City of Aurora 2009 Comprehensive Plan

Chapter III. Some ABC’s – Aurora Basic Compendium

A. Profile of Aurora Aurora enjoys a mild, sunny, semi-arid climate that makes it a very pleasant place to Physical Setting. The land that eventually live. Average annual precipitation is only became known as Aurora, is 14.82 inches. Moderate temperatures, geographically located on the Colorado combined with very low levels of humidity, Piedmont between the high make the area’s climate very comfortable, and the foothills to the west. Five major averaging about 300 sunny days a year. streams flow through this area: The area’s annual average high temperature Cherry Creek of 64 degrees is higher than New York City Tollgate Creek and Seattle, and within five degrees of the Unnamed Creek average high in San Francisco and Columbia Creek Washington, D.C. It also has the lowest average relative humidity of 25 major cities Sand Creek surveyed, including Los Angeles, San

Francisco, Dallas, and Minneapolis. They all originate from springs on the eastern plains and eventually flow into the . Other than these creeks, Metro /Aurora Climate whose water levels are often unpredictable, the only other water sources in Aurora are Season Average Average Possibility scattered underground aquifers. Water has High P.M. of always been a scarce resource in this area as Temperature Humidity Sunshine

Winter well as a major factor in determining the 43ºF 49% 71% (January) growth of the city.

Spring 61ºF 35% 67% (April) Size. Aurora is Colorado’s third largest city by population (2009 pop. 314,326) and Summer 88ºF 34% 71% second largest by physical size (154 square (July) th miles). Aurora is the 58 most populous city Autumn 66ºF 35% 72% in the United States, ranking between (October) Bakersfield, California (57th) and New th Source: NOAA’s National Weather Service Weather Orleans, Louisiana (59 ) (U.S. Census 2008, Forecast Office American Community Survey). Fig.III-1

Climate. Because of well-publicized Population. Aurora has a diverse and snowfall in the Colorado Rocky Mountains growing population. Key population facts and nearby world-famous skiing, many include: people assume that the Aurora/Denver area suffers harsh winters. The metropolitan area Gross population density covering the sits at the foot of the Rockies on the high entire city limits which includes plains, not in the mountains. The mountains substantial areas far-removed from catch most of the snow before it gets to the utility service connection: 2,033 people plains, and winter storms do not last long. per square mile Warm chinook winds temper the winter chill to an average temperature well above that of Net population density in the developed other cities situated at the same latitude. part of the city: 3,865 people per square mile

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City of Aurora 2009 Comprehensive Plan

Race breakdown of population (U.S. Economy. The City of Aurora has more Census 2008, American Community than 12,928 businesses employing more than Survey): 106,900 people, not including sole proprietors. Construction, manufacturing, White: 67.2% transportation, wholesale, financial, and Black or African American: service businesses are well represented in 14.5% Aurora’s economy. Local businesses serve American Indian and Alaska regional, national, and international markets. Native: 1.1% There is extensive retail development in Asian, Hawaiian, and Pacific Aurora including two regional malls and a Islander: 4.7% “power center” corridor extending along I- Some other race: 9% 225. Two or more races: 3.5% Buckley Air Force Base, a key link in the Ethnic breakdown of population: United States Air Force Space Command Hispanic or Latino: 27 percent Satellite tracking system, is located in Aurora. Also present are high-technology Government. The City of Aurora is firms such as Raytheon, Boeing, Lockheed governed by a council/manager form of Martin, and Northrop Grumman. government. Aurora also operates as a “home rule” government, which allows the One of Aurora’s greatest economic assets is city to draft or amend its own charter. its educated population, with 24.6 percent of its adult residents having completed at least The Aurora City Council is composed of ten a four-year degree and 82.6 percent having members and the mayor. Of those ten at least completed high school (U.S. Census members, six are ward council members, Bureau 2008, American Community representing one of the six wards that Survey). section the city. The remaining four council members are elected at-large, like the mayor, to represent the entire city.

