RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Minutes of the City Council of the City of Cherry Hills Village, Colorado held on Tuesday, February 4, 2025 at 6:30 PM at City Hall, 2450 East Quincy Avenue, Cherry Hills Village, Colorado 80113 The City Council held a Study Session at 5:30 PM. CALL TO ORDER Mayor Brown called the meeting to order at 6:31 PM. ROLL CALL OF MEMBERS Mayor Katy Brown, Mayor Pro Tem Earl Hoellen, Councilors Doug Robinson, Dave Heller, Karen Fisher, and Robert Eber, were present on roll call. Also present were City Manager Chris Cramer, City Attorney Kathie Guckenberger, Deputy City Manager/Public Works Director Jay Goldie, Community Development Director Paul Workman, Police Chief Jason Lyons, Parks Project and Operations Manager Emily Black, and City Clerk Laura Gillespie. Absent: Councilor Susan Maguire. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE The Council conducted the pledge of allegiance. AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION PERIOD Michael Otte, 2 Glenmoor Circle, asked Council to pass an ordinance regulating pickle ball courts similar to the one the City of Centennial had passed. REPORTS FROM MEMBERS OF CITY BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS None. CONSENT AGENDA Mayor Brown noted Item 6a was not available for Council consideration. Mayor Pro Tem Hoellen moved, seconded by Councilor Eber, to approve the following items on the Consent Agenda: 6b. Proclamation 1, Series 2025; Designating the Third Friday in April as Arbor Day 6c. Approval of a Construction Contract with CLWS, Inc. for the 2025 Sewer Maintenance and Repair Capital Improvement Program The motion passed unanimously. ITEMS REMOVED FROM CONSENT AGENDA None. UNFINISHED BUSINESS None. February 4, 2025 City Council Minutes Page 1 of9 RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS NEW BUSINESS Cherry Hills Park Homeowners Association Trail Gate Request Deputy City Manager/Director Goldie presented the request from the Cherry Hills Park Homeowners Association (HOA) to install a gate on a City-owned public trail; the original request was submitted in December 2023 and the timeline was detailed in the staff memorandum; the Public Works Department (including the Parks Division), the Community Development Department, and the Police Department had reviewed the requests and comments were included in the staff memorandum; safety and security of all residents was at the core of the City's mission and City staff took concerns from residents very seriously; while police officers could not be on the trail system all the time they did patrol the trails in the evening and conducted proactive drone patrols as time permitted; thanks to Council's commitment to community safety the City had a higher than average police officer staffing level; the City had a distinct character of neighborhood parks, trails, and open space; their importance was identified throughout the Master Plan and reinforced by the recent Charter amendment; historically the City's parks, trails, and open spaces have been fully open to the public between 6:00 AM and 11:00 PM; there were no gate encumbrances on any public trails in the City; there was a gate on a trail in the Charlou neighborhood but staff had confirmed that was a private trail owned by the Chariou HOA; the addition of a gate on a trail might create the perception that the trail is private and not for public use, even during open hours; installation of a gate would change the historic use and operation of the City's trail system; staff felt this request did not meet the character of the City, did not uphold or enforce the vision as intended by the Master Plan, and did not support many of the guiding principles in the Parks and Open Space section of the Master Plan; per the 2022 Charter amendment a lease of any approved gate could only last up to five years without voter approval; at that time the gate would have to be removed or transferred to City ownership; staff had concerns about the long term maintenance and upkeep of a gate as well as the precedent it would set for other gates throughout the trail system that, if added, would also need to become the property of the City; the applicant asserts the gate could provide additional security for the homeowners within the Cherry Hills Park HOA; the Police Department specifically monitored the trail bisecting the neighborhood and the trail on the northern border of the neighborhood for a period in 2023 and again in 2024; monitoring included patrol by foot, golf cart, e-bikes, drone, and motion activated trail cameras; during the first monitoring period of November 2, 2023 through December 12, 2023, no subjects were seen by the officers on the trails between the hours of 11:00 PM and 6:00 AM; during the second monitoring period of May 8, 2024 through June 11, 2024, after hours use by teenagers was recorded once on each trail; there was no procedure outlined in the Municipal Code for this type of request; the Parks, Trails and Recreation Commission (PTRC) considered the request on August 8, 2024; PTRC made a unanimous recommendation to City Council to deny the request; staff also recommended Council deny the request. Mayor Brown invited questions for staff. Mayor Pro Tem Hoellen noted the City's parks and trails map was wrong because it labeled the Charlou trail as public. Deputy City Manager/Director Goldie replied that was correct and staff was currently working with PTRC on updating the trail map. Mayor Pro Tem Hoellen questioned if the Charter language would allow the City to enter into a series of five year leases. Mayor Brown questioned if the Charter language allowed leases on trails at all, regardless of the lease term, without voter approval; she asked if a lease was considered a pledge or conveyance. City Attorney Guckenberger confirmed a lease was a conveyance. February 4. 