A city ordinance written in the late 1970s that molded the structure of Denver’s Registered Neighborhood Organizations has not been touched since.

But changes are on their way.

For months, Denver City Councilman Paul Kashmann has been chewing on a number of ways he could legislate to empower the city’s 226 RNOs to better serve the community, an initiative he plans to take on after the New Year. 

The 1978 ordinance created a two-way communication system, Kashmann explained: The city notifies neighborhood groups – made up of residents and property owners – of a variety of licensing and zoning issues, and the RNOs alert their constituents with the idea that they will relay residents’ input back to the city.

But time after time, many community members find themselves left out of city decisions, with council members often facing the brunt of their opposition.

Kashmann, who was first elected to the council in 2015, says the communication breakdown typically occurs because the city has provided RNOs with “no real support in the way of ongoing training, how to form a board of directors, how to run a meeting, what’s Robert’s Rules and do you care about them … how to do newsletters, how to communicate with your constituents,” he rattled off in a council committee meeting on Nov. 19.

As a result, residents are often left out of planning processes and blindsided by their results, which can result in delays or inequitable outcomes. 

Kashmann wants to fix that.

His District 6 office, which represents parts of southeast Denver, recently sent out a survey to Denver’s RNOs to better understand their perspective of how the system is working and get their input on a “comprehensive path forward” that the councilman plans to bring back to his colleagues in a few months. 

During the committee meeting, several other council members showed support for Kashmann’s plan, including Councilmen Kevin Flynn and Chris Hinds and Councilwomen Candi CdeBaca, Jamie Torres, Amanda Sandoval, Amanda Sawyer and Council President Stacie Gilmore.

Sawyer told Kashmann her office has noticed that “part of what’s missing is a connection between RNOs,” because they are often having to answer the same questions for different groups. She encouraged him to explore ways in which organizations could better communicate, share best practices and “build that sense of community,” which she said “would be really valuable.”

CdeBaca encouraged Kashmann to look into the city of Los Angeles as a “model of diversity,” because it focuses on ensuring RNOs reflect the communities they represent. 

“Equity is going to have to be a value at the top of the pyramid,” Kashmann agreed. “We’ve done a decent job over the years reaching a very limited population, and I think it’s critical we expand that.” 

The next step, he told his colleagues, will be to dig more deeply into how other cities have invested in building neighborhood engagement and awareness. Some for example, such as Boston, have stood up a permanent office with liaisons each devoted to a small handful of neighborhoods. 

“While I think RNOs should continue to play an important role in our city, we need to look at the entire basket of pieces that can play a role in making sure we’re truly communicating to all of our residents and not limit it to just one set of tools,” Kashmann said. 

“The structure we have now is decades old, and I think the way we might want to begin thinking about the topic is how do we create the system we want and what are all the elements that play into that,” he suggested. “This is not something that will be rushed through in a matter of weeks or a few months – I’m guessing this will be a long, in-depth conversation – but I think it will pay off well for everybody in the city eventually.”