coming out on a Saturday

4:36 because you could have been

4:38 anywhere in the world. In

4:40 addition to that on Saturday,

4:41 SEPTEMBER 6, we will be having

4:43 office hours, which are both

4:45 virtual, but we will have an

4:46 in-person civic assemblies

4:47 information meeting at the

4:48 da's office. You can join

4:52 online or in person. On

4:53 Saturday. SEPTEMBER 13th, we

4:55 have the Park Hill Park Open

4:57 house at the Hiawatha Davis

4:58 Recreation Center. And this is

5:02 an opportunity for us to think

5:03 about partitioning action plan

5:05 and the neighborhood planning.

5:06 So if you're interested in

5:06 co-creating that please sign

5:10 up. Thank you. Thank you.

5:11 Council could temper Thank

5:14 you. MADAM PRESIDENT, I just

5:16 wanted to let people know

5:18 about SEPTEMBER 6. We're going

5:20 to have our event for the

5:24 South by Southeast. Event

5:26 series. And this is going to

5:28 be Denver Jazz Orchestra at

5:29 Eisenhower Park on SEPTEMBER

5:31 against of Saturday, SEPTEMBER

5:34 6. And it's going to be from 4

5:35 to 7. So why on a cruise to

5:38 Kabul play from at 04:00pm,

5:39 followed by the Denver Jazz

5:43 Orchestra at 05:00pm. So we're

5:44 asking people to bring a

5:46 picnic and chairs, blankets.

5:47 We will have to food trucks

5:50 there to be big belly. Big

5:54 brother now big belly brothers

5:55 barbecue and the movement will

5:58 also be there too. For those

6:00 who like Taffy bringing picnic

6:01 and enjoy. And then I do also

6:04 want to give a shout out to

6:09 our colleague here, COUNCILMAN

6:11 Watson, one of the things and

6:12 we're talking about his

6:14 amazing performance, but he

6:18 did it in honor of and to help

6:20 raise funds for an amazing

6:21 nonprofit which is clear.

6:25 Parker Robinson Dance and they

6:25 serve the community and have

6:26 just been tremendous. And so I

6:28 appreciate your effort in

6:29 putting yourself out there the

6:33 neck onesie. To really help

6:35 support and raise money for a

6:36 really tremendous nonprofit

6:38 are in our community. So thank

6:40 you. Thank you. Councilmember

6:46 get more. Thank you. I want

6:48 are 2 at-large council

6:51 members, parity and Gonzalez

6:53 Gutierrez as well as

6:57 Councilmember Luis for

6:58 therefore thought and pulling

6:59 together the community

7:02 meetings that occurred on

7:04 Thursday evening and on

7:05 Sunday, as you might imagine,

7:09 I would hope all of us on this

7:11 day have been inundated, I

7:15 definitely have been inundated

7:16 with people who were laid off

7:19 who are now sharing their

7:21 stories. And I mentioned to

7:24 some that I would make sure

7:25 not mention them by name

7:27 because of course, they are

7:29 very scared of retaliation.

7:30 And when folks were laid off

7:34 from the city, it was in such

7:38 do are rushed way that folks

7:39 are made a phone call to

7:39 minute phone call and then

7:40 immediately they were shut

7:43 down from work day. And so

7:45 what that does to individuals

7:48 who have been laid off or lost

7:50 a job is that then you need to

7:53 go back to your employer and

7:54 request your personnel file so

7:57 that then you even have a

8:01 viewer electronic pace to to

8:03 then go file for unemployment.

8:09 And so I from 2 people that I

8:11 would continue to share their

8:13 very real stories so that we

8:15 don't forget about what

8:17 transpired in these chambers

8:19 and what happened to very real

8:24 people who one woman was a 34

8:25 year employee of the city and

8:27 county of Denver. One

8:29 gentleman had served his most

8:33 of his professional career

8:34 another organization came over

8:38 to the city in his late 40's

8:38 and has now worked with the

8:44 city for 5 years. And so.

8:47 Issues around the Senor de

8:49 ages continue. And so I would

8:52 ask that again if anyone was

8:54 laid off, please reach out to

8:58 a lawyer first, do not sign

9:00 anything before you talk to an

9:03 employment lawyer and then

9:06 keep telling us your stories.

9:08 It is so important because we

9:10 believed that a procurement

9:16 rules were broken during 2023

9:18 2024, I've been told

9:21 specifically by former city

9:22 employees that were there as

9:24 witnesses to see that happen.

9:25 And so I believe that this is

9:28 maybe a little bit than just a

9:29 bunch layoffs of city

9:30 employees. There's more to it.

9:33 And so thank you.

9:38 Councilmember Cashman. Thank

9:40 MADAM PRESIDENT, the members

9:42 of this body and stated in

9:44 recent years, virtually

9:48 unanimously. Believe that it's

9:49 in all of our best interest to

9:52 do everything we can to bring

9:53 the residents of Denver more

9:57 closely into their own

10:00 governments along the lines of

10:01 moving forward with that,

10:04 we're in the early stages of a

10:05 beginning, a division of

10:08 office. Excuse me, a division

10:09 of community and and under the

10:13 Office of Human Rights and

10:15 Community Partnerships. But

10:18 this summer, my staff as well

10:22 the staff or counsel Gonzalez

10:23 Gutierrez. Have had been

10:23 attending a civic events

10:27 around the city to get

10:30 thoughts from residents about

10:31 do they know what a registered

10:33 neighborhood organization is

10:36 they participate? Long story

10:38 short. We have a survey

10:40 online. All you need to do is

10:43 to Google your city, your

10:44 voice, Denver, and you'll get

10:46 to our survey. We've got

10:49 almost 1000 responses already

10:51 and we'd love to hear what you

10:54 think about what the city can

10:55 do to help you play a role in

10:59 your own governance once again

11:00 that your city, your voice,

11:01 Denver, pleased to take the

11:03 survey. Thank you, MADAM

11:06 PRESIDENT, thank you. Comes

11:07 from the wreck thank you.

