Since May, Black Lives Matter groups in Durango have steadily been adding candles, personal items, social justice signs and flowers to a memorial beside Buckley Park in Durango.
The city of Durango removed that memorial last week because it was in violation of city code. In response, Black Lives Matter demonstrators quickly erected a new one.
Kevin Hall, assistant city manager, confirmed that Durango Parks and Recreation and Code Enforcement staff members took down the memorial on Aug. 24. The memorial is partially in the public right of way and partially in Buckley Park, owned by Durango School District 9-R but leased by the city. City Council planned to discuss a variance allowing the new memorial to remain on the sidewalk during its regular council meeting Tuesday.
“It’s a complicated matter, right? The fact that City Council is going to discuss it on Tuesday, in my opinion as one councilor, indicates the importance and the thought we want to give to this,” said Councilor Barbara Noseworthy.
Ben List, a regular demonstration attendee and Durango resident, said people had placed personal items, like a picture of a man’s deceased father, in the memorial. For him, the memorial had been built with care and love, and it was “heartbreaking” that the city tore it down.
“It’s just really shocking. It seemed unnecessary,” he said. “There weren’t any warnings posted from what I know of.”
It was unclear Saturday if city staff members were storing the items or had disposed of them.
During a City Council retreat Friday, staff members asked councilors if they wanted to enforce the code and remove the new memorial or allow it to stay until the November elections, as requested by some community members.
Others in the community have objected to the memorial’s location, city staff members said. A safety officer with the Durango School District “expressed some dissatisfaction” with the memorial and increased foot traffic on school property, staff members said.
Councilors Kim Baxter and Chris Bettin supported the idea of the memorial but raised concern that some parts of the code are enforced more than others. Baxter suggested looking for an alternative legal, inclusive and functional place for it.
The councilors also discussed establishing a place where any group could legally use its freedom of speech before scheduling further discussion at their meeting Tuesday.
“It will continue to come up in our community: How we can allow freedom of expression in a designated place that goes through a process,” said Councilor Melissa Youssef. “It’s just the idea of creating a structure around expression.”
smullane@durangoherald.com