Aurora seeks boundary change to address encampment near navigation campus

A jurisdictional issue along the Aurora-Denver border is throwing an unexpected wrench into efforts to clear a homeless encampment outside Aurora's Regional Navigation Campus.

Aurora Mayor Mike Coffman says city leaders recently discovered the encampment sits on a small piece of land that is technically within Denver city limits, even though it is adjacent to the Aurora-owned campus at East 40th Avenue and Chambers Road. The campus was purchased by Aurora to provide shelter, services and support for people experiencing homelessness. 

"When we bought the property, we assumed that 40th was the boundary between the city of Aurora and the city of Denver," Coffman told CBS Colorado. "And it is except for a small piece, and that piece right now has an encampment on it."

Coffman said some of the people living in the encampment were previously receiving services at the Regional Navigation Campus but were asked to leave after failing to follow program rules. The mayor said Aurora wants to address the camp not only because of its proximity to the campus, but also because of concerns from nearby residents and businesses on both sides of the city line.

"We obviously want to be good neighbors not simply to the businesses of Aurora, but the residences and businesses in Denver which are right across the street," Coffman said.

Coffman said the jurisdictional boundary matters because Aurora and Denver have different policies for abatements.

"We have very different guidelines for abating an encampment than Denver does," he explained.

A spokesperson for Denver Mayor Mike Johnston's office said the two cities are working together so the property can be managed under a single set of rules. Denver also noted the encampment highlighted by Coffman appears to be largely within Aurora. Coffman said Aurora is pursuing a boundary adjustment that would transfer the property into Aurora's jurisdiction.

"We need to clean it up, but we need to have the authority to do it by virtue of having jurisdiction over this area," Coffman said. "So we're going to go forward with this boundary change and working with Denver."

Both Aurora and Denver officials say they expect the matter by the Regional Navigation Campus will be resolved between the two cities in the coming months.  

Coffman said Aurora completed a similar process earlier this year. He explained the city worked with neighboring Centennial on a land transfer involving Regis Jesuit High School, allowing Aurora to annex property connected to the school's planned expansion.

"So we know how to do it; we know there's a precedent for it," Coffman said.