A Community-Driven Plan

Two people point at a easel with a proposal on it

The Denver City Council voted to adopt the Park Hill Golf Course Area Plan at its meeting Monday, December 5, 2022. The adoption of the plan was the culmination of two years of work by community members and city staff to bring together a vision for the Park Hill Golf Course property that reflected the needs and interests of surrounding neighborhoods. 

Learn about the community conversations that went into creating this plan.

Prevailing Vision Summary

Throughout this process, city planners from Community Planning and Development and Denver Parks and Recreation listened to what residents had to say about the future of the golf course property. A visioning process began in January 2021, which resulted in the creation of a Prevailing Vision in December 2021.

Area residents weighed in through surveys, at public workshops and events, in small groups and conversations with Community Navigators, on comment forms, and through a Community Steering Committee that met monthly to create the Prevailing Vision.

Residents expressed the most support for these priorities:

  1. Create a new, large park and community gathering places 
  2. Stand up an oversight committee to guide future planning and development 
  3. Preserve and expand the tree canopy to combat urban heat island effects in this area 
  4. Add youth and recreational sports opportunities 
  5. Include a variety of affordable (income-restricted) housing options, including for-sale units 
  6. Address food insecurity by including space for grocery and fresh food choices 
  7. Create space for local businesses and businesses owned by people of color 
  8. Employ strategies to mitigate involuntary displacement 

Download the Prevailing Vision

Vision Predominante - Español

Community Navigators' Findings

The Community Navigators program was administered by Denver Metro Community Impact. 

Community Voice Report

Community Navigators encouraged participation from underrepresented populations, including seniors, youth, Latinx, African Americans, and renters in the Northeast Park Hill, Elyria Swansea, and Clayton neighborhoods. Each navigator was experienced in working with culturally diverse populations and pledged to be a neutral facilitator. Navigators were prohibited from taking a stance on any specific outcome related to the golf course.

From 2021-2022, Community Navigators...

  • hosted 24 Community Talks, which were small group conversations of around 8-12 people,
  • and hosted 133 one-on-one conversations.

Top Themes

2022

The community's top priorities for the potential redevelopment of the area were

  1. Housing: This was one of the most discussed themes in both 2021 and 2022. Community members expressed desires that heavily focused on affordable housing, preserving and promoting diversity, and building family-ready housing.
  2. Retail: Priorities included promoting small and minority businesses, and grocery and healthy food options.
  3. Parks and open space: Community members mainly discussed how the parks could contribute to the feeling of diversity and inclusion.

2021

Top themes that emerged in conversations with residents in 2021 included a desire for recreational opportunities like parks and open space, some local retail space including for groceries, and more affordably priced for-sale homes. The most popular topic discussed was a desire for the next phase of the former golf course to create community, with ways for people to cultivate bonds with neighbors in outdoor spaces, such as parks and outdoor venues, through small businesses, and over food. The desire for community connections was common across differing viewpoints and bridged the gap between development and open space. 

View the 2022 Community Voice Report 

Download the 2021 Community Voice Report(PDF, 10MB)

Survey Results

View an interactive dashboard of all survey results

Park Hill Golf Course Mailed Survey

The survey was one of multiple ways the city listened to the community in this process. The city hired RRC Associates, a market research firm, to conduct two public surveys on the future of Park Hill Golf Course. One survey was mailed to residents in the neighborhoods around the golf course. The other survey was available online and was open to anyone, regardless of where they lived. Both surveys contained the same questions.

Download the survey questions

Mailed Survey 

Altogether, 1,302 surveys were completed and returned by residents who live within one mile of the golf course. Approximately 6,000 surveys were mailed. While not every household within a mile of the golf course received or completed a survey, 1,302 responses is more than three times the number of responses needed to be considered statistically significant (PDF). 

Of these 1,302 residents who live within one-mile of the property, 70% favored some development of the site; 22% preferred for the site to be green space only; 8% favored development-oriented uses only, without green space; and only 7% of respondents wanted to see the entire property remain a golf course.

Online Survey 

In addition, 1,388 online surveys were filled out by people citywide. 

Community Survey: summary presentation

Download the full survey report.(PDF, 7MB) (Public comments begin on page 70.)

Community Steering Committee

Community Planning and Development and Denver Parks and Recreation worked with local leaders to assemble the community steering committee. Committee members meet monthly to help review and consider public feedback, engage others in the visioning process, and ultimately recommend actions for consideration by Denver City Council. All steering committee meetings were announced in advance and were open to the public to observe. 

