Local control tops Denver Council members' list for the 2027 legislative session

Before the Colorado legislature convenes in January, Denver City Council members have ranked what they care most about at the Capitol. The results are in a presentation for the Governance and Intergovernmental Relations Committee on Tuesday, Nov. 17 (26-1757, presentation).

Why it matters: state law decides a lot of what Denver can do, from zoning and rent rules to driverless cars. The list shows what members want the city to watch.

The rankings

Seven members rated nine priorities on a 1-to-10 scale:

1. Preserve local control: 9.00
2. Address Denver's housing needs: 8.88 (tie)
3. Increase community safety: 8.88 (tie)
4. Support workers and businesses: 8.43
5. Prioritize climate response: 8.38 (tie)
6. Build healthy communities: 8.38 (tie)
7. Improve Denver's infrastructure: 8.14
8. Basic city services: 6.75
9. Empower communities: 6.63

Members submitted 53 policies or topics to track. Eleven members then said which ones they supported tracking, and 41 drew support from at least seven. The slides stress that these "are not official positions, simply topics Council will be watching this session."

Topics a majority wants to watch

Local control: Colorado River water rights, a "Fix to ADU setback issue" and land use authority.

Housing: the state rental assistance fund, lot splitting, "SMART" transit-oriented housing legislation, restrictions on algorithmic rent-setting, minimum lot sizes, tenant protections, eviction legislation and rapid rehousing.

Safety: surveillance technology used by police, youth diversion and violence interruption, drag racing, Department of Corrections funding, and privacy and civil rights protections.

Workers and businesses: money for small businesses hurt by state-funded bus rapid transit construction, Fair Workweek, wage theft, and regulating artificial intelligence's effects on workers.

Climate: water protection, data centers, accountability for polluters, drought response and utility legislation at the Public Utilities Commission.

Healthy communities: kratom, older adults, food access, child care and informal caregivers, youth programs, and replacing earlier Medicaid cuts.

Infrastructure: RTD funding, roads and bridges, and autonomous vehicle regulations.

Other: state highway trash cleanup, TABOR reform, "anything related to ICE and detention centers," civil rights, and "protections from Federal overreach."

What our records add

Several items match fights already at City Hall:

• Algorithmic rent pricing. A Council proposal to ban rent-setting software has been in committee (our story).
• Small businesses and state BRT. Amanda Sawyer said support for businesses on state-led Federal and Colorado Boulevard bus projects is "the state's responsibility and the federal government's responsibility," Denverite reported. Her construction grant ordinance cleared the Finance and Business Committee on Nov. 10 (our story).
• Autonomous vehicles. City staff will tell a committee Wednesday that state law leaves Denver no power to regulate Waymo (our story).
• Police surveillance. The city's Axon license plate camera contract passed the Council 7-6 (our story).

The last slide is titled "City Process: Positions on State Legislation," set for committee discussion. The slides don't describe any change to how the Council takes positions.

What's next

Tuesday, Nov. 17, 10:30 a.m.: Governance Committee (meeting), which also takes up the department-head pay bill (our story). The 2027 legislative session starts in January.