Review and comment hearing on initiated ordinances and charter amendments.
Denver Revised Municipal Code § 15-3
in effectSec. 15-3. - Review and comment hearing on initiated ordinances and charter amendments.
(a) Prior to the submission to the clerk and recorder of any affidavit or statement of intent commencing the process for initiating any ordinance or charter amendment, the proponents of the initiated measure shall submit a typewritten draft of the text of the proposed ordinance or charter amendment to the city council executive director and to the city attorney for review and comment. No later than ten (10) business days after the date of submission of the original draft, unless it is withdrawn by the proponents, the city council executive director and the city attorney shall render their comments to the proponents of the petition concerning the format or contents of the proposed ordinance or charter amendment at a meeting open to the public. Where appropriate, such comments shall also contain suggested editorial changes to promote compliance with the plain language provisions of this section.
(b) After the public meeting but before submission to the clerk and recorder of any affidavit or statement of intent commencing the petition process, the proponents may amend the text in response to some or all of the comments of the city council executive director and the city attorney. If any substantial amendment is made to the text, the amended text shall be resubmitted to the director and the city attorney for comment in accordance with subsection (a) of this section. If the director or city attorney have no additional comments concerning the amended text, they may so notify the proponents in writing, and, in such case, a hearing on the amended text pursuant to subsection (a) of this section is not required.
(c) To the extent possible, drafts shall be worded with simplicity and clarity and so that the effect of the measure will not be misleading or likely to cause confusion among voters. The draft shall not present the issue to be decided in such manner that a vote for the measure would be a vote against the proposition or viewpoint that the voter believes that he or she is casting a vote for or, conversely, that a vote against the measure would be a vote for a proposition or viewpoint that the voter is against. Proponents are encouraged to write such drafts in plain, non-technical language and in a clear and coherent manner using words with common and everyday meaning which are understandable to the average reader.
(d) After the conference provided in subsections (a) and (b) of this section, the city council executive director and the city attorney shall submit jointly to the proponents and the clerk and recorder written notice certifying compliance with this section and a proposed ballot title and ballot question, provided that no ballot title or ballot question shall be submitted if the city council executive director and the city attorney believe an initiative contains more than one subject pursuant to section 8.3.1(B) and 8.3.2(E) or does not propose municipal legislation pursuant to section 1(9) of article V of the state constitution. The clerk and recorder shall not receive or act upon any affidavit or notice of intent commencing the process for initiating any ordinance or charter amendment unless the affidavit or notice of intent is accompanied by a certification as provided herein.
(Ord. No. 1010-02, § 1, 12-9-02; Ord. No. 264-07, § 5, 6-11-07; Ord. No. 983-22, § 2, 9-12-22; Ord. No. 2036-25, § 2, 1-5-26)
Source: City and County of Denver, Revised Municipal Code and Charter (Municode Library, library.municode.com)URL: https://library.municode.com/co/denver/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=TITIIREMUCO_CH15EL_ARTIINGE_S15-3RECOHEINORCHAMFetched: 10/27/2026