AURORA, Colo. — A growing homeless encampment outside Aurora's Regional Navigation Campus (ARNC) has sparked a jurisdictional question between Aurora and Denver over who can step in.
The encampment currently sits on a grassy area just outside the facility, which has been serving Aurora's unhoused community since late 2025. Aurora Mayor Mike Coffman noticed it during a recent shelter visit.
"I go there every Friday and spend Friday night there, and so, you know, I saw this thing expanded," Coffman said.
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Initially, city officials believed the ARNC property was entirely within Aurora's jurisdiction.
But the grassy area where the encampment has grown is technically within Denver city limits. Coffman said some of the people in the encampment were kicked out of the navigation campus for breaking the rules, but because of where the property line falls, they cannot be told to move.
"[Where] we want them is inside the navigation center getting help to move forward in their lives and get them out of being on the street, but what it's doing right now is it's presenting a problem," Coffman said.
Resolving the issue requires coordination with Denver city leaders.
"It's really important for us to adjust the boundaries and be able to enforce our laws relative to abating encampments," Coffman said.
Conversations between the two cities started this summer, according to the city of Aurora.
"The encampment sometimes straddles the boundary between Denver and Aurora, so to reduce confusion – and ensure we’re always in compliance with the law - we’ve been working with Aurora so they can manage the property as they like. That way it’s one municipality’s rules and policies rather than two," said Denver Mayor Mike Johnston's spokesperson Jon Ewing.
Ewing offered an important clarification.
"To be clear, we aren't giving Aurora the land. We're working on allowing them to manage it," Ewing said.
Coffman stressed the urgency of reaching a resolution.
"We want to get this issue resolved. It's inappropriate to have you know a homeless encampment right in front of a shelter designed to help people experiencing homelessness," Coffman said.
There is no timeline yet, but both cities say the conversations toward a solution continue to move forward.
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