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Greetings!
Downtown Colorado, Inc. (DCI) is celebrating 2012 National Historic Preservation Month with a variety of articles that highlight successful Historic Preservation projects in Colorado. Throughout May, DCI will discuss projects and historic preservation best practices that contribute to downtown revitalization. Each week DCI will focus on a different historic preservation project in communities across the state, as well as feature articles by historic preservation experts. We are also excited to inform you we have moved into a historic building, The Emerson School! Please note our new address, 1420 Ogden Street, Suite G-1, Denver, CO 80218.
The June DIDs Forum, Energy Partners Bottom Line: Prepackaged Benefits for Your Community will be taking place at Xcel Energy's office at 1800 Larimer Street, Suite 1400, Room 03G01 in Denver. This is sure to be an interesting topic, with representatives from energy companies discussing the changes to the light pole banner policy and alternative ideas to have more control over use of their light poles, or use other poles to hang banners. Find out more on this issue by reading the article below.
Cheers!
Katherine Correll
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Xcel Energy Making Changes to Streetlight Pole Banner Policies
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John Desmond, Downtown Denver Partnership Gives the Facts on Xcel Energy's New Streetlight Pole Banner Policy
Xcel Energy, which has been allowing banners to be placed on its streetlight poles since the late 1990s, is in the process of notifying stakeholders across Colorado that it will no longer allow banners to be placed on those poles. Colorado is the only state in which Xcel operates where it has allowed banners on its poles. Because Xcel is the primary owner of most streetlight poles in Colorado municipalities (with certain exceptions such as Colorado Springs and Loveland, whose municipal utilities own the poles), this will affect many downtown and main street organizations, as well as cultural organizations, municipalities and other nonprofit organizations that use banners as a promotional tool.
Transition Schedule
Initial conversations have been focused with Denver stakeholders, as Xcel owns and maintains the vast majority of streetlight poles in Denver through a franchise agreement with the City and County of Denver. In an April 12 meeting, Xcel stated that, as part of a transition period:
- it will allow permit applications until June 1, 2012, with a 90-day period for banners to remain on poles (until August 31, 2012);
- it is willing to consider a second extension for permits to be submitted until September 1, 2012, with another 90-day period for banners on poles ending December 31, 2012; and
- any groups currently hanging banners within the granted time periods noted above agree to minimize wind load as much as possible by using flexible hardware, lighter materials if possible, wind slits , and stay within guidelines previously provided by Xcel.
Xcel's Rationale
One of the main reasons for Xcel's policy shift is the increasing liability it perceives from operating this program, especially in light of several pole "failures" which have resulted in injuries and property damage. Xcel does not believe its franchise and operating agreements with municipalities provide adequate legal protection in the event of pole failure. In addition, Xcel has noted widespread corrosion in the bases of many of its poles, due to the increasing usage by municipalities of magnesium chloride, a chemical applied prior to snowstorms to minimize road slickness. Banners hung on poles add more wind loading to poles, which stresses them most at the pole bases where this corrosion is occurring, thereby increases the chances of pole failure.
More fundamentally, a Colorado Public Utilities Commission "tariff" (i.e., regulatory rule) in force since the 1940s only allows for police and public safety attachments to poles, including speed limit, parking and other traffic warning signs. Thus, Xcel is technically in violation of this tariff by allowing banners, hanging baskets or wayfinder signs on poles. Also, Xcel considers its primary responsibility to be providing and distributing electrical power and natural gas, and believes that managing a banner program is neither a "core competency" nor something to be funded by its ratepayers.
Options Moving Forward
Xcel has offered several possible options to address this issue:
- Enact and then maintain the proposed prohibition
- Work with individual municipalities, BIDs and other special districts to take over ownership and maintenance and liability for the poles
- Work with municipalities and special districts to increase their insurance liabilities and indemnify Xcel.
- Upgrade pole design specifications to handle banners and other non-traffic sign amenities.