11:10 MADAM PRESIDENT wanted to once

11:11 again looked up clear Parker

11:13 Robinson dance ensembles. The

11:13 work that they do and

11:14 community and have been doing

11:19 for 55 years goes beyond They

11:21 are killer within 5 points

11:24 community. They bring leaders

11:26 together, providing education,

11:27 mental health and support

11:28 throughout the community. The

11:31 good work that Cleo Parker

11:33 Robinson dance do and is not

11:35 just here in the city county

11:36 of Denver. She has spent time

11:39 in Brazil recently spent time

11:41 on Boston doing the same work,

11:42 ensuring that folks that look

11:44 like know that there is a

11:46 space in place for us to have

11:48 community to come together to

11:50 focus on our mental health and

11:51 focus on really making sure we

11:52 have a healthier community. So

11:56 I want to lift up all of this

11:57 stars that performed on

11:58 Saturday for months and months

11:59 of practice to prepare for the

12:01 dancing also our commitment

12:02 and financial commitment to

12:04 make sure that our communities

12:05 continue to be served to

12:09 amazing group of thank you to

12:10 clear Parker Robinson dance.

12:12 Monique Robinson, an entire

12:14 team for our amazing event.

12:15 Look forward to joining you

12:16 again next Thank you. MADAM

12:19 PRESIDENT, thank I just have a

12:23 few announcements. I'd like

12:26 invite everybody on SEPTEMBER

12:27 6, 2, the Sunnyside, Health

12:30 and Wellness Festival. It's

12:32 act at the park from 9 to

12:34 noon. It's a free

12:36 family-friendly event with

12:38 live yoga wellness

12:39 demonstrations, and more than

12:41 25 vendors face painting bike

12:41 safety boost and Morsi. Look

12:43 forward to seeing you at Park,

12:47 which is on for the first

12:52 SEPTEMBER 6 from 9 to Thank

12:53 you. Seen speakers in the

12:54 queue there to proclamations

12:56 red this afternoon. Comes from

12:58 a gamer. You please read

13:00 proclamations 12. 44. Yes,

13:07 thank you. Recognizing

13:09 international over day

13:10 overdose awareness

13:13 international overdose

13:14 Awareness Day observed

13:16 annually on AUGUST 31st is a

13:17 global event to raise

13:18 awareness of overdose and

13:22 reduce the stigma. A related

13:24 deaths and to acknowledge the

13:27 grief felt by families and

13:28 friends remembering those who

13:29 have died or suffered

13:31 permanent injury as a result

13:36 of a drug overdose. And where

13:37 overdose is the leading

13:38 leading cause of

13:41 injury-related death in the

13:42 United States. And in 2024,

13:46 claimed the lives of 1603,

13:49 Colorado, us including 483

13:53 here in Denver, affected

13:54 families, friends and entire

13:57 communities across every race

14:01 age and socioeconomic group

14:02 whereas the city and county of

14:04 Denver is committed to

14:06 supporting public health

14:08 equity compassion in

14:12 addressing the substance use

14:13 crisis and affirms that every

14:14 life lost to overdose is a

14:17 preventable tragedy. Tragedy.

14:18 And whereas Denver Health

14:20 Center for addiction Medicine

14:23 and Behavioral Health Services

14:25 stand as vital resources in

14:29 our community offering

14:30 comprehensive, compassionate

14:32 and evidence-based care to

14:33 support individuals at every

14:35 stage of their recovery with

14:38 respect and dignity. And

14:39 whereas Denver Health's

14:42 leadership in a in addiction,

14:43 medicine through initiatives

14:47 such as medication, assisted

14:48 treatment. They lack some

14:51 access educational programs.

14:53 Pierre recovery, support and

14:56 direct outreach to unhoused

14:57 populations demonstrates the

14:59 power of a public health

15:00 approach to substance abuse

15:04 and harm reduction. And

15:06 whereas overdose Awareness Day

15:07 is an opportunity for all

15:09 Denver residents to honor

15:12 those lost support. Those in

15:14 recovery. Thank our frontline

15:16 providers and recommit to

15:17 reducing stigma and expanding

15:21 access to care, whereas by

15:23 recognizing the work of Denver

15:27 health Centers for Addiction,

15:28 Medicine and observing

15:30 international overdose

15:31 Awareness Day, we honor the

15:32 memory of those. We have lost

15:34 support those in recovery and

15:38 re educate ourselves. Excuse

15:40 me, rededicate ourselves in a

15:41 future where overdoses,

15:42 preventable and recovery is

15:45 possible for all now,

15:45 therefore be it proclaimed by

15:48 the Denver City Council

15:50 Section one that the city here

15:53 by recognize is AUGUST 31st.

15:54 2024 as International Overdose

15:58 Awareness Day in Denver and

15:59 commends the work of Denver

16:01 Health's Center for Addiction,

16:04 Medicine and urge all

16:05 residents to learn about the

16:06 science of overdose carry and

16:09 know how to use naloxone

16:11 support those in our community

16:13 affected by substance abuse.

16:14 But this proclamation serve as

16:18 a call to action, a tribute to

16:21 those we have lost and a

16:22 commitment to a future in

16:23 which overdose is no longer

16:26 leading cause of death in

16:27 Denver, section 2 that the

16:29 clerk and recorder of the city

16:31 and county of Denver cell