2025 City Council Minutes Page 2 of9 RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Mayor Brown asked if there had been any discussion of taking the request to a vote of the people. Deputy City Manager/Director Goldie replied that had not been part of the request sO it had not been part of the discussion. Councilor Heller asked for more information about the security issue causing the request for a gate; ifi it was pedestrian traffic it seemed fairly easy for a bad actor to get over or around a gate. Chief Lyons replied the general concern was with pedestrian traffic; he suggested reserving his comments until after the applicant's presentation. Councilor Robinson asked if there was any more or less criminal activity in the Cherry Hills Park HOA neighborhood compared with other areas in the City. Chief Lyons replied that neighborhood did not have more criminal activity than other areas in the City; the overall crime rate in the City was very low. Mayor Brown invited the applicant to make their presentation. Richard Diecidue, 8 Cherry Hills Park Drive, president of the Cherry Hills Park HOA, explained the Denver Metro area had been compromised; the statistics did not tell the whole story; there had been a recent attempted break-in in the neighborhood by people who had accessed the home by the trail system; there had been 200 or 300 people at City Hall in response to a video of people walking around with guns; residents in the HOA1 took significant measures to enhance the security and safety of Cherry Hills Park; the neighborhood had exposure that was atypical in the form of a public trail bisecting the neighborhood; it was unlawful to be on the trails between 11:00 PM and 6:00 AM; the gate would be done in the highest caliber, harmonize with the environment, and only activate during those hours; this was not a spontaneous request; this was a real risk for the neighborhood; the City had to create some deterrent; this was a prudent, common sense approach to mitigating risk. Mr. Diecidue showed a video from Fox 31 News about armed individuals in the City. He added the HOA would absorb the cost of the gate and would donate the gate to the City. Hal Shucard, 4 West Dry Creek Circle, Littleton, security consultant for the HOA, explained his background was over 25 years in law enforcement; during his 17 years with the Lakewood Police Department he had been a K-9 handler, in patrol, and a burglary detective; he had been an investigator in the chronic offender program at the Arapahoe County District Attorney's Office and had assisted the Cherry Hills Village Police Department with a sexual assault case and several burglary cases; he had worked as an investigator at the Colorado Attorney General's Office on a lot of property oriented crimes; he had his masters degree in security management from the University of Denver; he opened his private security business around 2011; he had designed physical security plans and systems for about 12 years; he was hired to consult with Cherry Hills Park HOA after the 2023 crime spree detailed in the news video; he always had four goals in mind: deter the adversary, detect them, delay what they are trying to do, and the response; the trail bisected the neighborhood; the neighborhood was gated and the roads were private; he had been familiar with the area his entire life and there had been significant changes; the gate proposition should not be viewed entirely through a historical perspective; the Police Department was adapting by reestablishing their K-9 unit, added additional patrol personnel, and established a drone program; the proposed gate did not infringe on anyone's right to use the trail system during permitted hours; anyone who encountered the closed gate during the closed hours should not be using the trails anyway; the hours were established with public safety, noise, and other factors in mind; the parks and trails system was not totally open because there were hours of usage; the proposed gate was a common sense approach to limit after hours access to the community consistent with the HOA's desire to enhance the security of February 4. 2025 City Council Minutes Page3 of9 RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS the community and protect the safety and welfare of the residents and their substantial investments in their homes and properties; the first monitoring period was during the cold months when there was historically lower usage; both monitoring periods were too brief; PTRC Commissioner Sherr had noted one event could skew the statistics and not all crime was equal; Chief Lyons had noted the community had become more vigilant after the 2023 crime spree; many crimes went unreported and sO the fear of crime could seem disproportionate to reported crime statistics; crime was often unpredictable and random; property crimes tended to be crimes of opportunity; there was a burglary in the neighborhood in July of 2024, the suspects entered the property from the trail; the residents' fears should not be dismissed because the events were not commonplace; the HOA had been proactive in implementing several security changes at their own expense; the proposed gate would be a deterrent to individuals on the trail after hours who might see an ungated trail entrance as an opportunity to engage in criminal activity; a closed gate conveyed the message that the pathway was not open to use. Mr. Diecidue added the HOA wanted to work in partnership with the City; the HOA would absorb the costs and donate the gate to the City; this was a prudent adaptation and would not encroach on anyone's ability to use the trail. Mayor Brown invited questions for the applicant. Councilor Eber asked the applicant to explain the process of going from the original request for three gates to the current request for one gate. Mr. Diecidue replied the HOA