In November 2021, the steering committee delivered recommendations to the city. The committee's Vision Summary captured the broad, independent views and feelings of the committee's members. It is not a statement of consensus, but identifies similarities and differences of various visions for the future of the golf course. The City and County of Denver considered these recommendations along with other community input in the prevailing vision.

Members and Affiliations

Name Organization, role or interest 
Chandi Aldena Parks and open space advocacy, Parks and Recreation Advisory Board, professional experience at The Trust for Public Land
Imam Abdur-Rahim Ali Civic
Jermaine Blackmon Community voice
Rachel Coates Overlook at Park Hill 
Roger Cobb Northeast Park Hill Coalition
Sadé Cooper Collaborative Healing Initiative within Communities
Rev. Eugene Downing Civic 
Drew Dutcher Elyria and Swansea Neighborhood Association
Nicholas Glenn  Northeast Denver Transportation Connections
Muhammad Khan Clayton United 
Gerie Grimes Youth and family and health advocacy 
Shanta Harrison Greater Park Hill Community 
Kenneth Ho Property owner representative 
Danette Hollowell Community voice 
 Shyretta Hudnall Community voice
Pete Marczyk Business community voice 
David Martin Park Hill Village Neighborhood
Jeff Martinez Affordable Housing Advocacy 
Andre McGregor Parks and Recreation Advisory Board 
LaMone Noles East Denver Residents Council
Shonnell Norris Business community voice
Pastor Del Phillips Civic 
Paty Sands Community voice
Sean Smith Affordable housing advocacy 
Noah Stout  Community voice
Lisa Zoeller Community voice

How the committee came together 

The city's priority in forming this committee was to ensure that the group would reflect the diversity of the neighborhood surrounding the golf course, both in demographics and interests. An interest form was posted from October 30, 2020 to January 8, 2021, resulting in more than 200 applications. Initially, 27 members were selected. Over time, the group evolved but overall, committee membership remained a cross section of the community--residents, renters, local business owners, advocates and civic leaders--bringing a wide range of voices and ideas to the process. 

Download demographic data for committee (PDF)

Download demographic data for interest form pool (XLSX)

Download selection criteria (PDF)

Download Steering Committee Vision Summary

Public Workshops, Meetings, and Hearings

If you use assistive technology and need additional help with any of the documents below, contact planning@denvergov.org.

City Council Public Hearing - Rezoning, Development Agreement
January 23, 2023

City Council Public Hearing - Area Plan
December 5, 2022

Land Use, Transportation and Infrastructure Information Item
October 25, 2022

Planning Board Public Hearing
October 19, 2022

Planning Board Information Item 
October 5, 2022

Community Steering Committee #17
September 13, 2022

Community Information Meeting
Wednesday, September 7, 2022
Park Hill Clubhouse, 4141 E. 35th Ave. 

Community Steering Committee #16
August 23, 2022

Community Steering Committee #15
July 19, 2022

In-person and Online Community Workshop
June 30, 2022
Park Hill Golf Course Clubhouse

The open house gave attendees the opportunity to review and weigh in on draft recommendations and maps at their own pace. The materials were also posted online for an additional week for those who were not able to attend in person. Comments were submitted through online surveys and collected on paper at the open house, and in conversation with staff at the open house. 

Community Steering Committee #14
June 14, 2022

Community Steering Committee #13
May 10, 2022

Community Steering Committee #12
April 12, 2022

Virtual Community Workshop
March 23, 2022

This workshop included 15 break-out groups. The video recordings show the presentation before the break-out rooms and the small group report out after. Each group took notes on three draft framework concepts on the Miro board available below and self-reported to the full audience during the last 30 minutes of the workshop. The concepts were also posted online for those who could not attend the workshop. 

Community Steering Committee #11
March 8, 2022

Community Steering Committee #10
February 8, 2022

Community Steering Committee #9
January 19, 2022

Community Steering Committee #8
October 12, 2021

Community Steering Committee #7
September 14, 2021

Community Workshop
August 3, 2021

This workshop included multiple break-out groups, and the middle of the video recording may jump around between break-out rooms. Each group took notes on the Miro board available below and self-reported to the full audience during the last 30 minutes of the workshop.

Community Steering Committee #6
July 27, 2021

Community Steering Committee #5
June 29, 2021

Community Steering Committee #4
June 8, 2021

Community Steering Committee #3
May 18, 2021

Virtual Open House
March 25, 2021

Community Steering Committee #2
March 9, 2021 

Community Steering Committee #1
February 9, 2021

Comments submitted through general comment form:

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