The city manager ensures that the policy direction set by City Council is carried out and that the city’s delivery of public services reaches all of its residents. The city manager prepares a recommended budget for City Council, and recruits, hires, and supervises city staff. The manager also provides City Council with policy information, alternatives, and analysis concerning questions, issues, and decisions before the council.

In addition, there are volunteer boards and commissions that advise city management and City Council on the proper course of City Council Wards action on any number of subjects. Fig. III-2

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City of Aurora 2009 Comprehensive Plan

AURORA CITY SEAL

Five Stars: represent home, school, place of worship, business, and industry. Rising Sun: represents a rising community sharing its light and making its voice heard throughout the Rocky Mountains. Colors: blue represents the azure sky while gold is symbolic of that which originally brought settlers to Colorado.

Cost of Living Index (2009 1st Qtr) The variety of recreational pursuits available in Aurora include: golf, tennis, swimming,

300 bicycling, in-line skating, skateboarding, 220 fishing, hiking, horseback riding, league 250 sports, and programmed activities for all 200 148 113 ages and abilities. Seven public and three 105 100 150 92 private golf courses are open year-round. A 100 variety of public facilities are provided 50 including pocket parks smaller than one acre 0 in size to regional parks that exceed 100 acres, recreation centers, swimming pools, golf courses, and sports complexes with lighted ball fields. The supply of public facilities is supplemented by extensive private golf, tennis, and other recreational

Source: American Chamber of Commerce facilities. Researchers Association (ACCRA) Fig. III-3 Aurora has a number of local festivals,

museums and attractions, and has easy Aurora enjoys a reasonable cost of living. access to cultural facilities throughout the The cost of living is lower than most major metro area and the state, including cities and just slightly above the national museums, festivals, live performance average, according to a national survey theater, symphony, ballet, and opera. conducted by the American Chamber of

Commerce Researchers Association Professional sports teams in the (ACCRA). The cost of living ranks below Denver/Aurora area include: Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York.

NFL: Recreation. A moderate, semi-arid climate NBA: enables Aurora residents to enjoy a high- MLB: quality lifestyle with 7,000 acres of park and NHL: open space land and more than 8,000 MLS: recreational programs. The mild climate NLL: allows for year-round outdoor recreation. CHL: Rocky Mountain Rage The nearby mountains provide four-season activities and world-renowned ski resorts within two hours of Aurora.

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Center has relocated to the former Fitzsimons Army Hospital site in Aurora. The University of Colorado Health Sciences Center is located on 217 acres at the former base and includes administrative and teaching functions, as well as clinical and research programs.

Aurora Reservoir Beach

Education. Aurora has a quality K-12 education system composed of public schools, as well as a number of private and charter schools. Aurora is served primarily by two public school districts, with small portions of Aurora located in the Douglas County, Bennett and Brighton school districts:

Aurora Public Schools (Adams- Arapahoe 28J school district) includes 29 elementary schools, seven middle/junior high schools, four senior high schools, three non-traditional public schools, and six charter schools. Fitzsimons Historic Main Hospital Total public school enrollment in 2009 was 35,523 pupils. The University of Colorado Health Sciences Center is one of the nation’s top academic Cherry Creek 5 School District includes medical centers and is the heart of an active 41 elementary schools, 13 middle/junior complex of laboratories, clinics, hospitals, high schools, seven senior high schools, classrooms, and offices. 11 non-traditional public schools, and one charter school. Total public school There are, in total, 21 four-year colleges and enrollment in 2009 was 51,115 pupils. universities and six two-year colleges in the surrounding metropolitan area. In addition, Aurora’s higher education system includes there are numerous technical and trade the Community College of Aurora, the schools in the Aurora area. Many of University of Colorado Health Sciences Aurora’s colleges and universities offer non- Center, Columbia College, University of traditional or adult education programs, Phoenix-Aurora campus, and Regis College. including evening and weekend part-time The University of Colorado Health Sciences tracks for those seeking degrees.