wanted to move incrementally but their preference was for three gates; the request for one gate was in the spirit of partnership and moving in a measured way. Councilor Eber asked if that meant there would be a second and third phase for more gates. Mr. Diecidue replied he could not comment on that; it would be a byproduct of the environment; the current request was for a gate in the location with the most traffic on the trail system and in the location easily accessed from University Boulevard and Colorado Boulevard. Councilor Eber asked for more information on the other security measures the neighborhood had implemented. Mr. Diecidue replied they had added Flock cameras, increased lighting, and hired additional security guards; the HOA had a security committee. Councilor Eber asked about the timing of the additional security measures in relation to the request. Mr. Diecidue replied the catalyst for increased security measures was listening to Chief Lyons two years ago; the HOA took action collectively as a board with Mr. Shucard's suggestions. Mr. Shucard added he had identified the trail through the neighborhood as a possible vulnerability when Mr. Diecidue purchased the property; he had worked on many burglaries where suspects had entered through a trail or green belt. Councilor Robinson asked if the HOA allowed properties to be fenced. Mr. Diecidue replied fences were allowed. Councilor Robinson asked if the incident in 2023 occurred in Cherry Hills Park. February 4. 2025 City Council Minutes Page 4 of9 RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Mr. Diecidue replied he believed the incident was on Vista Road which bordered Cherry Hills Park. Councilor Eber asked about efforts to coordinate the submittal with Buell Mansion. Mr. Diecidue replied he had some discussions with then Buell Mansion HOA president Russell Stewart; they were supportive of a gate on the trail on the University side. Councilor Eber asked why the current request was for a gate on the north side of the trail but the incident Mr. Diecidue had talked about involved an intruder coming off of the south side of the trail. Mr. Diecidue replied his understanding was intruders had used both the north and south of the trail as access points. Councilor Eber asked staff for confirmation that the trail was on the original plat approved for the neighborhood. Deputy City Manager/Director Goldie replied that was correct and the trail predated any construction of homes in the neighborhood. Councilor Eber asked if it was fair to say that every resident bought into the neighborhood with the understanding that the trail would be there. Deputy City Manager/Director Goldie replied that was correct. Mr. Diecidue replied the HOA was respectful of that and wanted open trails; the request was about safety and responding to a change in environment. Councilor Eber asked staff to confirm the incident that occurred in Cherry Hills Park was not between 11:00 PM and 6:00 AM. Chief Lyons replied the incident had occurred at night but before 11:00 PM. Councilor Eber noted having a gate on the trail would not necessarily have deterred an intruder because it would not have been closed at that point. Mr. Diecidue replied not necessarily; he suggested a trial period to evaluate if the gate encroached on people' 's use of the trail system; the safety issue should be the paramount concern; Cherry Hills Village was 11 miles from downtown Denver; he cited recent violent crime incidents in Denver. Councilor Eber asked if the HOA had considered placing its private security along the trails. Mr. Diecidue replied the HOA's 's private security did check the trail but they could only check it sO often; it was expensive. Mayor Brown invited comments from the public. Laura Christman, 18 Cherry Lane Drive, stated she had written the referenced Charter amendment; trails had been left out of the leasing and licensing provisions intentionally; she did not think leasing or licensing use of the trails was appropriate without going to a vote of the people; she supported the positions of City staff and PTRC; she spoke about on premises liability, the liability associated with failure to provide security that people believed they were entitled to; the main purpose of a gate on a low crime property was not to deter or prevent crime but to provide a perception of security and exclusivity; gates could be a barrier to emergency services; fire was a concern; health emergencies for trail users was a concern; swinging gates were a nightmare to maintain; repair could take weeks; the City would have a duty to keep the gate closed at night and open in the February 4, 2025 City Council Minutes Page 5 of9 RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS morning; the City would have liability for failure to follow through; the City assumed obligations and duties and liabilities all the time but generally weighed the liability in the balance of what was best for the whole community; this request was not for the whole community; trails were an important part of the community; she did not want anything to interfere with that. Karl Friedman, 10 Cherry Hills Drive, stated he lived across from the property, had used the trails for 47 years, founded the High Line Canal Conservancy with Harriet LaMair, spent eight years on the Planning and Zoning Commission and eight years on the Board of Adjustment and Appeals; in the 90s Buzz Koelbel wanted to merge three large properties and make a gated community from Hampden down to almost the elementary school; the City turned him down; the City allowed Mr. Koelbel to develop a smaller area with the caveat there would be trails running through the property; there was nowhere to park a car near Cherry Hills Park unless you were let into the neighborhood; an intruder would have to walk a mile and a half to a house, steal something small