Donations can be made at: https://secure.actblue.com/donate/yes-for-parks-and-open-space-1
Welcome! We are happy you found us today! “Yes for Parks and Open Space” is a Denver-based group of parks and open space advocates. However you found us – family, friend, neighbor – we hope you share our passion for keeping Denver and our state a healthy, beautiful place to live. Denver has for the last 100
years held the vision of being a “City within a Park”. But in the last decade with the rapid growth due to our booming recreational, cultural, educational and entrepreneurial opportunities, the pressure on our urban parks and open space has led to many negative impacts on our communities. In just the last decade, we have dropped from11th to 22nd in park land per capita leading to overcrowded parks or non-existent recreational opportunities for families. With growth comes development. But land is limited. What little open space that remains within our city limits is rapidly becoming consumed for housing, retail and other uses that eliminate the mature trees and green space that provides not only a peaceful place to relax, exercise and play, but also reduces pollution, stormwater runoff and most of all the “Heat Island Effect” which can raise local temperatures by more than 10 degrees over permeable grounds. In order to begin to address this problem, we have started a petition drive to gather signatures for an Initiated Ballot measure by the name “Yes for Parks and Open Space” which if successful will give Denver voters a voice in choosing whether and how parks and open space within Denver city limits may be used. If passed in the upcoming November 2021 election, it will complement and extend the Denver Municipal Code to protect park lands and other open space from unwanted development. Without costing any taxpayer dollars, it will lead both the city and developers in the direction of adding to our parks system and look at redeveloping and reinvigorating existing industrial, commercial or other sites that already have roads, utilities and other infrastructure already in place that could be used for mixed use residential/commercial and workforce housing. Please take a few minutes to browse the articles that address the many issues we face to day, especially about how the loss of urban green space, pollution and the Heat Island effect have on young and old alike, particularly in underserved communities of color. If you can, please use our Donate link to help our cause. We are completely volunteer-driven and funded. We do not have a corporate sponsor. If you have time, please become a volunteer! We will have petition signature events where we will follow strict COVID-19 safety protocols while gathering the signatures of registered Denver voters in order to place this measure on the November ballot. We hope you will join us in our vision of keeping Denver the “City within a Park”.
