INC ZONING AND PLANNING COMMITTEE MINUTES – August 24, 2019
INC ZONING AND PLANNING COMMITTEE MINUTES
August 24, 2019
Committee Co-chair Ean Tafoya convened the meeting. (Co-chair Christine O’Connor was unable to attend.) The following items were discussed:
- Terese Howard, an organizer with Denver Homeless Out Loud(DHOL) discussed the organization’s 7-year fight for the dignity and rights of persons who are homeless. She said that almost everyone who opposed Amendment 300 (“Right To Survive” on the May 2019 ballot said that “we should do better” for homeless persons. DHOL has a 13-point plan to do so on its website, denverhomelessoutloud.org. In particular, they want to end the criminalization of homelessness and are pursuing a class-action lawsuit about Denver’s “sweeps” of encampments of homeless persons and removal of their personal property.
- City Councilwoman-at-large Robin Kniech said that there will be approximately $30 million in the city’s 2020 budget for affordable housing, which is one of a number of competing priorities in the budget, including climate action and mobility improvements. She also said that her development of a neighborhood engagement process regarding supportive housing is about ¾ completed.
- Andrew Webb of the Community Planning and Development Department, who is the principal staffer for the Group Living Advisory Committee, and Councilwoman Kniech presented information regarding proposed new ordinances regarding tiny home villages, most of which had earlier been presented to this committee on June 1, 2019. The final reading of the proposed ordnance will likely be on October 7. Councilwoman Kniech emphasized that a community engagement process will be required, including notification to renters and community or religious organizations, as well as homeowners and registered neighborhood organizations of a community information meeting before a permit request is filed.
- The committee heard a discussion regarding the small-area-plan process for the redevelopment of the 70-acre campus of the former Loretto Heights College Campusat South Federal Blvd. and West Dartmouth Avenue. Jim Gibson and Sochi Gaitan, representatives of the Harvey Park Improvement Association, one of 7 registered neighborhood organizations on a 15-member advisory committee, spoke about a number of what they believed were deficiencies in the planning process, including:
- The one-year planning process was too short;
- There was no actual consensus by the advisory committee regarding transportation or historic landmark issues;
- Discussion of view protection was minimal and vague;
- The draft plan does not specifically address the number of residential units that will eventually be developed;
- The advisory committee did not directly receive information in plans for metro districts for the same area being proposed to City Council in a separate process which had little or no community engagement.
- The plan would lead to gentrification of the surrounding neighborhoods.
Neither the owner/developer of the campus nor representatives of the 6 other RNOs on the advisory committee were invited to the committee for this discussion.
By a vote of 14 in favor, 1 opposed and 2 abstaining, the committee voted in favor of the following motion to be presented at the September 14 INC Delegation meeting.
Proposed INC Resolution on Loretto Heights
- Be it resolved, that while understanding that the development of the Loretto Heights campus will and should take place, INC strongly advocates for the preservation of its landmark historic buildings, significant portions of its open spaces, topographical features, natural and mature landscaped areas and iconic unimpeded views to and from the outdoor and indoor spaces.
- Understanding that a report, commissioned by the City and County of Denver, indicates that one or more historic district designations have been deemed to be ideal in accomplishing such preservation, INC further strongly advocates that the implementation of such designation(s) must take place before the rezoning, not after rezoning, or once the development has been completed.
- Therefore, INC advocates that the Loretto Heights Area Plan be amended to specifically include the implementation of historic district designation as part of the Large Development Review process and prior to submission of proposals or rezoning applications to City Council.
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