Colorado city holds off ordinance decision to seize cars for street racing

This week, Englewood City Council put the brakes on an ordinance that would discourage people from street racing and speed exhibitions.

The proposed city ordinance would have allowed for vehicles involved in these activities to be seized, but the vote was held off this week. A councilwoman cited people's rights, leading to their decision.

Meanwhile, one business owner who's been impacted called these activities "dangerous" to the public, while others are working on a safe solution.

In 2024, about 15 minutes after Gilbert Garcia left the furniture store he owns -- 5280 Furniture Direct -- a speeding driver lost control and hit his business.

"See that bump, he hit that and ended up hitting the store, flying into it. Here are the pieces, and all the stuff he broke. It was a lot," Garcia said, as he showed pictures of the damages which added up to about $45,000.

Garcia said the crash was caused by two young people who were racing. The car hit a beam outside of the furniture store. A few feet to the left or right would have meant the driver crashing through the store.

The store is located on a busy Santa Fe Drive on the border of Englewood and Denver.

"It gets pretty crazy. You see them fly down here 100 miles per hour," Garcia said .

In a statement from the Englewood Police Department, a spokesperson said street racing in Englewood is not as common as speed exhibitions, which includes tire squealing, rapid accelerations or visible tire marks being left on the road. Englewood PD added areas such as Santa Fe Drive and Hampden Avenue, "could serve as locations for high speed racing contests; however, the presence of numerous traffic lights often acts as a deterrent."

The statement went on to say the department has seen an increase in street exhibitions following car shows and meetups in the area off of Hampden Avenue between Santa Fe Drive and Broadway.

The proposed ordinance, which would have allowed police to seize vehicles involved in these activities, was held off this week. Councilwoman Rita Russell brought up concerns about the rights of people.

"Some of my concerns were because the ordinance would confiscate a vehicle, or the person would have to be willing to forfeit the vehicle without really the due process of law," Russell.

Councilwoman Russell said city council will continue having conversations about addressing this issue, including improving enforcement.

"As far as I'm concerned, the conversation is not over, and I don't believe any other council member wants the conversation to be over either," Russell said.

Police say they're also working closely with local businesses such as Rodz & Bodz Movie Car Museum to hold car meetups, car shows and car clubs in a safe, responsible manner.

"With our events, we want to make sure we're giving them a safe place to come out and bring out the cars, and make sure they can have somewhere to show off their car," said Zack Loffert, the museum owner.

Loffert said people spend months or years building vehicles, and with the closure of Bandimere Speedway, many people feel like they don't have a location to show off their vehicles.

"With doing events that are organized, it creates less havoc on the streets, where they can come show it off, they can talk, and they can feel like their their build is appreciated," Loffert said. "It's not a random night where people are ripping down the street. They have somewhere to go."

Loffert said they held about 280 events in 2024. Many event were also held in the large parking lot outside of the museum.

"The car community is very responsive, and we always try and work close with city officials and police to make sure everyone is on the same page. They want to do it in a respectful way, and I think if they know that, then they're not going to have any issues," Loffert said.

According to Englewood Police Department, "Enforcing drag racing laws can be challenging because it requires both proving that the individuals were actively racing and apprehending them in the act. We often receive reports of drag races, but by the time officers arrive at the scene, the race has usually ended, and the drivers have already left the area."

Englewood PD also participates in the Metro Denver Street Racing Working Group led by Colorado State Patrol. The group released numbers to begin 2025 that show CSP and other agencies issued 108 citations for street racing related charges, and another 130 people for speeding at least 25 mph over the speed limit. 16 people were arrested, and 11 cars were impounded at the time of contact with investigators.

Garcia added that, last year, a former employee at the furniture store got into an crash when people were racing behind him. That employee lost control and rolled his vehicle. He added he hopes to see some change soon.

"If you give somebody repercussions to racing, they might think twice about it, and it might save their life or might save somebody else's life," Garcia said.