The Denver City Council convened on Monday, November 17, 2025, at 10:30 AM. The meeting included proclamations honoring the Colorado Youth Detention Continuum team and recognizing Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month, discussion of multiple resolutions and bills, and a required public hearing and final passage of the Downtown Denver Area Plan. Key votes included adoption of the Downtown Area Plan (11 ayes), approval of GID budgets, and publication of bills.
Tonight's coverage of Denver City Council starts now. Afternoon, City Council meeting. Today is Monday, the 17th of November. Tonight's meeting is being interpreted into Spanish. Sam or Jasmine, would you please introduce yourself and let our viewers know how to enable translation on their devices? Yes, of course. Thank you for having us. Hello, everyone. My name is Sam Guzman with the CLC. Joining you virtually through Zoom, and along with my colleague Jasmine, we'll be interpreting today's meeting into Spanish. Please allow me a quick minute while we give instructions in Spanish on how to access interpretation. Welcome to the Denver City Council meeting of Monday, November 17, 2025. Council members, please join me in the Pledge of Allegiance. Council members, please join Councilmember Parity as they lead us in the city council land acknowledgement. The Denver City Council honors and acknowledges that the land on which we reside is the traditional territory of the Ute Cheyenne and Arapaho peoples. We also recognize the forty-eight contemporary tribal nations that are historically tied to the lands that make up the state of Colorado. We honor elders, past, present, and future, and those who have stewarded this land throughout generations. Seeing none, the minutes stand approved. South Broadway Street Streetscape Iowa Avenue to Westley Avenue, South Broadway Street Scape Wesley Avenue to Yale Avenue, South Downoon Street Pedestrian Mall, St. Luke's Pedestrian Mall, and West 32nd Avenue Pedestrian Mall. Councilmember Alvidos, why don't you start us out with announcements? Thank you, Council President. As the council member for District 7, I just wanted to respond to a conversation happening right now, and that my priority is making sure that any major public-private partnership, including intergovernmental agreements for the proposed National Women's Soccer League Stadium at Santa Fe Yards, delivers a long-term value, transparency, and real community benefits to Denver residents. The postponement of the IGA that we had last week is not a denial of the projects. It is a necessary pause to ensure we have complete information, realistic timelines, and a clear path to infrastructure commitments that support both the stadium and the surrounding neighborhoods. Our constituents deserve that level of respect. I am aware of the team's recent statement suggesting that without an immediate approval, Denver Summit FC is considering locations outside the city. I want to be very clear. Denver wants this team here. I personally have been working for months to bring professional women's soccer to Denver and ensure the West Side, a historically underserved neighborhood, receives the financial investment it deserves. But Denver cannot be pressured into rushing through an agreement worth millions of dollars without finished CBA, complete infrastructure planning, and transparent financial terms. This project must strengthen the city, not burden it. And it must strengthen the people who make women's sports what they are, the players and the fans. Denver is one of the few places in the country where women's sports are met with unwavering support, where reproductive rights are protected, where LGBTQIA plus athletes and supporters are embraced, and where safety and belonging are not a political statement, but part of our core values. That's why I remain committed to working in good faith with the ownership group, with the mayor's office, and our neighborhoods to bring the stadium and team to Denver in a way that is responsible, equitable, and sustainable. Women's support, women's sports deserves stability, community investment, and a home where players know they will be respected on and off the field. And I believe that home should be Denver, a city that stands by women, stands by equality, and stands by this team, and I will continue to do the work to make that a reality. Thank you, Council President. Thank you. Councilmember Parity. Thank you so much, Council President. I just wanted to share on behalf of Councilmembers Gonzalez Gutierrez, Cashman Lewis, and myself, this Friday, the 21st, towards the end of the day, we're gonna have a gathering, um, community hangout, I think is the term we chose, uh, for city employees, federal employees. It's been a rough time to be a government worker, and so um, if you have just gone through the federal government shutdown, um, if you work um in any of those workforces or did until recently, we would love to see you. Um it'll be catered by same cafe, and we'll be there between 3:30 and 6 30 p.m. at 775 Mariposa Street. There's a registration link that you can find um on any of our social media so that we have a head count for food. Um, but we just have the sense that people could use a little bit of um thanks before the holiday, a little bit of community um a meal, bring your family if you want to. Um, and it's just some time to spend with other people who may have been caring a lot for the last couple months. Thank you. Thank you.