Police Department
Reference: Enforcement of Downtown Issues
To: Mayor Gregory Mills and Members of City Council
Through: Michael P. Martinez, City Manager
Prepared By: Matthew Domenico, Chief of Police
Date Prepared: June 24, 2025
PURPOSE
The purpose of this staff report is to provide the City Council with information on crime, quality of life, and homelessness related issues in the downtown business district and discuss current and future strategies for addressing these concerns.
BACKGROUND
The Police Department, City management, and the City Council frequently receive complaints from both the public and business owners about crime, quality of life, and issues associated with homelessness in the downtown business district.
The most common complaints include:
* General feeling of the area not being safe
* Trash and debris associated with homeless encampments
* Public urination and defecation
* Drug use and drug paraphernalia
* Aggressive behavior from what is perceived to be people experiencing homelessness
* Camping
The City has ordinances that address many of these concerns, however enforcement can be challenging due to a variety of reasons. The City has specific ordinance that deals with overnight camping in open space areas, parks, and park facilities. Camping on private property is addressed when appropriate through Code Enforcement and working with the property owner to address violations, which include enforcement action when other methods fail.
Other cities in the Denver metro area have experienced similar issues and have enacted ordinances to help address these issues. Examples include camping bans on both public and private properties, camping in vehicles, Sit and Lie ordinances, and others. Most of these ordinances have provisions that require providing notice of these violations and giving those in violation an opportunity to cure the violation.
There are challenges associated with an enforcement first philosophy as it pertains to homele...
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