Where Good Things Grow

Life’s better when you can get outside. Our Open Spaces department helps residents do just that by preserving natural and heritage areas, enhancing neighborhood and regional parks, and building and maintaining trails. Since its inception, the program has built or improved more than 76 miles of new trails, supported more than 180 park and trailhead projects and conserved more than 31,000 areas of open space.  

Updating a classic

Opened in 1995, Cheyenne-Arapaho Park quickly became one of the region’s most popular and well-used parks, creating a need for expansion and renewal. In 2022, we began a $2.7 million renovation that doubled the size of the park to 4.6 acres and will feature a new community garden with Denver Urban Gardens and a new off-leash dog area. The park honors the Cheyenne and Arapaho peoples’ connection to nature through Native American-inspired design features, native vegetation and natural landscaping. 

Helping those without a home 

On any single night in Arapahoe County, more than 500 of our neighbors are facing homelessness. Many are living on the brink, just one lost paycheck or emergency expense away from a crisis. Addressing homelessness is important to the quality of life in our communities and it’s been a top priority for the Board of County Commissioners for many years.    

Homelessness is a complex social challenge that no single agency can solve on its own. That’s why we partner with more than 100 local municipalities, agencies and individuals to take a regional approach to the issue.    

The American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) gave the County a unique opportunity to expand our homelessness efforts over the past several years. Without this one-time federal funding, we would not be able to provide adequate levels of support for individuals and municipalities.    

Using ARPA funds, in 2022 we hired five new navigators to perform intensive case management to address the complex needs of families experiencing homelessness, who are at risk of becoming homeless, or who need help navigating social service options. 

Keeping neighbors in their homes 

When our neighbors struggled to make rent during the pandemic, Arapahoe County rushed in with help, distributing more than $23 million in emergency rental assistance to more than 3,800 families. This one-time funding from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) allowed these families to stay in their homes without the fear of eviction.  

Community clean-up 

Any homeowner knows the challenge of “stuff” management—finding the balance between the things you need and want versus everything else, including a lot of things that just need to be thrown away. To help homeowners in Byers, our Public Works and Development department hosted a Clean-up Day on Sept. 17, where residents turned out to get rid of unwanted items, such as scrap metal, lawn debris and household items. Over the course of five hours, truckload after truckload filled more than four roll-off dumpsters—that’s almost 40 tons of “stuff.”  

There’s no doubt about it: Arapahoe County is a great place to call home. In fact, more than 655,000 people now live here, making us the third largest county in the state. While growth slowed down a bit in 2022, Census projections indicate we can expect thousands of more individuals and families to move here over the next decade. Managing that growth is a complex process, and it’s top of mind for our commissioners and planners.  

Connecting People

High Line Canal Underpass 

If you’ve ever cycled, walked or run the High Line Canal Trail, you may have stopped cold at South Parker Road and East Mississippi Avenue—a very intimidating intersection to cross on foot or on a bike. A new underpass under the intersection created a safer, more convenient connection for pedestrians and riders thanks to a partnership with the City and County of Denver and the Colorado Department of Transportation.

Iliff Avenue Corridor Project 

Following a study of Iliff Avenue from South Parker Road to Quebec, Arapahoe County secured $22 million in federal funding for the design and construction of recommended improvements to this heavily traveled road, including a four-lane corridor with acceleration/deceleration lanes, bike lanes, transit stop enhancements, sidewalk and multi-use paths, and signal detection and video monitoring to enhance safety. This $25.6 million project kicked off in 2021 and is expected to open in 2023.   

Improvements to Dry Creek 

Our Public Works and Development team completed a $1 million project that improves the Dry Creek Road and I-25 interchange, offering drivers a streamlined experience navigating one of the area’s busiest exchanges. Crews lengthened turn lanes, created a third lane for peak traffic, new metering, and upgraded pedestrian ramps that meet ADA standards.   

New building code

Building codes help keep people safe in their homes and businesses, so it’s imperative that our codes reflect the latest in safety standards. Public Works and Development implemented a new Building Code in 2022 that follows the International Building and International Residential standards and puts the County ahead of statutory conservation requirements that go into effect in 2025.   

New land use regulations

Governments use land use policies to maintain or guide the growth of a city, county or even the state. Arapahoe County made significant updates to its Land Development Code in 2022, starting with affordable housing. Those updates outline how the County supports affordable housing options and helps make the county more competitive when applying for state affordable housing grants. Other updates include reduced application fees for affordable housing projects, planned unit developments with affordable housing units, and allowing small square footage residential unit sizes.   

The Land Development Code was also updated to allow for small solar systems, commonly known as community solar gardens. This brings the County into alignment with state regulations and provides more protections for wildlife and safety setback requirements.  

Planning cases

Colorado is in desperate need of housing and our Planning Division helped facilitate 59 new planning cases in 2022 that will add 501 single-family/duplex units and 520 new apartments to the County. Arapahoe County now has 108,500 housing units approved and ready to be built within the County, helping to ease the housing crisis. 

