The Denver City Council has decided to postpone sidewalk repair costs until 2025

Denver property owners wouldn’t see their first bills for the voter-approved sidewalk repair, replacement and construction program until next year under a second proposed delay of that initiative.

Lingering implementation issues, along with legal questions about the city’s latest proposed approach to reimbursements, were blamed Tuesday for pushing back the effective date again, beyond Jan. 1.

The new proposal to delay the collection of sidewalk fees for at least six months was adopted by the City Council’s Land Use, Transportation and Infrastructure Committee during an afternoon meeting. Assuming the change gets approval from the full council later this month, Denver residents will have waited more than two years after passage of the city-led sidewalk program for the special fund needed to finance that work. starts to fill.

That’s what municipal officials estimate 40% of Denver’s sidewalk network either it is in disrepair, too narrow – meaning people in wheelchairs or strollers cannot use it comfortably – or it has not been built.

Councilman Paul Kashmann sits on the stakeholder committee that has been working since August to adjust the sidewalk program and its associated fee structure before the quarterly bills hit residents’ mailboxes and online accounts.

That group has largely completed its work, he told fellow council members on Tuesday, but it will take some time before the proposed changes are finalized.

“The Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure,” Kashmann said, “needs additional time to get the billing system in order and to do additional work on what the layout and rollout of the program will actually look like. ”

When voters approved the Denver Deserves Sidewalks initiative in late 2022, the ballot language called for billing to begin in January of this year. But last fall, the council voted to postpone these collections until at least July 1.

In February, the city solicited community feedback on a proposal to eliminate the original fee framework, which varies widely based on how much sidewalk runs along a home’s street frontage, including two sides on corner lots. The city would move from that linear reimbursement approach to a flat fee of $148.64 per year for homeowners.

But Jill Locantore, the executive director of the Denver Streets Partnership, said the stakeholder committee heard about a new issue from the city attorney’s office. She led the campaign for the sidewalk cash program and now serves on that committee.

The advice from city attorneys was to implement a similar flat fee for commercial property owners, she said — otherwise the city risked opening itself up to legal liability, including possible violations of Colorado’s Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights, or TABOR.

“This is new to many of us and an unprecedented program for the city, so it will take time to work through all the details and ensure we are setting the program up for success,” Locantore said. “The reality is, logistically, there is no way the city will start collecting the fees on July 1.”

After the start of the billing cycle, changes to the ordinance – such as changes to the fee structure – will require council hearings and votes before being adopted.