Next week members of the Denver City Council will review a proposal, long in the planning stage, that is designed to tackle the growing problem of neglected and derelict buildings.
Among other things, the proposal is calling for an increase in penalty fees of $999 a day to $5,000 for the owners of such properties.
The proposal comes as the Mile High City has nearly 300 such properties on its official neglected and derelict building registry.
Those structures can be found in any part of the city and include both houses and buildings. The list also recently includes the former Life Changers church at 50. S Colorado Boulevard that had been on the market for the better part of a decade and boarded up since at least 2019. The building was finally demolished in 2023.
Another structure, a stately-looking brick fourplex at 46 S. Lincoln Street, was heavily damaged owing to a gas leak in the summer of 2023. It was left abandoned for more than a year until it was finally demolished.
According to the proposal, the city’s Department of Community Planning and Development would be given more leeway in its efforts to either have such properties fixed or done away with entirely.
Property owners will be given up to two months to work with the department and come up with a remedial plan. If the 60 days go by and the property owner has not taken any action, the CPD would have the authority to issue a preliminary injunction against the property owner, which may be followed by a court-appointed receiver taking control of the house or building in question.
If the structure is regarded as historic, the CPD would be required to notify the city’s Landmark Preservation Commission before any action can take place.
June 26, 2025
By Garry Boulard
Photo courtesy of Pixabay
