[bouldercouncilhotline] HOTLINE: Death on the Hill

[kohls at bouldercolorado.gov]

Sender: Lisa Morzel


---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: lisa morzel <lisamorzel at gmail.com<mailto:lisamorzel at gmail.com>>
Date: Mon, Mar 21, 2011 at 9:20 AM
Subject: Re: Death on the Hill
To: Ken Wilson <ken.wilson at bouldertel.com<mailto:ken.wilson at bouldertel.com>>
Cc: "hillneighbors at yahoogroups.com<mailto:hillneighbors at yahoogroups.com>" <hillneighbors at yahoogroups.com<mailto:hillneighbors at yahoogroups.com>>, "council at bouldercolorado.gov<mailto:council at bouldercolorado.gov>" <council at bouldercolorado.gov<mailto:council at bouldercolorado.gov>>


To all living on the hill,

Let me start by relaying our sincere sadness at the death of Todd Walker and the possible conditions which led up to the shooting.

As I have been on council pretty much since 1995 (minus 4 years), I am very familiar with the various processes and ordinances that were in place to improve conditions on the Hill.   I agree with Ken and others that more needs to be done.

Yesterday I went to the Hill and went all over it.  One observation kept hitting me and it has never really been taken on.  That condition is the lack of lawn, predominance of complete dirt, and slummy-looking houses that prevail just south of the commercial district and I assume are predominantly rentals.  This shabby condition is unacceptable and I think we should consider an ordinance that addresses this.  It just makes the entire area like a slum and I am sure affects those who live there in terms of behavior (in terms of how they feel or care about their home) and it affects everyone (whether adjacent or not) on the feel of the broader neighborhood.  It's on par with the "broken glass" concept--you leave it broken, it just gets worse.  In this case, these houses have no yard, no landscaping, have not been painted for decades, and look like rat holes--I would like to address this in an ordinance that requires landlords to maintain minimum standards.

The second big issue is the size of parties and I believe this needs to be limited in size.  Years ago when we were considering and adopting new ordinances to address issues on the Hill, I brought an idea back from Washington DC which is a party ordinance,  As I recall, DC's ordinance is something like the following.  For parties of a size greater than x (perhaps 50), the party planners need to apply to the city for a party permit.  The larger the party, the larger the need for items such as temporary (only during the party) porta-potties and on-site security, the larger the fee.  I do not think this ever was adopted as some thought it was too strict but honestly it is something that we should consider.  I'm not sure what the correct numbers would be but we should at least discuss.

Thanks to all for their e-mails and actions.  I am confident council will be discussing this and taking action on some new ordinances to address the continuing issues on the Hill.

Lisa

PS
I own one rental home and on that rental license I limit the number of people that can be on the premises at any one time to 20 and if that is violated, the offenders each have to pay me $250.  It has worked thus far.
On Sat, Mar 19, 2011 at 6:23 PM, Ken Wilson <ken.wilson at bouldertel.com<mailto:ken.wilson at bouldertel.com>> wrote:

Neighbors,



Death is sad and shocking whether it is in Japan, Libya or right in our neighborhood.  We can't do much about Japan or Libya, but we can do something about a tragic death in our neighborhood.   We have seen violence on the increase in our neighborhood over the past few years.  It is getting back to the level it was when UHNA was founded about twelve years ago when we were averaging more than two riots per year.  It took the concerted efforts of many of us to get the Hill toned down, including a number of us walking around late at night calling in problem parties and other incidents to the police.  We also pushed on Environmental Enforcement to be more active in writing tickets.  It worked - for a time, and the Hill was a little better.  Now we are seeing an upswing in violence that is clearly the result of the neighborhood turning into party central again.  Loud parties, roving gangs of drunks, noise, trash and all the other forms of behavior that mark the neighborhood as "open for crime" are on the upswing.  We all see it every weekend.  Before I knew about the shooting a few blocks away, I remember picking up an empty quart bottle of Colt 45 Malt Liquor yesterday morning from the front yard of the house next door and putting it in the recycle bin.  Probably thrown there by someone in a car parked on the street.  How many times have we all done that?  How many intoxicated people are driving in our neighborhood?  And how many hundreds are roaming the streets and sidewalks on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights.



I remember telling a friend who lives in North Boulder a few years ago that I was kept up by roving bands of drunks the night before and he said "Oh, are you still having trouble up there on the Hill?"  I remember telling my Council collegues at the Council Retreat in January that they should look at the weekly Police Crime map and see where the crime is in the City.  Look at all the crime on the Hill and downtown.  Every year at the Retreat I try to get problems associated with Alcohol abuse high on the priority list, with marginal success.  I point out many times that a huge percentage of PD calls are alcohol related.  I fight to keep the Police Department budget whole, against many other priorities.  I work behind the scenes to on many issues to help the Hill.  But obviously this is not enough.



I will make some specific requests of City staff on the Hotline as that is the appropriate place to make requests.  I have copied City Council on this email but will not include this letter as it is a little too close to my heart.  This is about safety for young people.  It isn't about a bunch of grouchy neighbors who want a quieter neighborhood.  We aren't the ones getting shot and raped and hit with golf clubs.  It is the young people of our community, getting drunk and getting hurt - and now killed.  We can do something, and we will.



I will forward a copy of my Hotline once I have written it as many of you probably do not subscribe.  Probably tomorrow.  I am still thinking of ways in which the City can act to make our neighborhood safer.



Sincerely,



Ken Wilson



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please note that my e-mail address has changed to lisamorzel at gmail.com<mailto:lisamorzel at gmail.com>






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please note that my e-mail address has changed to lisamorzel at gmail.com<mailto:lisamorzel at gmail.com>