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Source: U.S. Census Bureau 2008, American Community Survey includes people over 25 Fig. III-4

The average cost of a resale single family detached home in the Aurora area in 2009 was $155,632. (See Fig. III-5)

Average monthly apartment rent was $714.34 in the 1st quarter of 2009 (Denver Metro Apartment Vacancy and Rent Survey, 1st Quarter 2009).

Health Care. Quality of life depends on quality health care, and Aurora ranks high in Health One’s Medical Center of Aurora both. The active, outdoor lifestyle of residents translates into a high degree of The Community College of Aurora (CCA) fitness, which means less illness and lower was ranked by the Colorado Commission on absenteeism for employers. Preventive Higher Education, as the number one health care receives a great deal of attention community college and the number two of and many employers provide wellness all two and four-year public colleges in programs for their employees. Colorado. In accordance with its assigned mission as a comprehensive community Hospital facilities in Aurora include the college, CCA offers 32 associate degree Medical Center of Aurora, north and south programs and 40 certificates in vocational campuses, University Hospital, Children’s education and technical fields. Hospital, and Spalding Rehabilitation Hospital. Housing. Aurora offers an excellent selection of housing that accommodates all Transportation. Aurora is well served by income levels. The area offers a wide choice interstate, highway, rail, and air service. The of homes, from the current inventory of city is adjacent to DIA’s south side. The E- previously owned homes, to new homes, or 470 tollway connects major north and south one-of-a-kind custom-built homes. business centers with DIA and I-25.

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Source: Aurora Association of Realtors Fig. III-5 Four airports are within, adjacent to, or close to Aurora (Buckley is actually in This and That Aurora): number of counties within which Aurora Denver International Airport (DIA) is located: three (Arapahoe, Douglas, Front Range Airport Adams) Centennial Airport number of Zip codes: 11 Buckley Air Force Base official city elevation: 5,435 feet

elevation change within city: 944 feet Major freeways run through Aurora highest elevation: 6,229 feet (1/4 mile including: north of intersection of Inspiration Drive

and Antelope Trail in Douglas County) The E-470 Tollway lowest elevation: 5,285 feet (Sand Creek Interstates I-70 and I-225 Waste Water Reclamation Facility)

B. History of Aurora

The first Native Americans in this area can be traced back to approximately 1300 B.C., and archaeological evidence indicates that these nomadic peoples migrated between the present-day Fort Collins/Greeley area through Aurora, and farther south. The first recorded history of the Aurora area begins with the 1659 accounts of Spanish explorers describing their encounters with the Apache and Pawnee tribes. After the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, more Americans began to make their way into this area, mainly fur trappers and explorers until the late 1850s. With the discovery of gold in 1859, the number of people who traveled to Colorado increased dramatically. Many of these “Fifty-Niners” ended up staying because they did not find enough gold even to pay for a return trip. The was officially organized in 1861, and Denver was established as its principal city.

Travelers to Denver had a choice of three trails:

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The South Platte Trail The Old The Smoky Hill

The followed an Army road out of Leavenworth, Kansas, then tracked the Smoky Hill River to present- day Limon (about 70 miles southeast of Aurora). From there, it split into three branches, all of which pass through present-day Aurora. The northern branch roughly followed present-day Colfax Avenue, and the middle branch, known as the “Starvation Trail” due to its difficulty, followed Smoky Hill Road. The most southern branch followed Parker Road. Map courtesy of Lee Whitely There were several way stations and trail Fig. III-6 outposts along these trails that were named according to their function and distance from Denver: Nine-Mile House, Twelve-Mile House, Seventeen-Mile House, and Tollgate Stage Stop. By the 1870s, the area that would eventually become Aurora was a small, thriving community of farmers and ranchers who provided livestock and produce for the expanding city of Denver. Irrigation was the key for successful crops, and the Highline Canal, which diverted water from the South Platte River to the eastern plains of Aurora, was completed in the early 1880s. The 1870s were considered a “boom decade” for growth in the Denver area. Land prices skyrocketed and there were many real estate investments. This trend lasted until the 1890s, the decade that saw the birth of Aurora.