enough to put in their pocket, and walk another mile and a half back to their car; in addition to being a gated community a substantial number of the individual properties were gated; he had never felt there was a safety issue in the City. Barbita White, 4 Cherry Hills Park Drive, stated trails bordered her property on two sides; the present day reality was that Denver had changed; there was an undeniably higher level of criminal activity as evidenced by the videos and the Police Department hiring more officers and reestablishing the K-9 unit; there had been more break ins in her neighborhood than had been reported to the police because the residents were very private; she knew of three burglaries over the past two years; when the properties were initially created they did not have this crime rate; they were not trying to close down the trail, they were trying to make themselves feel more secure at night; they were asking to lock the door at a time when no one should access the trails; the Master Plan stated pastoral, safe, serene, and open character; she loved the trail system and used it all the time but unfortunately criminals had decided to weaponize it; there was an international crime ring that targeted wealthy communities; the neighborhood was also right next to University where there was a bus line; she would not buy her property today because she did not feel safe. Mark McCammon, 3 Cherry Hills Park Drive, stated he and his wife had their house in Hilltop broken into in 2021 and his wife had hated that house after that; people's sense of home was ruined by crime; to have any risk that their homes could be ruined by external crime was not good; fear was a terrible thing; they had done everything they could do to try to create a comprehensive live security strategy; he was vice president of the HOA board; the gate would be an additional incremental step as part of a comprehensive plan to keep them as safe as possible; people did not know now that they should not be on the trails after 11:00 PM; the gate would provide the opportunity for education; there were no beneficiaries to rejecting the proposal; their neighborhood would benefit with peace of mind, deterrent, and an incremental component to their security program; this was a small safety measure to benefit part of the community without a cost to the community. Youngdon Yun, 22 Cherry Hills Park Drive, stated he was an HOA board member; putting a gate on the trail was like locking the City Hall front doors at night; if a fire truck needed to use the trail it could just run through the gate; if the gate broke and parts were on order the gate could just be left open until it was repaired. Kit Phillips, 17 Cherry Hills Park Drive, stated the issue boiled down to common sense; they were asking for the right to protect their houses. Mr. Diecidue stated he had never had a problem with his gate; if there was any issue the default was for the gate to be open; emergency vehicles would have a Knox box key; Council had his word any issue with the gate would be fixed the next day; they were not looking to gate the area; they loved the trail system; they just wanted to be prudent; it was not about property values; it was about safety. February 4, 2025 City Council Minutes Page 6 of9 RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Mayor Brown invited Council discussion. Mayor Pro Tem Hoellen explained his perspective was that generally the obligation of Council was to assist the constituents with a need or request sO long as it did not materially conflict with an overarching priority or principle of the City, or infringe upon another constituent's rights; the public trails were a priority and maintaining them as a public resource was a principle under the Master Plan; the request was for one gate on a trail bifurcating a gated community; there were only three gated communities in the City: Buell, Glenmoor, and Cherry Hills Park; the Buell and Cherry Hills Park had public trails bifurcating the security of that gated community; he distinguished a material difference between trails in gated communities and the rest of the City's trails; whether Cherry Hills Park's desire for increased security was warranted was a subjective judgement; the Police Department under Chief Lyons had increased the safety of the City significantly, from a level that was already one of the safest communities in Colorado; he would probably not have a concern if he were a Cherry Hills Park resident but it was a judgement for that community; the Master Plan priorities of "safe" and "open" were in conflict; community policing stressed prevention and this was a prevention measure; private security on public streets created the perception of private streets; the applicant had been attentive to concerns raised by staff and modified their proposal accordingly; the applicant had addressed many of the operational concerns; he did not agree with the slippery slope argument; he was willing to approve the request and direct staff to work on an agreement with the HOA. Councilor Heller recognized there was a psychological safety benefit; he asked Chief Lyons about the effect of the gate from a physical security perspective. Chief Lyons thanked Mr. Diecidue and the entire community for showing up and talking about vigilance and safety; it was everything he stood for; the core component of community policing was the police and community working in conjunction and partnership with each other to identify and mitigate concerns; there was crime in Cherry Hills Village, to suggest there was not was naive; he put an emphasis on statistics because that was the metric he had; more important to him than crime statistics was how residents felt; he took it personally if there was one resident in the City that did not feel safe in their home; Colorado was number eight in the country in terms