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UHNA Community Meeting with Diana Romero Campbell | September 11, 2025

Attendees: Kristin, Molly, Arianna, Ben, Mark, Emily, Linda, David, Claudia, Dan, Peggy, Steve, Susy, Anna, Alyssa, Lynne, Douglas, Kathy


Call to Order (Arianna) – 6:37 p.m. We are a registered neighborhood organization in the City and County of Denver. We advocate on behalf of University Hills to city and state agencies and plan events in the community, including Movie Night (tomorrow). We’re volunteer run and funded through community and sponsor donations. If you’re interested in getting involved put a note on the sign-in sheet. 


Approval of August Minutes (Arianna moved, Molly seconded)


Community Events: 


September 12 Movie Night Planning at Bradley

  • Bradley International School Field, Fun starts at 5:30 and the movie starts around 7:00

  • Food trucks: Hello Chef, Taste of Home, HipHop 

  • Sponsors: PSI, Bradley PTO, Modern Animal, Iliff Preschool, 8z+ Arianna Morris, Shining Lotus

  • Community guests include Denver PD, Denver Water, Denver Fire


September 13 Highline Canal Cleanup

  • Meet in front of Eisenhower Rec Center at 9 to Noon


December 11 Community Meeting 

  • Eisenhower Rec Center, 6:30 to 7:30 PM

  • Library resources/how to access other branches before it closes in January

  • Board Elections- Open officer roles include President and Secretary


Treasurer’s Report - Linda 

We have $4,100.06.


Conversation with Denver City Councilwoman Diana Romero Campbell: District 4 Council / SE Denver

(Jennifer, new staffer with Romero Campbell, also in attendance)


1. Xcel Franchise Agreement. University Hills has aging infrastructure and frequently experiences power outages. Sections of the neighborhood report weekly outages. How can we make sure infrastructure is properly updated/maintained? A community member suggested stiffer requirements to update infrastructure and stronger penalties for not updating infrastructure be included in the Xcel Franchise Agreement.

  • The agreement did not pass through city council; currently, the city is going to go back with Xcel and renegotiate the franchise agreement

  • Big reason it didn’t pass: compliance, wanting to have addlt community voice/input in agreement (it’s built into the process and they’ll do expanded outreach over the next year)

  • Will likely come in front of the council in summer 2026 then go to the ballot in November

  • Last time it was approved was 20 years ago; this would be another 20-year agreement

  • Big sticking points

    • Community benefits were embedded

    • State took additional benefits (energy rebates, assistance for low-income households) – those were not necessarily put in agreements – want them to be more deeply incorporated

  • Community input – conversations will happen in 2026

  • Xcel franchise agreement: Right-of-way agreement with the city. It means that they don’t have to renegotiate for new constructions

  • Current agreement: updating and maintaining is not part of the agreement

  • Franchise agreement expires next year; we don’t want to let it expire because it’s also an agreement with the airport

  • Be on the lookout to give input in 2026


2. Commercial real-estate vacancies. University Hills Plaza, University Hills South (Sprouts Center), and Happy Canyon Shopping Center have more than 10 vacancies in the three centers. Losses include institutions like Chez Artist and flagship stores like JoAnns Fabrics. These closures add to existing vacancies like the old Safeway building in Happy Canyon. Vacant buildings are falling into disrepair and suffer from vagrancy. RNOs and the City Council have collaborated on revitalization efforts in the past. The University Hills Center, which unfortunately also has several vacancies, is a good example. Here is a link to the Revitalize Denver project summary: 


What can we do to encourage a thriving business community in UHills? We would love to partner with the City Council or Mayors office to help keep our existing businesses and encourage more businesses/entrepreneurs to open a storefront in UHills. Community members want gathering places, like locally owned coffee shops or breweries, and spaces to celebrate arts and cultural enrichment. 

  • Happy Canyon – former Safeway is looking to lease, not sell (and not going to be Amazon Fresh)

    • Would love to see grocery store, food court, or something that is more active

    • Really difficult to know what’s going on with the site

    • Previously a food court was planned (Tony’s Market) pre-pandemic

    • Silver lining: Even though it has a fence, they are maintaining the unoccupied building

    • Office of economic development works with small businesses, also convos with the Denver chamber, restaurant association – she’s working on the backend to help bring someone in, but she can’t bring someone in as a city council member

    • Higher-density areas tend to get the restaurants

    • How can we help make this happen?

      • Wanting to have something is great

      • CTA: see if landowners can divide their building into smaller spaces

  • Joanns/Party City area – haven’t heard anything

    • Home Depot wanted to come previously, former council member stopped that and re-designed the area

    • Could talk to the department of urban development to see how we could reconfigure

    • David – could apartment buildings be built there?

      • Diana – unsure of zoning. She thinks it's “5” which could be a multistory building

  • Emily – we’ve previously talked about having a “hub” for SE denver. What’s being discussed in that realm now?

    • Diana isn’t as familiar with that activation convo, but intrigued and wants to find out more

    • There hasn’t been any talk about rezoning or developers coming in

    • Balance between needing housing and needing retail (60% of general fund budget)

    • The entire SE denver plan was just rezoned (including districts 5 and 6)

    • She’s had conversations with Denver Arts and Venues to reactivate the area, like the Chez Artist. A lot of times, people think about art in downtown

  • Who owns the Chez Artist building? Landmark Theaters

  • Farmer’s market – why did it have to move from U Hills Plaza?

