The perpetual Conservation Easement for the Denver Park Hill Golf Course limits the use of the property to be open space in general or a golf course in particular.
View the easement document screenshots at the bottom of this post to read for yourself. This easement protects the land so that it can be open space and/or a golf course. And, since the vast large majority of voters just voted in 2021 for the easement and open space to stay in effect, open space or a golf course are the only option for Westside developers without a vote from the public to life the easement.
If Westside wants to sell the property because they can't develop it due to the city-voted easement in place, then so be it. They gambled and bribed the city in hopes that they could remove the easement. Don't let them steal our open space from Denver. Vote NO on 2O » Where are our open space advocates? Let's work with the city to buy the Park Hill Golf Course land and turn it into a great park.
To read the Park Hill Golf Course Easement, here is the document below:
Below is a photo of the huge park space that is the Park Hill Golf Course seen from Google Maps - can you imagine if this was a great park instead of more buildings?
For a history of the easement put in place, check out:
denverinc.org/a-history-of-the-park-hill-golf-course-perpetual-conservation-easement/
Here is the history from the above website for a background of how the Denver Park Hill Golf Course Easement came to be:
A HISTORY OF THE PARK HILL GOLF COURSE PERPETUAL CONSERVATION EASEMENT 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.
1984 – The Clayton Foundation is created and becomes the permanent Trustee of the George W. Clayton Trust. The Clayton Foundation is governed by a volunteer Board of Trustees.
1986 — The Clayton Foundation hires a real estate firm to market the Park Hill Golf Course property for sale. In November of 1986, Clayton enters into an agreement to sell the property to L.C. Fulenwider, Inc. for $10.6 million. Fulenwider’s purchase of the property is contingent upon the successful rezoning of the property for a mixed-use development that includes retail and light-industrial uses.
1988 — As a result of the economic and real estate downturn in Denver during the late 1980’s and resistance to the rezoning from surrounding neighborhood groups such as Greater Park Hill, North Park Hill and City Park North, L.C. Fulenwider terminates the purchase and sale agreement in 1988. Rather than remarket the property for sale in an unsupportive economic and political environment, Clayton’s Board of Trustees decides to hold the property and renegotiate the golf lease to increase the rental payment to a “market” rate.
1989 — In an effort to save the Park Hill Golf Course from development once the market improved, then Denver City Councilperson Cathy Reynolds includes a line item in the City’s $300 million Bond Referendum that earmarked “$2 million towards the purchase of the Park Hill Golf Course.” Councilperson Reynolds was an avid golfer who played regularly at the Park Hill Golf Course. The $300 million Bond Referendum passes.
1994 — Mayor Wellington Webb’s director of special projects, Andrew Wallach, approaches Clayton about the $2 million earmarked for the course. He asks whether Clayton would grant the City a perpetual Conservation Easement on the course in exchange for the $2 million. The Conservation Easement would allow Clayton to continue to operate the property as a golf course or open space, but would preclude development of the property.
To determine if the $2 million was sufficient compensation for the potential development rights it would be giving up, Clayton goes through an appraisal process and the appraiser concludes that the value of the property as a golf course is $6 million and the value under a highest and best use scenario is $8 million. Essentially, the appraiser concludes that the value of the potential development rights at that time was $2 million.
1997 — Based upon that conclusion, Clayton grants a perpetual Conservation Easement on the golf course property to the City and County of Denver in exchange for payment from the City of $2 million. The perpetual Conservation Easement limits the use of the property to open space in general and a golf course in particular.
1998 – Clayton issues a request for proposal to prospective lessees of the course, including American Golf Corporation and Arnold Palmer Golf. In late 1998, Clayton enters into the current 20-year lease with American Golf Corporation. AGC agreed to pay Clayton $500,000 in year one, $550,000 in year two, $650,000 in year three and $700,000 in years four through 20.
2000 – The Office of the Assessor for the City and County of Denver informs Clayton that even though the owner of the course, The George W. Clayton Trust, is a tax-exempt entity, the lessee of the course is not. As a result, American Golf Corporation is subject to a Possessory Interest Tax. Because American Golf entered into the Lease with the understanding that the property was tax-exempt and that Clayton would be responsible for any real estate taxes, Clayton would be required to reimburse American Golf for the Possessory Interest Tax. This was a significant unforeseen expense to Clayton.
To address this unforeseen expense, Clayton submits a proposal to the City whereby the City would release the Conservation Easement, Clayton would convey fee simple title to the City but would retain control of the beneficial use of the property under an Agency Agreement similar to the one that was in place at the time in Winter Park. Because the City would hold legal title to the property, the property would once again be tax exempt.
Clayton and the City enter into the Agreement provided that Clayton may terminate the Agency Agreement at any time and the City would convey legal title back to Clayton. If that occurs, however, the Agency Agreement requires that the Conservation Easement must be put back in place and the lessee would once again become subject to the Possessory Interest Tax.
2008 – American Golf Corporation assigns the lease to EAGLE Golf.
2015 – EAGLE Golf assigns the lease to Arcis Golf. The lease expires at the end of 2018.
Watch this video below with Councilwoman Candi CdeBaca's full comments & no vote on 22-1430, the Small Area Plan for the Park Hill Golf Course:
Other supporters of a park in the space include Denver Audubon, here's a snippet of what they suggest:
Denver Audubon’s vision for Park Hill Golf Course advocates for retaining at least 90% of the Park Hill Golf Course as open space, using native plants for any necessary revegetation. First, Northeast Park Hill is known to the City to be an underserved community in High Need of walkable access to a park. Increasing the 91 acres now available to the surrounding communities by the entire 130 acres available here would still only bring these communities up to just over one-third of the acreage available to the communities of Berkeley, Gateway-Green Valley Ranch and Washington Park. Denver formerly had one of the highest ratios of open space per resident – we were a leader in that field! Now, however, Denver ranks 12th out of 15 of the nation’s largest cities with only 170 sq. ft. per person, compared to 1,023 sq. ft./person in #1, Atlanta.
Second, the Denver region is a part of a principal route of the Central Migration Flyway used by millions of migrating birds in spring and fall. A multi-agency study discovered that North America has lost over 25% of its birds, some 3 billion, over the past 50 years. The widespread loss and degradation of habitat is the biggest driver of bird population declines. Audubon considers 113 species using this Flyway to be highly vulnerable to changes from human activity and climate changes here. Preserving large intact areas of habitat is crucial to the survival of North American bird species. Our failure will bring on Silent Spring, merely by a different means. Read their full statement: denveraudubon.org/2021/12/21/park-hill-golf-course/
Comentarios