BY FREDA MIKLIN
GOVERNMENTAL REPORTER
South Metro Denver Chamber recently sponsored a panel discussion at which the mayors of Lone Tree, Littleton, Centennial, Greenwood Village, Englewood, and Castle Pines provided a regional perspective about what is happening in their cities. Arapahoe Community College and its president, Dr. Stephanie Fujii, hosted the event that drew over 100 people.
Dr. Fujii opened the forum by asking the mayors to say something about themselves and to identify their cities’ “unique strengths or characteristics that some might not know they possess,” along with pressing issues they face.
Greenwood Village Mayor George Lantz, an engineer and successful entrepreneur, described his city as being eight square miles with a population of 15,000 and the largest non-collegiate school campus, consisting of over 6,000 students in grades K-12, in the state.
Mayor Lantz said that it was “the fourth time this week” that he’d been with some of the other panelists, all of whom were aligned in their concern with proposed legislation that would allow the state to determine cities’ housing policy near transit centers. Land use has historically been treated as a matter of local concern in Colorado. Mayor Lantz explained that GV has major concerns about traffic that the development they believe the state favors would bring. Said Lantz, “As I think most of the people on this panel will tell you, the cities run very well as long as the legislature is not in session,” a statement that the audience seemed to appreciate.
Describing his history in city government, the mayor named this reporter as the person with whom he began his career with Greenwood Village in the 1990s when we first served together on the city’s Board of Adjustments and Appeals, an experience that lasted over a decade.
Lone Tree Mayor Jackie Millet said, “At the end of May, I will be completing my two decades of public service in the city of Lone Tree.” Noting that her city “has more jobs than people,” she acknowledged the South Metro Denver Chamber and its president, Jeff Keener, for the chamber’s “huge contribution to the success of the ecosystem of the region.”
Mayor Millet focused on the issue of housing affordability, especially as it relates to the lack of condo construction. She has been speaking with legislators about it and encouraged everyone to urge their state representatives and senators to support SB24-106 (see our article on that topic on page 18 of the March 28 issue of The Villager).
Mayor Millet explained that SB24-106 Right to Remedy Construction Defects “will address the disruption of the Colorado housing market that has occurred with construction litigation.” She continued, “CDARA is the acronym. You don’t need to know CDARA (Construction Defect Action Reform Act). What you need to know is that condos are not being built in our state right now… When I started on the Lone Tree planning commission, 25% of our new builds were for-sale condos. In 15 years, we saw well over 2,000 multi-family units being built in the city of Lone Tree, with zero condos. We just broke ground on the first (condo) project…and we are excited to bring it to fruition, but it’s going to be more expensive than it should be because of the cost of insurance. Insurance wholesalers indicate condo construction in Colorado is more difficult and more expensive than in 48 other states. Action at the legislature must be taken. (Condos) are a way that folks generate wealth… My house was my biggest personal investment. It was my parents’ biggest personal investment. I think every Coloradan should be able to aspire to owning a home. The entry-level home is a condo and we need to start building them.”
Turning her focus to the housing bill for transit areas, the mayor continued, “We have seen cranes in our city, pretty much since it was born. We had 3,500 acres of greenfield that was zoned for development. I’m very proud of the fact that over one third of that has been preserved as parks and open space. It will not be that difficult for Lone Tree to achieve the density along our light rail stations that’s being asked for at the state level. But that’s because we’re greenfield. We have five light rail stations, one of which is 360 degrees transit-oriented-development. To have that burden from our legislature apply to all of us who do not sit with the same assets that we have is very unrealistic… We must be allowed to make decisions for our own communities, for our businesses and our families, and we will all be more successful if we do.”
She continued, “One of the reasons Lone Tree has been successful is because we developed a comprehensive plan and a vision that we’ve been executing on…because we have had the ability for local control. Please do not allow the legislature to take that away from us.”
Centennial Mayor Stephanie Piko is in her seventh year serving as its mayor after six years on the city council. She is a former technology teacher for the Cherry Creek School District.
Mayor Piko said, “Centennial offers a wide variety of housing options for people and different types of communities to live in,” as well as educational opportunities and abundant parks and trails. It is also a major employment center for aerospace and technology.
She hopes the members of the general assembly understand, “All of our communities have unique challenges and unique opportunities. It’s the people that are on the ground every day that know what those are and how to bring out the best in our local communities, not the people sitting underneath the gold dome downtown. They are just too far removed and there are too many other interests tugging at them to do things that are one-size-fits-all for an entire area…One size fits nothing.”
Littleton Mayor Kyle Schlachter, in his third year as Littleton’s first directly elected mayor, is by day the executive director of the Colorado Wine Industry Development Board of the Department of Agriculture, promoting the wine industry.
Littleton, he said, goes back to the 1800s, and was built out in the 1950s. As a result, the mayor said, “Our streets and our sidewalks are starting to show their age.” Voters recently agreed to raise the sales tax “to invest in our infrastructure,” he shared, adding, “One of the big issues we’re facing is mobility for all our residents to get around, not just in cars, but on light rail, bikes, busses, and their feet.” After one of the mayor’s son’s classmates was run over and killed crossing the street on his way to school a few months ago, he told the crowd, “Our city council is greatly focused on improving our bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure to make sure students, the work force, and everyone can get to where they need to go.”
Englewood Mayor Othoniel Sierra, who rides his bicycle as much as possible, agreed with Mayor Schachter, explaining, “I’m a big supporter of multi-modal, making the streets safer for all commuters, pedestrians, and cyclists.” Mayor Sierra joined an environmental group, Citizens Alliance for a Sustainable Englewood, in 2016, which led to him running for city council. He is serving his second term as mayor, having been just re-elected in November 2023.
The mayor pointed to a unique feature of Englewood, It has its own water supply, while most other jurisdictions are served by the Denver Water department. That allows flexibility, he shared, including adding density, “because we know how much water we have.”
Castle Pines Mayor Tracy Engerman, who shared that she has a background in finance, operations, and energy markets, said she has served for seven years on the city council and as mayor in a community where everyone knows their neighbor. In Castle Pines, one developer has owned 220 acres of commercial land for 40 years that remains unbuilt, presenting a unique opportunity for the future.