Denver’s Sidewalks Initiative- What is it and how much will it cost?

WHAT IS IT

Initiated Ordinance 307: Denver Deserves Sidewalks – November Ballot
Initiated Ordinance 307 proposes to charge property owners a fee for the construction and maintenance of sidewalks citywide. The fee would be based on how much sidewalk is on their property and would vary based on the type of adjacent street.

Aside: In Winston Downs, we’d pay $2.15 per linear foot initially and the fee rises annually along with property taxes, storm water drainage fees, and trash fees which are user based fees..  If Denver becomes reliant on fee-based services for the 180,000 affected homeowners, where are tax dollars going?  While having flawless sidewalks is an ideal goal, there are unknown added costs not disclosed in the initiative and this fee is not user-based as are the others. Additionally,, there are other unreported costs to acquire land to build sidewalks where none exist. Remember Xcel and Water are also raising rates.  AND, if you just repaired sidewalks you still have to pay. Higher income neighborhoods pay for lower income subsidies. And, you’ll pay to add sidewalks where there may be none.

FOR A VIDEO on pro/con hosted by INC please CLICK HERE   – this discussion begins at 1:35 time and is the last topic discussed. Other initiatives are also on this video prior to this discussion.  Jonathan Pira will present arguments for the ordinance and Denver City Councilman Kevin Flynn against.

Courtesy Denveright News October 13, 2022
The Article:
A city analysis of an ambitious ballot measure designed to repair and build new sidewalks across Denver predicts the program would take much longer and cost much more than backers estimate. Proponents of the measure, however, say the city’s analysis is flawed.

Initiated Ordinance 307, more colloquially known as Denver Deserves Sidewalks, would make sidewalks the responsibility of the city and inject millions of new dollars into city coffers for sidewalk construction and maintenance through a new fee on property owners. Backers say the fee would raise more than $40 million a year that could be bonded upfront to raise $850 million to fully fund and build a complete city sidewalk network within nine years.

But the city’s analysis of the measure (pg 32), produced for its official voter guide, casts doubt on the campaign’s claims. It predicts the timeline to plan, repair and construct sidewalks would take approximately 27.5 years — triple the estimate of advocates.

“The timeline of nine years established by this initiative cannot be achieved due to the capacity requirements that would be placed on both the City and County of Denver’s resources as well as those of the various industries involved, such as limited concrete availability,” the analysis reads.

The city also estimates costs will be much higher than advocates say.

It predicts a shortfall of $2.8 billion after nine years and $7.3 billion after including the cost of acquiring the land necessary for sidewalk widening and new sidewalk construction.

“It is unclear how this gap will be addressed and if there will be any cost to constituents,” the analysis says.

The city estimates construction costs could reach $2 million per mile and land acquisition costs could reach $6.4 million per mile. Denver has estimated it has 300 miles of missing sidewalks and 830 miles of narrow sidewalks.