In 1891, Donald Fletcher and two partners purchased a total of four square miles of land east of Denver. This land was bisected by Colfax Avenue, the logical axis for eastern expansion of Denver, and included the Aurora Subdivision, the New England Heights Subdivision, and land that was owned by Donald Fletcher. The town was incorporated as the Town of Fletcher in May 1891. H.M. Milliken was elected as the first mayor of Fletcher by the town’s 36 residents.

The Silver Panic of 1893, which resulted in a dramatic drop in the price of real estate, and a water shortage in 1894, led to extreme economic hardships for the new town. And it was at this time of uncertainty and economic difficulty that Donald Fletcher slipped quietly out of town, abandoning his namesake. The town renamed itself Aurora in 1907, and by virtue of its population size, became the City of Aurora in 1928.

Historic Fletcher House Aurora Association of Realtors

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In 1918, the Town of Aurora received major economic assistance through the establishment of Army Hospital No. 21 on the northeast corner of Peoria Street and East Colfax Avenue, the former site of the Gutheil Nursery. Many soldiers exposed to toxic gases during the trench warfare of World War I recovered here.

The number of staff, patients, and associated persons stimulated Aurora’s economy, leading to an influx of people who began the transformation of Aurora and East Colfax Avenue. It became an area that served army personnel, their families, and other travelers by offering temporary housing, gas stations, and other shops that catered to people associated with the Army post. The hospital became a permanent Army post in 1920 and its name changed to Fitzsimons Army Hospital. The 1920’s were also marked by an increase in automobile tourism across the country. In Aurora, this meant that Highway 40, known locally as Colfax Avenue, was built up with vehicle service stations, motor courts, camping areas, and restaurants. This provided travelers to the Denver area the services they required after the long trip across the eastern plains.

The Great Depression of the 1930’s directly affected Aurora through farm foreclosures and bank closings. Agriculture was still the dominant economic activity through the early 1940’s, and the effects of the local drought and the Dust Bowl conditions were keenly felt in this area. When the United States entered World War II in 1941, the entire country became mobilized for war. Aurora benefited from the presence of Lowry Field, which had opened as an Army Air Corps technical school in 1938. It evolved into a flight training school with an associated bombing range. In 1942, a second air field was constructed to train fighter pilots; it was known as Lowry II until after the war, when it was renamed Buckley Field.

Throughout the war years, Aurora’s economy and population grew. However, the wartime rationing did not allow builders to keep up with the demands for new housing. One popular solution for the housing shortage was the mobile home, but most of the people in Aurora hoped that it would be a temporary one. This unprecedented growth continued into the 1950’s, but the direction of this expansion changed from the Colfax Avenue circa 1921 east to the south. Most of the newer construction was taking place on Havana Street, closer to Lowry Field and away from the “Miracle Mile” of Colfax Avenue. This geographical shift affected many businesses in the downtown Aurora area, and also contributed to the discontinuation of both the Denver Tramway and the Aurora Bus Lines. By this time, the majority of the public was primarily using personal automobiles for local transportation. The population surge following World War II and the increased economic activity that accompanied it effectively changed Aurora from a small, mostly rural area to a modern suburb by the end of the 1950’s.

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History Timeline

1880s – High Line Canal completed, flows to fields in future Aurora.

1891 – Fletcher incorporated, buys East Denver Water Company for $150,000 financed with bonds.

1894 – Fletcher (town) buys supplemental water supplies from Denver Union Water Company (later the Denver Water Board).

1896 – First outside lawn watering restrictions enforced.

1901 – First sidewalks approved.

1907 – Fletcher changes name to Aurora (name of subdivision south of Colfax Avenue). Town board becomes Board of Trustees.

