Residents and officials in Denver’s Lincoln Park neighborhood are celebrating … a new fence.
It went up late last week at the Circle K at West Colfax Avenue and Mariposa Street, after the parking lot there became a hotspot for homelessness and a major concern among residents.
The neighborhood saw an increase in both tents and drug violations after Mayor Mike Johnston’s administration began to move people into shelter and keep downtown clear of encampments. Some people who remain outside have moved out of downtown and to this neighborhood, and the Circle K.
Neighbors have complained, and now the city is using administrative pressure to force the gas station’s owners to act and help mitigate those issues.
At a recent neighborhood meeting, residents made clear the Circle K had become a symbol of their frustration.
They spoke about crime across the neighborhood, in alleyways, at La Alma/Lincoln Park, and at the gas station.
“Our garages are getting broken into. A lot of our cars are getting broken into. Our kids can't play at the park,” Judah Trabulsi said during his turn at the microphone. “Of course, Circle K and McDonald's, these are the target areas, the red flags.”
“I don't feel safe walking in the streets here,” a resident who introduced herself as Lucy said to the crowd. “I feel like it's really up to the city right now to step up the pressure and make us feel like our voices are being heard.”
That block of Colfax has always been rough, but City Councilmember Jamie Torres said things “escalated” to “a high concern level” over the summer. As a result, police officers have been “permanently posted” to the block, and the city’s Street Enforcement Team has made daily visits to keep tents from reappearing there.
All night, Torres and other officials at the meeting repeated that, yes, they have heard these concerns. They made sure to highlight a new focus on the Circle K.
“We recognize that there was an issue there and that seems to attract people,” Denver Police Lt. Aaron Rebeterano told a crowd gathered last Wednesday night. “From September to October, we've had 84 narcotics arrests just in that area. So the teams are out there, they're working.”
The fence is a result of an administrative offensive from the city as they tamp down on street homelessness and crime.
“Circle K, unfortunately, we were struggling with them to get them on board,” Rebeterano said during his presentation. “We did have three underage alcohol purchases at the Circle K in the last year, which subjected them to a public nuisance abatement case. So their license is kind of in jeopardy right now and they're in a little bit of trouble.”
That trouble, he added, was the leverage officials needed to get its owners engaged.
Eric Escudero, spokesperson for Denver’s Department of Excise and Licenses, said Circle K’s management agreed to a settlement for one violation in 2023. They’ve since logged two more this year.
Management now must appear for a hearing next month for a second settlement, or else risk losing their liquor license.
“The Department of Excise and Licenses is involved in this case because there are serious allegations of selling alcohol to minors,” Escudero wrote in an email to Denverite. “It is not the city’s goal to revoke licenses and shut down businesses. The goal is to get businesses in compliance with rules and regulations to protect health, safety and welfare in Denver.”
The gas station is also under a separate public nuisance process with Denver’s City Attorney office, in which officials can force property owners to make changes — like a new fence — under threat of having their property closed for up to three years.
While neither anyone from Circle K nor the City Attorney’s office responded to questions about the matter, Torres said the city also recommended more lighting and cameras as part of the public nuisance process.
Mayor Mike Johnston's office said this kind of administrative pressure is not part of a targeted campaign to deal with this current moment of visible homelessness, though the city does use tactics like this to deal with crime.
"This is more of typical city business to address issues like underage liquor sales, public consumption, drug activity, and other safety issues in this specific location rather than a citywide strategy," spokesperson Jordan Fuja said in a statement.
Still, at the neighborhood meeting last week, Lt. Rebeterano said the city exerted similar pressure on a liquor store near Paco Sanchez Park as it fought the same kinds of issues.
Neighbors are glad something is happening, but these are still just short-term measures.
Public meetings about homelessness in Denver sometimes become venting sessions for angry residents, but people kept their composure during the recent gathering in Lincoln Park.
Christiano Sosa, a member of the La Alma Lincoln Park Neighborhood Association’s board, said one reason is that people here understand how difficult these issues are. On one hand, they want quick action to address their growing safety concerns. But they’re also pragmatic that long-term solutions — treatment, housing and shelter — take time.
“The issue we’re tackling here is multilayered, it’s complex, and I think solutions need to be multilayered and complex,” Sosa said. “I’m not a fan of hostile architecture or landscaping, because that’s not the vision we want in the neighborhood, but I understand a fence is far less expensive than building additional housing or more mental health resources.”
Councilmember Torres said something similar, adding that addressing a hotspot like the Circle K will only work if those long-term resources are available. The city otherwise risks returning to a status quo where people who sleep outside are cyclically moved along to the next block.
“Handling this location will make a huge difference, and we are seeing a big difference,” she wrote in an email? to Denverite. “Addressing this spot will have an impact, but not if we’re just pushing it out into the neighborhood. So there is still work to do to address issues as they disperse.”
The city is working on initiatives to deal with chronic homelessness and addiction, including the mayor’s new Roads to Recovery initiative that is supposed to connect people directly with treatment programs.
“The fence alone will not accomplish improved safety,” Torres wrote in an email to Denverite, “but an engaged and responsible business can make a huge difference.”
Update: Language has been added to this story to clarify the mayor's office's statement on the use of administrative pressure.
