Jefferson County, Colorado

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PAR-TAY: Picnic on Tuesday, Aug. 5, at Daniels Park

All residents of the Daniels Welchester neighborhood - both homeowners and renters - are invited to our free annual picnic on Tuesday, August 5, at Daniels Park. It starts at 6 pm. We hold it each year on what's called National Night Out, an evening for neighborhoods across the country to come together, hold events, meet their first responders and have a great time. And the biggest National Night Out event in Jefferson County every year is our annual picnic in Daniels Park. Last year some 250 neighbors and guests braved the rain for grilled burgers and hotdogs. Each year it's a bit different, but there's always lots of food (partly provided by DWNA with neighbors welcome to bring side dishes and desserts), music and entertainment for the kiddos...face painting is always a big hit. Please join in the fun.

Our Neighborhood Needs Your Support

***LIMITED-TIME OFFER - Donate and receive a DWNA pint glass to enjoy your favorite brew - Click Here for details!

We are battling the County over its indefensible approval of a rezoning to allow construction of a massive, high-density, residential development in our neighborhood. We have appealed the decision in state court and are asking for donations to help pay for it. We're raised most of what's needed, but it will take another $10,000 to finish the fight. With 2,000 homes in our neighborhood, we can do this. We would greatly appreciate your donation - small or large. There are two ways to contribute to our legal fund.

  • Click here to make a tax-deductible contribution right here on the website.
  • Enjoy great meals at BJ's Brewhouse and Panera and 20% of the total bill goes into our legal fund. Click here for dates.

Annual DWNA Picnic

Another great turnout for our annual Night-Out picnic at Daniels Park on Aug. 6. And the weather (mostly) cooperated...the rain stopped shortly before 6 pm and held off until almost 8 pm. Thanks everyone for coming and a special thanks to those who brought side dishes and desserts.

Meet DWNA...

"I didn't know you existed"

At DWNA, we hear that a lot. And in some ways, that's a good thing. It's also a bad thing because, if that's you, it means you're missing out on our FREE and FUN annual picnic in August (think food, music, face painting, firetrucks, etc.) and partying with the 250 neighbors who do attend. More on that later...

It's a good thing because what we do is mostly work quietly but diligently to keep this great neighborhood great while you go about your life. We are NOT an HOA. There are no dues. We are a volunteer, grassroots, advocacy group for the neighborhood that's been around for 40+ years. We're a registered non-profit with a 12-member board that's elected at our annual meetings and meets quarterly. If you live here - here being between Colfax & 6th Ave, Simms and Indiana (see map) - you are welcome to participate...or not. Owner or renter, we don't care. You are our neighbor.

Why do we matter?

Well, the Daniels Welchester neighborhood started a hundred years ago. Those who came before us built an amazing neighborhood through commitment and hard work. (Daniels Park was built - literally - by the sweat of the neighbors, starting decades before Lakewood even existed. It truly is our park.) And DWNA has been working hard behind the scenes for all these decades to keep it amazing. All the work is done by unselfish volunteers who just want to give back to the neighborhood they love. Sometimes - fortunately, not often - that means fighting a proposed development that would permanently damage our neighborhood.

Here's what would be here if DWNA hadn't been here to stop it.

  • Not once, but twice - in 2013 & 2015 - Jefferson County tried to build a correctional facility housing 250 convicted felons on work release in or next to our neighborhood. Not kidding. Committees were formed, meetings were held, 1000+ volunteer hours were spent, and scores of our neighbors turned out to testify at a Lakewood hearing that started at 6 pm and didn't end until 1:30 am. And we stopped it!!!
  • A developer tried to build a five-building, 72-room memory care campus in the middle of our neighborhood in 2015. Memory care facilities are greatly needed, and we have some in small group homes in our neighborhood. But a huge commercial operation with a lighted 20-car parking lot with staff coming and going 24/7 - not to mention emergency vehicles at all hours - surrounded by single-family homes and two blocks from an elementary school? We stopped that too.
  • Add to that a large, round-the-clock bar/pool hall at the entrance to our neighborhood at Colfax and Wide Acres (2006), and four attempts in the past decade at massive residential developments on the big lot across Wide Acres from the Daniels Park basketball courts that never happened. Developing that lot is fine, but keep it office, size it right and put the hundreds of cars each day onto Colfax, not Wide Acres.

We want to be clear about this...we are NOT anti-development. We fully respect property rights. There's been lots of developments in our neighborhood over the past 40 years that we supported or stayed out of because they were right for our neighborhood and made it better. A correctional facility would have forever changed the character and safety of our neighborhood. We always want to work cooperatively with developers to make their proposals fit in our neighborhood and usually succeed. Of course, we would have preferred to keep it that vast, beautiful, serene horse pasture that it once was. But, when Colorado Mills was proposed on that property, we worked with the developer in friendly negotiations to minimize the impacts. But some development needs to be stopped because the people who live here should be allowed to enjoy their homes and maintain its value. They have rights too.

For more information on the townhomes and the appeal, click here.

DWNA Contact Information

To get on DWNA's email list for newsletters and event notifications, or if you need to get in touch with DWNA, please send an email to us at danielswelchester@gmail.com

©2026 Daniels Welchester Neighborhood Association