The entrance to Camp Eden at 11583 Camp Eden Road in Coal Creek Canyon. (Justin Wingerter/BusinessDen)
The City of Denver has agreed to pay $100,000 to a church camp in exchange for public access to that camp’s private road in the foothills, which leads to a proposed Denver park.
The agreement ends an eminent domain dispute that rankled residents of Coal Creek Canyon, 40 miles northwest of downtown Denver in far northern Jefferson and Gilpin counties.
In 2021, the Axton family donated its 448-acre ranch to Denver for use as the city’s 23rd mountain park and its first new mountain park since 1939. The area includes expansive meadows, ponds and a trail built by the Civilian Conservation Corps.
What the city did not acquire then is access to the only road leading to that property.
Beth Eden Baptist Church in Wheat Ridge owns Camp Eden and Camp Eden Road, which runs through the camp for a quarter mile, ending at the entrance to Axton Ranch. The Axtons have been able to use the road due to a handshake agreement they have with the church.
When it came time for Denver to buy public access to the road, the church balked.
On May 31, Denver’s finance director sent a letter to Beth Eden offering $20,000, according to a copy of that letter BusinessDen obtained in a records request. The church declined.
On July 3, an assistant city attorney sent a second letter that contained what he called the city’s “LAST AND FINAL WRITTEN OFFER”: $100,000. Beth Eden turned that down too.
The church, which has declined interview requests about its negotiations with the city, told a local Facebook group in July that it was concerned about illegal activity, increased traffic and that it could be held liable for injuries on the road if it granted access.
Camp Eden, bottom left, is seen from above. The camp is made up of nine buildings on 161 acres. (Justin Wingerter/BusinessDen)
That same month, Denver sued Beth Eden and asked a Jefferson County judge to let it take access through eminent domain. Meanwhile, the two sides kept negotiating.
On Oct. 30, the Denver City Attorney’s Office informed Judge Jason Carrithers that a settlement had been reached and asked him to close the case. He did so the next day.
That settlement calls for the city to pay $100,000 to Beth Eden; to snowplow and otherwise maintain the road; to put up “No Trespassing,” “No Parking” and “Slow – Children at Play” signs; and to be liable for injuries that occur, according to a copy of the deal obtained in a records request. In exchange, the church grants Denver an access easement.
The agreement was signed by Mayor Mike Johnston and Beth Eden’s top deacon. City and church officials declined BusinessDen’s requests to discuss their deal last week.
Denver was represented in the case by Senior Assistant City Attorney Ed Gorman. Beth Eden’s lawyer was Christopher Loy of the firm Hatch Ray Olsen Conant in Denver.
Axton Ranch will not become a public park immediately. It is a conservation area for now and will remain so until the city determines what infrastructure, if any, is needed there. Conservation areas are open to small school groups and surveyors but not the general public.
The entrance to Axton Ranch is on a private stretch of Camp Eden Road in rural Jefferson County. (Justin Wingerter/BusinessDen)
Word of the settlement has drawn mixed reactions from Coal Creek Canyon residents who worry about the effects a public park will have on cleanliness, traffic and fire risks.
“I am so happy Beth Eden won their battle but this of course means the burdens on our neighborhood are about to be realized,” said Jessica Gregg, who lives south of Axton Ranch. “I can only hope Denver does a better job at community engagement this time around.”
Joel Furnace, who lives just up the road from Camp Eden and Axton Ranch, said residents still want to see a ban on fires and overnight camping, plus better communication.
“While the City and County of Denver has addressed certain concerns related to Beth Eden’s private land, such as maintenance and liability,” he said Friday, “there remains many notable omissions in addressing the key concerns voiced by local residents.”
