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Dinosaurs and Whales, Racism, Voting and Zoning

Golden Eye Candy – Janine Sturdavant – Late Fall Afternoon – click to enlarge

Public Health References
CDC * Colorado * Jefferson County * City of Golden

JCPHD updates these numbers Monday through Friday at about 3 PM. Here’s the most recent Coronavirus report from Jeffco Public Health’s Case Summary Page:

Cases in Jeffco – Mon: 6736 | Tues: 6808 (+72)
Deaths in Jeffco – Mon: 294 | Tues: 295 (+1)
Ever Hospitalized in Jeffco – Mon: 609 | Tues: 612 (currently 22) (+3)
Recovered – Mon: 5712 | Tues: 5753 (+41)
Known Cases in Golden – Mon: 241 | Tues: 241 (no change)

School of Mines COVID-19 case page. | Masks are required. | City and County fire restrictions are in place. | Clear Creek is now open.


Virtual Golden

9AM Golden Walks
9-10AM Virtual Power Training
10:15AM Let’s Dance with the Library
10-11:30AM Everything Dinosaur Talk – Theropods
6PM Wednesday Watch Party – Nosferatu
6PM Golden Anti-Racism Collective General Meeting
Our guest speaker will be presenting on the importance of voting and her experience with racial discrimination as an Iranian-American post-9/11. 


Real World Golden

3:30-4:30PM Vaccine, License & Microship Clinic @ Foothills Animal Shelter


Whale of a Used Book Sale

The Library Foundation’s used book/video/music/misc sale begins tonight, with the members-only preview. In order to minimize the number of people admitted at any given time, they are selling timed admission tickets for $5. Several time slots (including tonight) are already sold out, so get your tickets now!


Voting

My ballot arrived Saturday and I dropped it in the box at the courthouse on Sunday night. I checked yesterday (Tuesday) and the ballot had been accepted! If you’ve turned in your ballot, you can check its status here: jeffco.us/3313/Track-Your-Ballot. You’ll be asked to enter your first name, last name, date of birth, and zip code. It was a very easy and satisfying process.


Golden History Moment

72 Years Ago
The October 14, 1948 Colorado Transcript announced a public meeting about a proposed zoning ordinance. This was only one in a multi-year series of meetings on the topic.

In the 1940s, after 80 years of yearning for growth, Golden was suddenly inundated with new residents, as returning WWII veterans used the GI Bill to attend the Colorado School of Mines. The newcomers were desperate for places to live, and residents were encouraged to rent out rooms in their houses.

Colorado Transcript – August 31, 1944
MORE HOMES BADLY NEEDED

There are literally thousands of people who would like to live in Golden if they were able to find suitable quarters.

Newcomers were living wherever they could–in tents on vacant lots, in trailers parked inside the CSM Field House, and in repurposed turkey coops. This inspired city leaders in 1944 to propose a zoning ordinance, to protect homeowners from having Hoovervilles built next door.

Many property owners were worried that zoning would infringe on their rights to develop their property, and the proposed zoning regulations were shouted down in one loud and vitriolic meeting.

September 14, 1944
THE WEDNESDAY NIGHT ZONING MEETING

We haven’t met a single person who feels real proud of this meeting. Several have told us they were sorry they went so far….”

Unbridled growth continued, with no regulations on quality or placement of new structures until City Council made a second attempt to introduce zoning in 1948.

December 2, 1948
ORDINANCE IS FAVORED BY PROPERTY OWNERS

Property owners of the south Golden area voiced themselves as being in full accord with the provisions of the proposed zoning law…in fact, many property owners believed that provisions could be even more strict than proposed. This area has been designated by the planning commission as R-1. This provides for single family dwellings only, with garage. There would also be height regulations, minimum height regulations, provisions for front yard, side yard, and back yard….

New Homes, Post-Zoning Ordinance, in the Bunzel Addition – click to enlarge

After a lengthy public input process, the motion passed in April of 1949. Hundreds of zoning-compliant houses were built in the years that followed.


Many thanks to the Golden History Museum for providing the online cache of historic Transcripts as well as the Golden Transcript for documenting our history since 1866!

Highlights