Mayor-Council Meeting on Housing Continuum and Halloween Announcements - October 31, 2023
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Mayor-Council Meeting on Housing Continuum and Halloween Announcements - October 31, 2023
This weekly meeting of the Mayor and Denver City Council, held on Halloween, began with community announcements and a presentation by the Mayor on the city's housing continuum of care and affordability strategy. Council members discussed prevention, shelter, long-term affordable housing goals, and funding challenges for rental assistance and migrant services.
Announcements
- Council President Torres announced West Denver Dia de los Muertos events on Santa Fe Drive (Friday) and Westwood (three-day weekend).
- Councilwoman Gonzalez Gutierrez noted the Viva Colorado celebration was postponed, but altars and activities will be at Civic Center Park on November 4 from noon to 8 PM.
- Councilman Watson promoted a trunk-or-treat at the National Western Stockyards on Halloween and a D9 community event at Randall's on November 3.
- Councilman Cashman thanked Cook Park Recreation Center for a successful trunk-or-treat with three times the previous year's attendance.
- Councilwoman Romero Campbell reminded residents to bundle children up for trick-or-treating and wear reflective gear.
- Councilwoman Gilmore announced that the Mayor agreed to postpone the November 2 community meeting at Montbello High School to a later date.
- Councilwoman Lewis announced a rezoning town hall for the Best Western at MLK Recreation Center on Saturday, November 4, from 2–3 PM.
Discussion Items
- The Mayor presented a slide deck outlining the housing continuum: homelessness prevention, emergency shelter, transitional housing, long-term affordable rentals, and homeownership. Emphasis was placed on permanently affordable deed-restricted units.
- The Mayor stated that Denver is currently short about 50,000 affordable housing units. The goal of 3,000 new units per year would produce 25,000 units over eight years, roughly half the need.
- Discussion highlighted the tension between funding rental assistance/eviction defense and maintaining a 15% reserve. The Mayor warned that migrant funding could run out by February or March 2024 if the reserve is tapped, and that collective bargaining with sheriffs is also unbudgeted for 2024.
- Council President Torres linked housing stability to other policies (ADU construction, wage theft, small business supports) and requested a district-by-district affordable housing pipeline.
- Councilwoman Gonzalez Gutierrez expressed full support for rental assistance and eviction defense, and hoped for a partnership to fully fund these programs.
- Councilman Watson asked about office-to-housing conversions; the Mayor responded that a pilot is underway, 16 buildings have been identified, but cost per unit (potential $400,000) is a challenge for affordability.
- Council President Torres also noted the need to engage private developers on including affordability in their projects.
Key Outcomes
- No formal votes were taken.
- The Mayor agreed to postpone the November 2 Montbello community meeting to a later date.
- The Mayor and council members committed to working together on a funding solution for rental assistance and eviction defense, with further discussions expected in the coming week.
- The Mayor agreed to provide a deeper dive on affordable housing plans and district-by-district pipelines once the new HOST director is in place.
- Council President Torres will follow up on district-specific housing conversations.
Meeting Transcript
Welcome to this meeting of the mayor and Denver City Council. At this weekly session, city agencies brief the mayor and council members on various proposals and projects across the city. This meeting of the mayor and city council members begins now. Good morning. Great to see you all. Thank you so much for your attendance. Welcome to Mayor Council. Spooky version, all hallows Eve. I'm gonna turn it over to the councilman from District Six to start off our introductions. I've never said it all suddenly. Good morning, Mayor. Happy Halloween. And in honor of the holiday, um Paul Cashman, I represent District Six. Six, six. The mark of the beast. That's what I thought you were gonna say, but I was not gonna set you up if you weren't to do it on your own. Well done. Tough to follow, Councilman, but if you're in good. Come on, I want to see. Good morning, everyone. Serena Gonzalez Gutierrez representing the city at large. Um from the upside down. Well done. Councilman. All right, good morning, Darrell Watson representing Flying District 9. No Martha. No. Upside down. The Lewis, good morning. You do have a spooky mug, so you're participating. Chantel Louis District 8. Good morning, Diana Romero Campbell, uh, Southeast Denver District 4. Fantastic bracelet, by the way. D4. There you go. I got my D4. Councilman Gilmore. Good morning, Stacey Gilmore, District 11. Good morning, uh Jamie Torres, West Denver District 3. Great. Um great to have you all. Thanks so much for being here on Mayor Council Halloween edition. Uh delighted to be together. Uh we think we have a slightly uh shorter agenda this morning, but do have an um some announcements and some updates. I do not believe I'm sure we have an executive session for today. Great, so people may get a little bit of Halloween time left, so Councilman Cashman can work on his makeup for his costume before the evening sets in. Uh uh, I'm gonna open with announcements. Are there announcements that folks have that they would love to share with the council or with the viewer audience at home today? I would. Yes, madam president.
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