1908 – Board of Trustees forced to approve water taps on individual basis due to contract with company getting water from Denver, leaving Aurora’s control of growth in outside hands for more than 40 years.

1920 – U.S. Army Hospital No. 21 becomes Fitzsimons Army Hospital.

1920 – Aurora obtains first car dealership, the Aurora Motor Company.

1924-1926 – American War Mothers National Memorial Home (1601 Peoria Street) is built.

1925 – Colorado’s first all-electric house is built at 1455 Beeler Street (Gilligan House).

1926 – City Park became the first public park at the northeast corner of 16th Avenue and Dayton Street.

1938 – Lowry Field opens as Denver Branch of the Air Corps Technical School.

1940 – Town floats $250,000 bond issue to pay off first water bond issue.

1942 – Lowry II opens as second airfield (named Buckley Field after the war).

1943 – Council passes Aurora’s first zoning codes.

1946 – Aurora City Planning Commission is created. Fox Theater opens.

1950 – Denver Water Board establishes “blue line” limiting water tap allocations to customers, including Aurora.

1951 – Aurora approves council-manager form of government. Hoffman Heights Subdivision development begins (annexed 1954).

1952 – Aurora imposes water rationing due to reservoir limitations.

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1953 – First city manager hired (Earl Sandquist).

1953-55 – Lowry becomes summer White House.

1956 – Aurora retires its first water debt dating back 65 years.

1959 – “Battle of Stapleton” results in plan for airport expansion into Aurora.

1960 – Aurora voters approve home rule status.

1961 – Colorado Supreme Court rules in favor of Aurora’s and Colorado Springs’ cooperative agreement for Homestake, a transmountain diversion water project.

1966 – Last flight leaves Lowry Field.

1967 – First water flows from Homestake project, city ends status as customer of Denver Water Board. Norma Walker becomes Aurora mayor, first woman mayor in U.S. of city larger than 60,000.

1972 – Aurora establishes its “blue line” limiting annexations.

1975 – Aurora Mall opens.

1981 – Aurora Central Library opens. Fox Theater closes after a fire.

1984 – City absorbs final independent water district (Sable) and resumes annexations, discards blue line.

1985 – Fox Theater re-opens after city purchase and rehabilitation. City establishes Aurora Historic Preservation Commission. Aurora hosts Parade of Homes at Park East subdivision.

1991 – Aurora Reservoir opens.

1993 – City enacts Art in Public Places Program.

1994 – Lowry Air Force Base is decommissioned.

1995 – DIA opens. City acquires 57-acre site protected as Jewell Wetlands. City purchases 1,100-acre Plains Conservation Center. Federal government decides to close Fitzsimons Army Medical Center.

1996 – Fitzsimons Redevelopment Authority is created and redevelopment plan prepared. Aurora residents vote against city-county status (59 percent to 41 percent).

1997 – University of Colorado Health Science Center begins move to Fitzsimons site.

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2000 – Parade of Homes returns to Aurora at Tallyn’s Reach. Buckley Air National Guard Base becomes Buckley Air Force Base.

2002 to 2003 – Region suffers worst drought in recorded history.

2003 – Aurora Municipal Center (new city hall) opens at City Center campus.

2004 - Aurora honored as the Sports Illustrated magazine’s 50th Anniversary “Sportstown” for Colorado because of its exemplary involvement in supporting amateur sports.

2007 – Children’s Hospital moves to Fitzsimons.

2008 – Aurora named an All-America City by the National Civic League at its annual competition.

City of Aurora Populations Trends and Milestones, 1990-2008 Fig. III-7

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Aurora’s City Halls

City of Aurora 2009 Comprehensive Plan

Aurora’s City Halls

No. 1 No. 2 16th & Elmira 9859 E. 16th Avenue 1907-1954 1954-c1970

No. 3 1470 Emporia Street No. 4 c1970-1976 1470 S. Havana Street 1976-2003 Demolished in 2003 for new Martin Luther King Municipal Services Building

No. 5 15151 E. Alameda Parkway 2003

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