City Council voted 13-0 to change the zoning code.

Donna Bryson Denverite July 8 2019

Large is half what it used to be in Denver.

City Council on Monday voted 13-0 to change the zoning code, instituting regimes for reviewing large developments and creating infrastructure master plans for projects that are big or complex or both. They replace the General Development Plan process in use since the 1990s that required, for example, that 10 percent of the site be open space in development projects that covered 10 acres or more. Now, the minimum 10 percent open space requirement kicks in at five acres.

It’s not just open space. All the standards and requirements under the new Large Development Review and Infrastructure Master Plan processes cover projects of at least five acres or three blocks.

Planners say the old process tended to be led by developers, often left communities feeling confused and ignored, and didn’t ensure coordination among such city agencies as those overseeing housing, economic developments, parks, public works and planning. The change is supposed to fix all that.

Under the new process as under the old, public participation is necessary. Now City Council must adopt a preliminary plan for a large development, informed by community meetings, before work is finalized on, for example, rezoning. Issues such as the impact on new transit infrastructure or parks must be considered early.

General development plans “didn’t always happen before zoning,” Councilwoman Mary Beth Susman said during the discussion before the vote.

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