It is with great pleasure, on behalf of the Harkness Heights neighborhood that I would like to nominate Thomas Mobley, Past President of the Harkness Heights Neighborhood Association (HHNA) for the Neighborhood Star Award for the 2021 year. During his term as President, he was instrumental in rallying our neighborhood and the driving force of the Harkness Heights Conservation Overlay. Shortly after he assumed the role as President, there were discussions among the Harkness Heights neighbors regarding the increasing amount of tear downs and construction in the nearby neighborhoods.

Little did Tom know back in 2016 that his vision for our neighborhood overlay would be adopted as the City’s Bungalow Conservation Overlay (CO-6). This overlay now makes it an easier process for other Denver bungalow neighborhoods, to incorporate their own overlay, keeping the charm and character of their neighborhood.

HHNA is dedicated to preserving the unique architectural heritage and quality of life in our community. Therefore, in May 2018 after discussions with Councilman Espinosa, his then aide Amanda Sandoval and the Denver Planning Board (DPB) Harkness Heights decided to pursue a zoning overlay. Approximately 30 Harkness Heights neighbors formed the Task Force. We as a neighborhood wanted a greater say in how we managed change and growth.

Tom led the charge, he continued to collaborate with Councilman Espinosa and then later Councilwoman Amanda Sandoval, Naomi Grunditz and the City’s Planning Board. He held meetings and discussions with the Task Force to maintain frequent and open communication throughout the entire process. To keep the neighbors engaged we held town halls with the District One Council Office and the Planning Board to review drafts, listen to their concerns, ask, and answer questions while continuing to revise the final draft of the overlay for approval.

This effective outreach effort utilized direct mail to our property owners, numerous emails, next-door notices, and hand-delivered flyers. Tom ensured participation by keeping our community engaged and informed along the way.

This was an ongoing effort of five plus years. There is much to take into consideration and many diverse voices to be heard. An overlay does not change the zoning of an area, but it adds on additional requirements such as setbacks requirements, limiting specific design elements, heights, and square footage requirements for example. Some of our concerns were porches, setbacks, raised entrances, balconies, and heights (as not to block southern sun exposure.)

After countless meetings with the HHNA Task Force, our neighborhood, District One Office (Councilwoman Amanda Sandoval was instrumental) and the Planning Board we were able to come to an agreement on our proposed final draft. At this point though we still had to present our final draft to the Planning Board and then to the City Council for their approval.

Three long years later and COVID (at which time we had no in person meetings), we went before the City Council on Tuesday March 30th, 2021, to present our overlay. After zoom testimonies, letters read and discussion the final vote was unanimous in favor of creating the overlay and implementing it.

I want to emphasize the time and energy taken by Tom and his Task Force to keep the entire community involved and incorporate their opinions and feedback into the final product. He was also in constant communication with the District One Council Office and the Planning Department. The dedication Tom showed to make this happen for our neighborhood, and for other bungalow areas who may want to adopt a similar overlay, was instrumental in getting it to pass. When walking through Harkness Heights one can see how the overlay has protected the immense charm and character that abounds on every block in our neighborhood.

Harkness Heights has maintained its character and charm for over a century. Our mission was to ensure that character will still define our neighborhood well into the next century. Thank you, Tom Mobley, for spearheading this and being our Neighborhood Star, as well as laying the foundation for other neighborhoods. We hope you will consider Tom for the Star Award as he is a true star, not just to our neighborhood, but to the entire city.