Another option not mentioned by Xcel is that downtown, main street and special district organizations could erect their own poles in the public right-of-way (with approval from local jurisdictions) , thereby isolating streetscape amenity ownership and liability from Xcel-owned light poles.
John Desmond is the Executive Vice President of Urban Planning and Environment with the Downtown Denver Partnership.
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| Celebrating Historic Preservation in Colorado Communities: All Saint's Church at Eben Ezer Lutheran Care Center (Brush, CO) | |
The All Saints Church at the Eben Ezer Lutheran Care Center (EELCC) is located in Brush, Colorado and functions as the chapel for an elderly care facility. Constructed between 1916 and 1918, it was built in the tradition of 13th century churches in Denmark that served cloisters and hospitals. Originally serving a sanitarium for tuberculosis recovery, the Eben Ezer complex today provides continuous care housing, spiritual and medical support services for the elderly and others with special needs. The All Saints Church building has undergone several modifications since its construction including the addition of the bell tower between 1950 and 1951, basement remodeling, exterior rehabilitation, and the addition of a side aisle and toilet rooms. In 1983, the building was placed on the National Register of Historic Places.
In 2008 SLATERPAULL Architects completed a Historic Structure Assessment (HSA) for the All Saints Church building, funded with a grant from History Colorado, the Colorado Historical Society. Working closely with EELCC, SLATERPAULL identified the most critical deficiencies at the building, and created a phased work plan to address these items. A grant to complete the critical deficiencies was awarded by History Colorado, and work to mitigate the issues commenced in 2011. The project included site and drainage work, replacement of a flat roof area, rehabilitation of the interior museum space, and overall exterior rehabilitation of the building including replacement of an inappropriate screen door, work at the concrete foundation, and an area of foundation water-proofing.
The project was completed late in 2011, and has resulted in reduction of water infiltration due to site drainage issues, increased public safety at building entrances, and a museum space within the historic building which will be open to the public and enjoyed by future generations.
Though the issues addressed at Eben Ezer were not as evident as those at Rankin Presbyterian, both serve to prolong the life and use of the building, preserving our past for generations to come.
Read more articles in Historic Preservation all month on the DCI Blog!
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Profile: Colorado Brownfields Foundation
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Over the next few months, DCI will be featuring a short profile on various Colorado partner organizations and agencies that can help support you in your community revitalization work.
 The Colorado Brownfields Foundation (CBF) provides technical assistance to communities interested in redevelopment, renovation, and adaptive reuse of property. CBF accomplishes its mission by providing: area-wide opportunity assessments; property and transaction reuse strategies; redevelopment training; and project coordination services. Resulting public benefits have included blight removal, business-ready sites and community places, and recovered open space.
Since 2003, the nonprofit CBF has designed and implemented strategies to recycle abandoned sites into economically productive community assets. Its strategy focuses on clearing environmental remnants left over from earlier times such as gas stations, dry cleaners, dumps, asbestos, and mining-related uses. This focus not only increases real estate investment interest and enables financing, but also improves environmental quality and ensures community safety. Gap funding assistance for environmental grants and low-interest cleanup financing is a critical component in CBF's toolbox.
CBF staff is in the envious position of visiting all corners of the state while helping further important community goals. Recent technical assistance we have provided has supported new community centers, health clinics, renewable energy development, and heritage tourism.
In Las Animas, the former Bent County High School is a distinctive structure at the town's entrance. Once graceful, it is now deteriorating...but soon to be a new public gathering place! CBF assisted the community by providing guidance on environmental and regulatory issues that enabled a repurposing strategy. Most significantly, with CBF's mentoring, the county was awarded a $96,000 grant from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment for removal of asbestos and pigeon guano. This abatement is a critical first step on the road to revitalization, both for the former high school and the greater community. READ MORE
For more information on Colorado Brownfields Foundation, please visit www.coloradobrownfieldsfoundation.org.
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