    • Diana doesn’t know. The farmer’s market had contacted her office and they asked the owner if they were planning redevelopment, they said no

    • Anna heard the stores complained about the parking/foot traffic/competition

    • It moved because the ownership group for the University Hills Plaza would like to build on-site, per the event organizer.


3. Pedestrian and cyclist safety continues to be a concern. For example, a road in our neighborhood and current pedestrian and cyclist detour for the Dahlia Bridge project, Eastman, was resurfaced more than a year ago, but the bike lane hasn’t been repainted. The sidewalks on this road, and most of our neighborhood, are 24 to 30 inches. We also have continued concerns on pedestrian safety on Yale and Hampden, which are the only routes we can use to access the light rail stations. 

  • Newly implemented sidewalk fee; some of the ways they are looking at prioritization are…

    • What places don’t have sidewalks?

    • Where are calls from 311 coming in from? → If people are concerned about sidewalks, they should put a 311 case in

    • Where are the sidewalks in disrepair?

  • Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) on CO Blvd from 40th to Chez Artiste area (Amherst) Project Page

    • Why aren’t they connecting it with the Southmoor and Yale stations? - Emily 

      • Diana – it’s in the agreement but not in the plans

    • They are still getting feedback and looking at different options right now

      • Option 1 - do nothing

      • 2 - make minor repairs

      • 3 - different bus lanes etc

    • They will send us info on the Colorado BRT so we can weigh in

    • They are looking at federal, state, and local money

    • They advocated for it to be a continuous connector

      • From that point on Amherst to Hampden to Southmoor, it’s not that it won’t happen but there will be some different strategy for folks to get to the stations/etc

    • Also difficult to bike on Hampden

    • She’s meeting with them on Monday


4. Vibrant Denver Bond and other November Ballot Issues

  • Mayor is releasing budget proposal next Monday; there will be a series of hearings and a budget “book club”

  • 4 major things with the bond in SE denver: 

    • Eisenhower Rec Center – boiler and pools need repairs ($2.75 mil)

    • High Line Canal – crossing improvements, including flashing lights at Dahlia

    • Skate Park & planning for a rec center on the other side of the district ($20 mil for location, have skate park, and start planning rec center. It doesn’t fund the full rec center, but this would give us the foundation to build one)

      • Currently only Cook and Eisenhower rec centers; this one would be on the east side of the district and would tie into the skate park

      • Very few places besides the library for young people to have fun

    • $15 mil to implement Evans Corridor Study

      • Worked with District 6 Councilwoman Kashman (sp?)

      • A lot came up, especially how to have crossings

      • Multiple intersections she wants addressed when it comes to crossings;

        • Birch near CO station

        • Dahlia

      • Does it include Bike lanes? – Diana thinks not all corridors are going to be a Monaco Pkwy, there are better ways to have bicycle transportation

      • Mark: Big goals to widen drive lanes to 13 ft, sidewalks to 6 ft, and get rid of power poles in the sidewalks

        • Problems: Properties near Dahlia and Monaco that go too far into the corridor.

  • Will show up on the ballot as separate buckets (2a, 2b, 2c, etc)


Heard from a neighbor about off-leash dogs in the park

  • She will try to get the leash signs replaced

  • She encourages folks to use the 311 service

  • Diana is looking at other locations that have found solutions – could there be hours for off-leash dogs? Or something else like that


Other Questions

  • Concerns about leaf blowers – are we moving to electric?

    • There is a rebate for them

    • She doesn’t believe there is a rule against them

  • There are some really noisy cars on Hampden – is there any regulation that could be enforced to limit it?

    • She hasn’t worked on noise regulation for it. Since people are passing through, it makes it harder. 

    • If you see speed racers/drag racers → there is a website to report them so they can start to address it. You can also do a 311 each time – there might actually be a specific inbox/phone line for reports (she’s looking into it)


Other Updates

  • North side of U Hills – Bethesda park is moving forward

    • Will also work on the art project during construction

  • Just approved contract to start on the Highline Canal trail at Yale/Holly

  • Renovations to the library: repairs, making the space more user-friendly, and renovating the upstairs space. Also includes 1% art investment for a project to go there

  • Also bringing art to Hampden, High Line Canal

  • Still on time to be finished with Dahlia bridge construction before eoy


Community Happenings: 

  • Pup Or Treat, Oct 10 from 5:00 to 6:30 PM @ Eisenhower Recreation Center

  • UHills Movie Night Friday, September 12, 2025 6:00 pm (Updated) - 9 pm

    Movie (Shrek) begins at dusk

  • Canal Clean Up Saturday, Sept 13 9-noon at Eisenhower Recreation Center

  • Denver Lions Club

American Legion Hall (5400 E Yale Ave) at Noon

  • September 23: Denver Police Chief Ron Thomas

  • November 11: Carol Spahn; "Bowling Alone" by Robert Putnam.

  • Yale Avenue Construction Update: Denver started work to construct the Highline Canal Trail underpass at Yale and Holly. Trail section (Quebec to Yale) temporarily closed for construction through Dec.

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