Denver proposes flat fee for sidewalk repairs

DENVER — More than a year after Denver voters passed an initiative to charge property owners an annual fee for sidewalk repairs and construction, a city committee is adjusting its proposal regarding how much homeowners will pay.

Jill Locantore with the Denver Streets Partnership said a committee has been meeting twice a month to finalize those plans. Those discussions have focused around one thing: fairness.

An initial proposal that would have charged homeowners based on how much sidewalk is in front of their home has now been scrapped, after Locantore said the committee received concerns from some homeowners who would end up with large bills.

“There’s different ways to think about what’s fair,” Locantore said. “Some people think having larger properties pay more is fair because there’s more sidewalk. Other people say what’s fair is everybody should chip in because we all use sidewalks.”

The latest proposal calls for a flat fee system, with single family homes paying roughly $150 a year, and multifamily units paying about $30 a year per unit.

“It’s hard to come up with a fee structure that’s 100% aligned with what everybody thinks is fair, but I think we did a good job of finding a compromise that everybody thinks is reasonable,” Locantore said.

Low-income households and people living in certain neighborhoods will be able to apply for a discount on those fees.

The committee is accepting feedback through Feb. 27 and hopes to present its findings to Denver’s City Council at some point in March. 

Repairs and construction could take more than a decade to complete.

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