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Northglenn residents press lawmakers to enshrine school buffers for transitional mental-health homes
Summary
At its April 13 meeting Northglenn leaders and residents urged passage of HB 26-1285 to bar people required to register under the Colorado Offender Registration Act from living in state-authorized mental-health transitional living facilities within 1,000 feet of K–12 schools; city lobbyists described a legal and policy path to committee testimony and said talks with the governor's office produced a draft MOU but removed key community protections.
Mayor Meredith Leidy convened the Northglenn City Council on April 13 with packed public comment focused on two mental-health transitional living facilities on Grant Drive and a state bill scheduled for committee the following day.
Residents told council they remain alarmed by repeated police calls and safety incidents near the homes and urged statutory protections rather than temporary administrative policies. "I still want children, women, seniors, and all residents to feel safe in their homes and their community," said Melissa Ruggett, a Ward 3 resident who testified that the state's temporary policy is insufficient and urged passage of HB 26-1285.
City-contracted lobbyist Adam Berg explained the legislative and operational history that led to the bill. He said the Colorado General Assembly authorized MHTLFs in 2022 (HB 22-1303) without explicit limits on whether people required to register under the Colorado Offender Registration Act could be placed in those homes. Berg told council the two homes off Grant Drive have generated "78 calls for police service within a two-year period," including a violent stabbing on Jan. 7 that exposed, he said, "inadequate residential screening, insufficient on-site supervision, and an overreliance on law enforcement to manage complex behavioral health needs." He described HB 26-1285 as proposing a clear, enforceable standard: MHTLFs within 1,000 feet of a K–12 school (public or private) would not admit people who must register under the Colorado Offender Registration Act.
Berg said city staff negotiated with the governor's office and the Department of Human Services about an alternative memorandum of understanding (MOU) to extend the existing administrative prohibition; Northglenn proposed edits intended to create enforceable protections but, he said, the state returned a revised draft with many of the city's changes removed. "An administrative policy does not provide the same level of durability and enforceability as a statutory solution," Berg told council, adding that he and the Colorado Municipal League continued lobbying the bill ahead of the House Judiciary Committee hearing scheduled for the Capitol basement the next morning.
Council members and staff encouraged residents to testify. Berg explained that the Colorado General Assembly website allows in-person, virtual, or written testimony and that sign-up details were shared with attendees and in the council packet. City Attorney Corey Hoffman and other staff joined council praise for the city's organized outreach and urged residents to press lawmakers for a permanent statutory boundary instead of a temporary policy.
The council did not take a formal vote on the bill itself but approved routine agenda items and reiterated support for Northglenn's legislative push. Berg and staff said they would continue outreach to lawmakers and the governor's office and that the committee hearing would be the next critical public opportunity for residents to be heard.
What's next: HB 26-1285 was listed second on the House Judiciary Committee agenda the following day; council staff and the lobbyist encouraged residents to sign up to testify via the General Assembly website or attend in person.
