1982 – The Colorado Attorney General’s Office files a lawsuit to remove the City and County of Denver as the Trustee of the George W. Clayton Trust for the City’s alleged self-dealing with the Trust’s assets, including the Park Hill Golf Course. The City resigns as the Trustee and University of Denver Chancellor Chester Alter is named as interim Trustee. …Continue reading →
A developer wants the city to trade a parcel of land on the east side of Fairfax that had been touted as a future pocket park by DPR (this land appears on several lists of property owned by DPR; for a similar size parcel in the middle of the developer’s project across the street on the west side of Fairfax. It is unclear whether the developer would allow designation of the proposed land or whether DPR would maintain the “plaza” between two proposed restaurants as a true park. It has been acknowledged that should the developer acquire the parcel on the east, it would serve for future development. The neighbors object to this swap and want to retain the original parcel of land for a small community park as described by Executive Director Scott Gilmore in previous meetings with the RNO
The city originally acted as the trustee for the assets left behind when George Clayton died in 1899. The golf course previously was agricultural and dairy land, and the government managed it as a city golf course starting in 1932. Until 1982, the city itself owned the golf course land. Then it gave the deed over to the George W. Clayton Trust.
City Council members in the late 1980s considered trying to buy the land back from Clayton. Instead, the city paid Clayton for a promise not to develop the land.
In exchange for $2 million, Clayton agreed in 1997 to a “conservation easement,” which says the land can’t be used for anything but golf and related activities.
Denver City Council is set to vote on contracts related to a controversial drainage project at the golf course. The work involves a stormwater drainage project and course redesign.
The proposed contracts are on the agenda for Monday, August 14, after the vote was delayed by a week. Councilman Rafael Espinoza requested the delay and sent a letter to Mayor Michael Hancock Friday morning asking him to deny the contracts.
In addition to the video interview by Channel 9, this article also contains a ethics complaint against CW Stacie Gilmore and videos of the LUDI committee and the discussion for a postponement of the contracts surrounding the Park demolition.
Currently, the land is restricted by city zoning to use as a golf course or open space, Brantley said. That means that any private developer would have to go through a fairly complex and risky process to get anything else done.
The city, meanwhile, already has a legal relationship with Clayton because of the way the Clayton Trust is structured. The city originally acted as the trustee for the assets left behind when George Clayton died in 1899. The golf course previously was agricultural and dairy land, and the government later managed it as a city golf course starting in 1932.
INC PARC discussed the forthcoming major music festival proposed for Overland Golf Course. It is strongly supported by the Mayor and his appointees. INC’s delegates opposition to Admission-based Events on public park land resolution was adopted January 2011 and a reminder of that was emailed again March 24, 2017 to Mayor Hancock, City Council, DPR’s Happy Haynes and Director of Office of Special Events. It was brought up at the PRAB meeting by Executive Director Happy Haynes that she had never heard that INC objects to using public park land for admission based events. There was a short discussion wondering if DPR believes that a DPR public golf course is not considered “park land?”