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Denver Initiated Ordinance 303
LocalBallotMeasures Final.png
Election date
November 2, 2021
Topic
Local zoning, land use, and development
Status
Defeated d Defeated
Type
Initiative		 Origin
Citizens

Denver Initiated Ordinance 303 was on the ballot as an initiative in Denver on November 2, 2021. It was defeated.

A "yes" vote supported requiring the city to enforce unauthorized camping, and allowing the city to establish up to four authorized camping locations on public property with lighting, running water, and restroom facilities to support the homeless population of the city.

A "no" vote opposed requiring the city to enforce unauthorized camping, and allowing the city to establish up to four authorized camping locations on public property with lighting, running water, and restroom facilities to support the homeless population of the city.


Initiated Ordinance 303 was also referred to as the Let's Do Better initiative.[1] On November 1, 2021, a Denver district court judge invalidated subsection C of the measure. The section was written to allow any Denver resident to file a complaint with the city of Denver to enforce the measure and require that the City must act within 72 hours. To read more about the lawsuit, click here.

A simple majority was required for the approval of Initiated Ordinance 303.

Election results

Denver Initiated Ordinance 303

Result Votes Percentage
Yes 68,290 42.20%

Defeated No

93,552 57.80%
Results are officially certified.
Source

Text of measure

Ballot title

The ballot title for Initiated Ordinance 303 was as follows:

"

Shall the voters of the City and County of Denver adopt an ordinance requiring the City and County of Denver to enforce unauthorized camping, providing a process for private enforcement if the City fails to enforce unauthorized camping; allowing the City to establish up to four authorized camping locations on public property where the City must provide running water, restroom facilities and lighting; and funding such camping locations with city revenues to support the city's homeless population?

 "

Full Text

The full text of this measure is available here.

Support

If you know of endorsements or arguments that should be posted here, email editor@ballotpedia.org.

Supporters

  • Denver Republican Party chair Garrett Flicker[2]
  • Defend Colorado[3]

Arguments

  • Denver Republican Party chair Garrett Flicker said, "I love Denver and think it can be a great city again, but we must compassionately and fairly address the serious, and virtually out of control, homeless problem in our city."[2]

Opposition

If you know of endorsements or arguments that should be posted here, email editor@ballotpedia.org.

Opponents

  • Denver Mayor Michael B. Hancock[2]
  • Denver City Council[2]
  • Colorado Coalition for the Homeless[1]

Arguments

  • Denver City Councilmember Chris Hinds said, "On its face, Initiative 303 looks promising for Denverites. However, the devil is in the details, and these devilish details will create a legal quagmire, an unfunded mandate, and ultimately will hinder, not help, the City's approach to housing and homelessness."[4]
  • The Denver City Council passed a resolution opposing the measure, which stated, "The voters of Denver and City agencies have recently, dramatically expanded shelter hours and services, hotel and other transitional housing innovations, and funding for permanent housing with services, but permanent housing solutions take time to implement and the people of Denver are frustrated and want the city to do more, better and faster, but managing street homelessness and associated public health and safety risks is far more complicated than a sledgehammer approach can deliver."[3]
  • The Colorado Coalition for the Homeless said, "The Let's Do Better initiative is misleading and will not solve street homelessness in Denver. Denver needs compassionate, proven solutions to address homelessness."[1]

Media editorials

See also: 2021 ballot measure media endorsements

Ballotpedia lists the positions of and excerpts from editorials supporting or opposing ballot measures from the editorial boards of certain media outlets. In this section, Ballotpedia does not include opinion pieces written by individuals or groups that do not represent the official position of a newspaper or media outlet. Ballotpedia includes editorials from newspapers and outlets based on:

  • circulation and readership;
  • emphasis on political coverage within a state; and
  • reputation and length of publication.

To submit a media editorial for inclusion, email editor@ballotpedia.org.

Support

  • Denver Gazette Editorial Board: "It is illegal in Denver to "camp" in the city's parks, on its sidewalks, along highway exit ramps and on other public property — but you'd hardly know it in some places around town. Tents, boxes, lean-tos and other "shelters" are routinely set up in violation of the law by panhandlers, drug addicts, alcoholics and assorted other chronic street dwellers. The ban needs some teeth. This proposal would let any Denverite file a complaint with City Hall, giving the city 72 hours to enforce the camping ban. If the city fails to act in the allotted time, the complainant could sue in county court and, if victorious, would be awarded court costs, attorney fees and injunctive relief. That would put some bite in the camping ban. Vote YES."[5]

Opposition

If you know of media editorial board endorsements that should be posted here, email editor@ballotpedia.org.

Path to the ballot

See also: Laws governing local ballot measures in Colorado

This measure was put on the ballot through a citizen initiative petition proposed by Garrett Flicker, chair of the Denver Republican Party. Signatures for initiated ordinance petitions are due 180 days after they are approved for circulation. To qualify for the ballot, 8,265 valid signatures were required. The measure qualified for the ballot on July 6, 2021.[6] [7]

Lawsuit

City Attorney Kristin Bronson filed a lawsuit alleging that the initiative "exceeds the legislative authority of voter initiatives" and "infringes on Denver's basic administrative functions. ... The executive branch has inherent discretion to enforce criminal laws." The lawsuit seeks to remove the provision of the initiative containing the 72-hour deadline and the provision giving citizens the ability to sue the city over failure to comply. Bronson also filed a motion requesting an expedited hearing in order to resolve the complaint before the election.[8]

On November 1, 2021, a Denver district court judge invalidated subsection C of the measure. The section was written to allow any Denver resident to file a complaint with the city of Denver to enforce the measure and require that the City must act within 72 hours.[9]

See also

External links

  • Search Google News for this topic

Footnotes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Colorado Coalition for the Homeless, "Colorado Coalition for the Homeless Strongly Opposes Measure 303 on Denver's 2021 Ballot," accessed October 19, 2021
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Denver Post, "Denver election 2021: Voters asked to double down on city's camping ban," accessed October 19, 2021
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Denver Voice, "November Ballot Measures Impacting Homelessness in Denver," accessed October 19, 2021
  4. ↑ DenverGov.org "Denver City Council opposes Initiated Ordinances 303 and 304," accessed October 19, 2021
  5. ↑ Denver Gazette, "EDITORIAL ENDORSEMENTS: Our view on ballot issues, Denver and DPS, Aurora — a recap," accessed October 25, 2021
  6. ↑ Denver Post, "Here are the 13 measures set for Denver's unusually crowded November ballot," accessed September 23, 2021
  7. ↑ DenverGov.org, "2021 Initiative Tracking," accessed September 23, 2021
  8. ↑ Denver Gazette, "Denver city attorney sues to remove 72-hour enforcement of camping ban from ballot initiative," accessed October 20, 2021
  9. ↑ KDVR, "Denver judge deems part of ballot Initiative 303 'unlawful'," accessed November 1, 2021

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