Updated utility clearance policy

The County updated its Utility Clearance Policy and Procedure and now requires all utility companies to pay the full cost to relocate utility lines when needed for capital improvement projects. Previously, the County was left funding most relocation work and in the past decade, the County paid more than $1 million on utility relocation costs. 

Earning while you learn

Recognizing the immense benefits of hands-on experience, Arapahoe/Douglas Works! Workforce Development Center expanded its apprenticeship program beyond the trades and connected job seekers with opportunities in digital marketing, web application, advanced manufacturing in aerospace and even botany. The program’s earn-while-you-learn model supports job seekers in new careers and local businesses with trained and talented employees. It's only the second such program in the nation and the first in Colorado and was created in partnership with the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment.

Median family income rising for Black and Latino families 

The median family income for Black/African American and Hispanic/Latino families within the County increased between 2014 and 2019 at a significantly higher rate than for all families in the metro area and nationwide. Arapahoe is the only county in Colorado that can make this claim, and one of only 35 nationwide. The news illustrates how our multifaceted workforce development efforts are paying off for these families and showcases the unique diversity, education and skill mix among job seekers that matches demand for labor throughout the County.  

Election trust 

Providing safe and secure voting access is a top priority for the Elections Division, who worked tirelessly from spring to fall processing more than 114,600 ballots in the June Primary Election, then doing our part in a statewide, candidate-requested recount in August. Two months later, we managed 32 voting centers and 35 ballot drop boxes for the more than 256,000 voters who cast ballots in the November General Election. Voter education was also a priority in 2022. We opened the Elections Facility to the public and media for tours and created a series of short videos to explain how we ensure election security and integrity. 

Learning, by extension 

Arapahoe County CSU Extension, a division of Open Spaces, is all about building an inspired and engaged community. Staff delivered more than 506 free or low-cost educational programs and classes in 2022 for youth and adults. Class topics range from sustainable gardening to basic money management. The group helps equip residents with important skills to solve problems and build a better future.  

Making a splash with water savings 

Coloradans know the value of water, which is why our Public Works and Development department sponsored rain barrel workshops to teach homeowners how to collect and store rainwater. During the two-hour training, participants learned about emitters, diverters, downspouts and spigots (oh my!) and were given a comprehensive tutorial on creating a rain barrel system at home.  

A water-wise laboratory

We know that water is precious, which is why the County in 2022 converted three acres of lawn at the Administration Building in Littleton from Kentucky Bluegrass to a low-grow, high-drought tolerant native prairie grass that will save millions of gallons of water each summer. The County is monitoring plant health and water usage to see if other areas can be converted in similar fashion.  

The fun way to teach kids 

Kids and families love Play Date, an annual free family event where children learn about county operations in a fun and engaging way. Kids visit several stations where they learn about animal services by microchipping a stuffed animal, planning a city using building blocks, filling a pothole using sand, and getting up close and personal with the heavy equipment used by the Road and Bridge division.  

Funding

Several factors influenced the executive budget committee’s approach to building the 2022 recommended budget, the biggest being the economies of Colorado and the nation continued to recover after the impact of COVID. While Colorado’s growth in home prices outpaced most of the nation, the County did not benefit due to revenue caps by the Colorado Taxpayers Bill of Rights.

Arapahoe County prides itself on producing a structurally balanced general fund operating budget, which ensures that ongoing operating expenses do not exceed ongoing operating revenue. This enhances the County’s financial condition and sustainability.

A structurally balanced budget: 

• Focuses limited resources on necessary capital improvements that prioritize deferred maintenance.
• Funds state and federally mandated programs while maintaining existing programs and services. 
• Maintains a total compensation approach to ensure our workforce is competitive. 
• Plans ahead for known future needs and financial sustainability. For example, the County set aside $4 million to offset costs associated with the creation of the Arapahoe County Public Health Department in 2023.   

The County’s 2022 General Fund revenues were $211,056,993 and expenditures were $218,138,467. The County received an increase in property tax revenue, due to an increase in the overall assessed value of the County. This kind of growth is expected over the next few years.  

Saving for the future 

Two big and looming projects necessitated budget tightening during 2022. Finance staff set aside $3 million within the general fund to address future ongoing costs associated with the new Arapahoe County Public Health Department that came online in 2023 as well as the 18^th Judicial District that will become exclusively Arapahoe County’s in 2025. These steps avoided any significant impact to the overall budget for existing departments and elected offices. 

Expanding service while saving money 

By implementing efficiencies and carefully monitoring expenditures, the Clerk and Recorder’s Office came in under budget by $1,123,556 in 2022, effectively returning more than $1.1 million to the County’s General Fund.  

The Clerk’s Office also finalized a switch to appointment-only services in 2022, resulting in faster processing times and an 89% satisfaction rate among customers.