of persons crimes; Cherry Hills Village had zero persons crimes; Colorado was number four in the country in terms of property crime; the only metric he had showed Cherry Hills Village as a remarkably safe community; the additional police officers and K-9 unit was not in response to increased crime but was to be proactive so the crime rate did not increase, and to give residents a greater sense of safety and security; incidents crime was not up in Cherry Hills Village, in fact it was down significantly; however one crime was too many; the Police Department strived to provide the absolute best service they could; he did not have a strong stance on the gate as a construct; his stance was on crime; he was proud of the double digit decrease in crime from 2023 to 2024; he was proud of the support from Council financially, staff increases, and supporting the Department's five year strategic plan; he was proud many of the examples discussed tonight were a year or two old because many of the Department's strategies were working; crime prevention was a layered response; the more layers the greater the security; it was impossible to predict the future but he doubted a gate would have deterred the transnational crime ring that had scaled to the second story of a home; a gate could increase residents' sense of security. Councilor Heller asked Deputy City Manager/Director Goldie asked if this gate were approved if it would also be logical to gate the trail in the Buell. Deputy City Manager/Director Goldie replied there was an agreement that during open hours anyone who wanted to go in or out of Buell's front gate can as a trail user on foot or bike. Councilor Eber asked about the history of having hours on the trails. February 4. 2025 City Counci! Minutes Page 7 of9 RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Deputy City Manager/Director Goldie replied the hours were carried over from when South Suburban Parks & Recreation District had owned the trails. Councilor Eber asked what the Police Department would do if someone was on the trails after hours. Chief Lyons replied the first response would be to find out if they had a justified reason for being on the trails; the evaluation standard was a reasonable person's perspective; if the person was a neighbor they would generally be issued a verbal warning; worst case scenario would be a municipal code violation. Councilor Eber noted many people started work at 8:00 AM and went jogging on the trails before 6:00 AM; not all people using the trails after 11:00 PM and before 6:00 PM were bad people; the Police Department would evaluate those people on a case by case basis; the gate would treat everyone the same; he was a firm believer in the slippery slope; if this application was approved he believed there were neighborhoods throughout the Village that would petition to put gates on trails; residents had a right to use the trail and their right would be precluded if the trail was gated; it was Council's job to think of the City as a whole; safety was an issue but it required resources and had to be balanced with other priorities; the Village could not guarantee safety; Council should do what was best for the whole Village; the Village was not like England with private parks; he felt for the people who had been broken into but he had to govern for the masses. Councilor Robinson thanked the citizens for their professional presentation and for sharing their concerns; he shared their concerns about crime in the community; he and his neighbors voted as an HOA to install cameras last year; he was concerned about establishing precedent; the trails were a huge amenity in the City; the Police Department did a fantastic job of keeping residents safe; he asked the residents to come back to Council if that changed and then maybe gates were needed throughout the City but the City was not at that point yet and he was not willing to sacrifice the open nature of the community; he was very sensitive to the concern and fear but the request was not in keeping with the Master Plan. Mayor Pro Tem Hoellen asked if Councilor Robinson distinguished between trails bifurcating a gated neighborhood and all the other trails in the City. Councilor Robinson replied he did not believe the citizens would make that distinction. Councilor Fisher added her thanks to the citizens; she thanked PTRC and staff for the thorough packet; she agreed that approval would set a negative precedent. Mayor Brown acknowledged the trauma individual victims had felt and experienced; she agreed a public trail through a neighborhood was a vulnerability; for years and in the current Master Plan residents had overwhelmingly said that was a vulnerability they were willing to accept for this type of community; from an operational standpoint the difficulties could be figured out; she understood the feeling of safety versus actual safety; she also wanted to acknowledge the feelings of the community when they saw a trail with a gate or a neighborhood with a guard house; safety was the top priority in the community but parks, trails, and open space were a close second. She asked for a motion. Councilor Robinson moved, seconded by Councilor Fisher, to deny the request from the Cherry Hills Park Homeowners Association to install a gate on the City's trail system. The motion passed 4 yes to 1 no. February 4. 2025 City Council Minutes Page 8 of9 RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS REPORTS Mayor Mayor Brown had no report. Members of City Council There were no reports from City Council. City Manager and City Staff There were no reports from City staff. City Attorney City Attorney Guckenberger had no report. ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at 8:39 PM. (SEAL) duun Do7 Kathleen Brown, Mayor hura Erili Laura Gillespie, City Clerk February 4, 2025 City Council Minutes Page 9 of9