Centennial, Colorado
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- This page discusses the City of Centennial, Colorado. For other entries on Centennial, see Centennial (disambiguation).
| City of Centennial | |||
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| Coordinates: | |||
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| Country | United States of America | ||
| State | Colorado | ||
| County | Arapahoe | ||
| Incorporated | 2001 | ||
| Government | |||
| - Mayor | Randy Pye | ||
| Area | |||
| - City | 27.9 sq mi (72.0 km²) | ||
| Population (2006)[1] | |||
| - City | 98,243 | ||
| - Density | 3,695.3/sq mi (1,431.9/km²) | ||
| Website: http://www.centennialcolorado.com/ | |||
The City of Centennial is a statutory city located in Arapahoe County, Colorado, United States. As of 2005, the city is estimated to have a total population of 98,243.[1] Centennial is the tenth most populous city in the State of Colorado.
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[edit] History
Centennial was incorporated from portions of unincorporated Arapahoe County in 2001. The city was incorporated to prevent the City of Greenwood Village from annexing certain portions of Arapahoe County to improve its tax base. The money generated from those businesses in the unincorporated portion of Arapahoe County funded the majority of the county's services, including road work. There were a number of court cases establishing the right of incorporation to take precedence over the right of annexation. Located entirely within Arapahoe County, and forming part of the Denver Metropolitan Area, Centennial was formed February 7, 2001 (the day after its first city officials were elected). The citizens of the formerly unincorporated portion of Arapahoe County had voted to incorporate on September 12, 2000, choosing Centennial as the official name during the vote. It was created on a promise to keep city taxes at 1% (one of the campaigns against incorporation appealed to maintain the unincorporated 3.8% sales tax). Incorporation was approved by 77% of the voters, and the 100,000+ person population of the area made it the largest incorporation in U.S. history as of its creation.
James Michener's 1974 novel Centennial and the subsequent miniseries based on it were set in a fictional town called Centennial, Colorado; however, that town was not based on the actual city of Centennial, Colorado. Neither the geography nor history of Michener's town resemble that of the actual Centennial; Michener's "Centennial" can be placed in Douglas County, as the mansion in the series was based on the home used by the Phipps family and still exists in the current Highlands Ranch area. In addition, the novel predated the formation of the actual city by more than a quarter of a century.
Similarly, Centennial Airport, formerly Arapahoe County Airport, lies adjacent to, but outside of the city limits; it is not named after the city, as it predates it by over 30 years.
[edit] Geography
Centennial covers 27.9 square miles (72 km²). Population-wise, it is the seventh-largest city in the Denver-Aurora Metropolitan Area, behind Denver, Aurora, Lakewood, Arvada, Thornton and Westminster, but as it is new, many people even in the area do not recognize the area by the name Centennial, often referring to the area with the names of neighboring cities, notably Littleton and Aurora. Centennial's boundaries are highly irregular and evocative of a gerrymander, particularly eastern portions of the city which appear with Foxfield, portions of Aurora, and unincorporated areas as a distorted checkerboard on a map.
Centennial is located at 39°35'47" North, 104°50'38" West (39.5963, -104.8439)1.
[edit] Demographics
Population: 103,100 (2004 estimate) There are also 36,200 households in Centennial.
The city is approximately 87.4% White, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 3.6% Asian, 2.4% African American, 0.4% Native American, and 1/4% from other races.
The median age is 37.2 years, in comparison to the 35.3 year national average. For every 100 females there are 98.0 males.
[edit] Schools
Centennial is serviced mainly by Cherry Creek Public Schools and Littleton Public Schools, as well as a few private schools.
[edit] Government
The city is governed in what is known mayor-council style, which limits the city's tax levying and collection powers. The city council comprises eight members. The Mayor and all Council Members are part-time officials and hold other full time jobs.
- Mayor: Randy Pye
- Councilmember, Ward I: Rick Dindinger
- Councilmember, Ward I: Vorry Moon
- Councilmember, Ward II: Sue Bosier
- Councilmember, Ward II: Bart Miller
- Councilmember, Ward III: Rebecca McClellan
- Councilmember, Ward III: Andrea Suhaka
- Councilmember, Ward IV: Todd Miller
- Councilmember, Ward IV: Ron Weidmann
- City Clerk: Goldie Fishbein
- Treasurer: Doug Milliken
[edit] Surrounding municipalities
| North: Aurora, Greenwood Village | ||
| West: Littleton | Centennial | East: Aurora |
| South: Lone Tree, Foxfield |
[edit] References
- ^ a b Annual Estimates of the Population for All Incorporated Places in Colorado (CSV). 2005 Population Estimates. U.S. Census Bureau, Population Division (June 21, 2006). Retrieved on November 16, 2006.
[edit] External links
- City of Centennial
- Centennial Airport
- South Suburban Parks and Recreation
- Arapahoe Library District
- [1] Cherry Creek Schools
- [2] Littleton Public Schools
- Maps and aerial photos
- Street map from Google Maps, or Yahoo! Maps, or Windows Live Local
- Satellite image from Google Maps, Windows Live Local, WikiMapia
- Topographic map from TopoZone
- Aerial image or topographic map from TerraServer-USA
