Denver Mayor Mike Johnston’s veto on a City Council resolution lifting limits on needle exchange locations looks like it will stay on the books.

His veto letter was officially entered into the record during Monday’s regular city council meeting.

Despite the opportunity to override the veto — which requires a nine-vote supermajority — the councilmembers remained silent and declined to vote.

Less than a month ago, the council voted 8-to-5 to remove the cap on the number of syringe exchange sites permitted in the city and lift a distance barrier that prohibited their operation within 1,000 feet of schools and daycare centers.

Councilmembers Flor Alvidrez, Kevin Flynn, Amanda Sawyer, Diana Romero Campbell and Darrell Watson all cast “no” votes.

In his letter, Johnston told members of the council that Ordinance 24-1791 was the “wrong solution at the wrong time.”

While he supports the syringe access program “as it currently operates” and continues to fund it at a cost of more than $526,000 per year, Johnston cited two “serious concerns” with the measure.

“First, it would allow for an unlimited number of needle exchange programs across Denver,” Johnston said. “There is no reason to remove a reasonable cap on the number of needle exchange programs, there is no evidence that the current providers need an unlimited number of sites, and there is no evidence that residents of Denver want an unlimited number of sites.

Unlike supervised injection sites, needle exchange programs, or syringe access programs as they are sometimes called, do not permit the use of drugs on site, but provide users with a mechanism to dispose of used syringes, access sterile syringes, and are offered resources such as counseling.

“Our communities have been clear, at least the communities that I serve in District 9, that removing the distance restriction is something that they do not support,” District 9 Councilmember Watson said. “I cannot support this bill tonight without that (distance) restriction.”

Preliminary data from the city of Denver shows 597 people died in 2023 from a drug overdose, with nearly 400 of those deaths being from fentanyl.

For District 5 Councilmember Sawyer, her “no” vote was based on community feedback regarding one of the two fixed needle exchange sites located in her district.

While Sawyer was clear in her support of having a “supportive bridge” for clean and safe needle exchange, she said the experiences of some of her residents and businesses with the facility located in her district have not been positive.

This is Johnston’s second veto since taking office in July of 2023. In February of 2024, he vetoed a bill that would have would have banned encampment sweeps during freezing temperatures.