Registered Neighborhood Organizations
Denver's Registered Neighborhood Organizations (RNOs)
RNOs are groups formed by residents and property owners within a neighborhood who meet regularly and whose organizational and contact information is kept on file with the City’s Community Planning and Development Department. Like all organizations active in the Denver community, RNOs are an important part of the fabric of the city and play a key role in the ongoing effort to make Denver a great place to live and work.
To register with the city, neighborhood organizations must meet a set of eligibility requirements laid out in the Denver Revised Municipal Code, Chapter 12, Article III. RNOs receive notification of proposed zoning amendments, landmark designation applications, planning board and board of adjustment hearings, liquor and cabaret licenses and other activities occurring in the neighborhood as stipulated in the ordinance.
How are RNO boundaries determined?
Denver has 78 statistical neighborhoods. Statistical neighborhoods were established in 1970 by the city with the help of the Denver Regional Council of Governments. Statistical neighborhoods are largely consistent with U.S. Census tracts, and like census tracts, the boundaries collectively cover the entire city and do not overlap.
Neighborhood organizations that register with the city are permitted to choose their own boundaries. Some RNOs choose boundaries that are consistent with statistical neighborhood boundaries, but many do not. RNO boundaries are allowed to overlap, but the formation of numerous overlapping neighborhood organizations is discouraged by the city’s RNO ordinance. The intent of the ordinance is to encourage adjacent or overlapping groups to work cooperatively to determine positions on issues affecting the neighborhood and to conduct business in an organized, representative and fair manner, seeking informed participation from as many neighborhood residents as possible. Additionally, neighborhoods are encouraged to cultivate membership and participation that reflect the ethnic and socio-economic composition of the neighborhood they represent.