A Denver District Court judge has dismissed a lawsuit designed to block the establishment of a safe-camping site in the parking lot of the Park Hill United Methodist Church. That was the best thing we could ve hoped for, says Cole Chandler, director of the Colorado Village Collaborative, which is planning to set up the safe-camping site for people experiencing homelessness later this month and have it operational by mid-June.
Judge A. Bruce Jones dismissed the case on May 19, ruling that the five Park Hill residents who d filed the lawsuit on May 6 Kurt Monigle, Dave Rodman, Jean-Baptiste Varnier, Justin Lovac and Blair Taylor had not exhausted all possible administrative remedies regarding their issues with the safe-camping site plan. Before filing suit, the judge determined, the five should have filed an appeal with the Denver Board of Adjustment for Zoning Appeals; they can take that route now.
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Park Hill homeowners sue to keep out city-sanctioned homeless camp
Courtesy of Colorado Village Collaborative)
Five Park Hill homeowners have sued in an attempt to stop a city-sanctioned homeless camp from relocating to their Denver neighborhood.
The lawsuit filed in Denver District Court on Thursday asks a judge to issue an order preventing the establishment of the campsite in the parking lot next to Park Hill United Methodist Church. The complaint voices concerns over safety, a lack of public input and the extension of the program at a time the coronavirus pandemic appears to be easing.
The defendants are the city, the church, lead pastor Nathan Adams and Colorado Village Collaborative, the nonprofit that would manage the camp.
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DENVER Some residents in the Denver neighborhood of Park Hill are suing a nonprofit, a church and its pastor, and the city of Denver in an effort to prevent a legal homeless encampment from opening.
The complaint filed Thursday in Denver District Court argues the site poses a danger to children, does not meet city requirements and “does not address the impact it will have on the neighborhood,” The Denver Post reported.
The encampment is planned in the parking lot of the Park Hill United Methodist Church, which is also named in the lawsuit alongside lead pastor Nathan Adams.
Attorneys Heather Anderson Thomas and Douglas Baier filed the lawsuit on behalf of residents Kurt Monigle, Dave Rodman, Jean-Baptiste Varnier, Justin Lovacand Blair Taylor.
Five Park Hill residents are suing the nonprofit Colorado Village Collaborative, Park Hill United Methodist Church and the City of Denver to stop a safe-camping site for people experiencing homelessness proposed for South Park Hill. The proposed [site] has not met the requirements set out by the city, pose[s] a real danger to minors and school-aged children, does not address the impact it will have on the neighborhood and displaces people from an area with available resources to an area not equipped to handle the purpose of the [safe-camping site], reads a motion for a temporary restraining order and a preliminary injunction filed in Denver District Court on May 6.