Among a half-dozen developments in the pipeline that qualify for the parking exemption is Pando Holdings’ plan to build two micro-apartment buildings on small side-by-side lots on Humboldt Street south of 16th Avenue. Its site development plans say each building would have 54 studio apartments, with no parking proposed — an idea that has ruffled some feathers in the neighborhood.
The Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) says the expansion will rejoin communities, strengthen Denver’s economic backbone and bring the highway into the 21st century.
But groups in opposition to the project, of which there are several, refute these claims. Denver Mayor Michael Hancock’s administration, Denver’s City Council, the Colorado Department of Transportation and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency have all come under fire from such groups.
What are their worries? And why are they suing? Let The Colorado Independent walk you through the various intersecting issues involved in this contentious debate.
During Tuesday’s meeting with the council staff, Khalatbari and attorneys Christian Sederberg and Josh Kappel faced questions on several fronts. Those included the potential that one recognized neighborhood group or business district could overrule another in areas with more than one group, and the unprecedented delegation of influence on a licensing decision to outside groups.
Loucks and other Denver city officials say they’re confident they can keep up, including by spot-checking to verify information submitted on online license applications. The city could request documents that show that a listed residence is where the license-holder lives, she said, and will continue to respond to neighbors’ complaints about disturbances caused by guests.
“We have the capability to audit everything that’s in the ordinance — and we will,” Loucks said.
Colorado law provides directors and officers of nonprofit corporations, particularly volunteers, with several statutory protections from liability. A nonprofit corporation may, in conformity with the statutory requirements described in the Colorado Nonprofit Act, eliminate or limit the personal liability of a director of the nonprofit from monetary damages for breaches of fiduciary duty, with certain express exceptions, including breach of the duty of loyalty. Nonprofit organizations typically provide such protections to the directors by including indemnification provisions in articles of incorporation and bylaws.
Jordan Person (responsibleusedenver@gmail.com), the executive director of the Denver chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, explained a ballot proposal (Responsible Use Denver) for which signatures are currently being gathered for the November 8, 2016 Denver election ballot. The supporters have until August 15 to gather more than 4700 signatures from registered voters. She explained that the group believes that the biggest problem is that, even though use of medical and recreational marijuana is now legal in Colorado and there are now about 200 sales and grow locations in Denver, there is “nowhere public to go” for the legal use of such products.
“The Applicant failed to provide testimony of a single resident within the neighborhood that contradicts the concerns of the neighbors”
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