Inter-Neighborhood Cooperation
delegate/member Meeting Minutes January 14, 2017
The Community Hub at Northfield

Call to Order 9am
JJ Niemann, President – presided
Quorum present:
9am delegate count 48; 9:20am delegate count 54. 9:40am delegate count 58

Welcome by Angie Rivera-Malpiede, Vice President, Stapleton Foundation, Executive Director, Northeast Transportation Connections and oversees The Hub and City Councilman Chris Herndon

The Hub at Northfield

The Community HUB at Northfield and the District 5 Cop Shop is all inclusive, community oriented police services facility that that also provides numerous neighborhood safety related programs such as Neighborhood Watch and Business Watch meetings. They offer a bicycle check out library and children story time readings and work with RTD transit to coordinate traffic from the trains to the mall area. They also permit use for community meetings.

It’s been designed and implemented from the ground up with generous donations and grass root level support from area businesses, community groups, neighborhood organizations and individual citizens.

Councilman Herndon thanked INC for hosting its meeting in Northfield and urged all to shop at Northfield and echoed the good work of The Hub.  He is focused on homeless issues, transportation and mobility for his District.

Overview of INC

JJ presented a quick overview of INC and the voting mechanism attached to delegate versus associate members and why that was established to generate equality in voting matters across Denver RNO’s.

Minutes

Motion to approve minutes from October 8, 2016 made by Jeff Allen, second Margie Valdez.

Motion carried:  For 46, Against 0, Abstain 2

Motion to approve minutes from November 12, 2016 meeting made by Jane Lorimer, second Karen Taylor.  Motion carried: For 46, Against 0, Abstain 6

Board Appointment

Motion to approve appointment of Jane Lorimer to replace Bonita Lahey’s resignation from INC Board term through March 2018 made by John Riecke, second Tom Mobley. Motion carried: For 47, Against 0, Abstain 1

COMMITTEE REPORTS

Dinner Report – Jane Potts, Dinner chair

Jane advised plans were coming together well, urged those who had not reserved to remember to do so by January 17 deadline and urged all to wear feather headbands and suspenders to get into the Roaring 20’s theme.  Diana Helper provided an advance copy of INC’s long-standing traditional poem which will be presented at the dinner.

Parks & Recreation (PARC)-Maggie Price, Co-chair

Meeting planned for Tuesday January 17 at 2020 Monroe at 630P. Featured speaker is Aaron Goldhamer who is representing former Colorado Attorney JD McFarlane in a law suit regarding the use of City Park Golf Course as a storm water detention facility and also Chris O’Connor discussing issues with proposed storm drainage impact on parks at Globeville. If you cannot attend, please see the YouTube overview of Globeville Landing Park

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qz51vl7iVg

To sign up for notices and updates for this committee, please send email to ParksandRec@denvering.org

Transportation – Joel Noble, Co-chair

• If you are interested in joining this committee please send email to transportation@denverinc.org to be included in updates, notices of meetings. A goal of this committee is to connect RNO’s and their questions to the right people in City agencies.
• At January 12 meeting Chrissie Fanganello, Denver ‎Director of Transportation & Mobility took questions about work projects going on in Denver related to Mobility and also addressed policies in play.
• Continued focus on Vision Zero – 61 people died from pedestrian/bike incidents in Denver. Strong need for safe crossings, speed of motorists, light sequencing.  Join the Denver Vision Zero Coalition this Valentine’s Day for a rally in support of Safe Speeds for Denver. High speed traffic kills. See INC Calendar for details and to sign a safe speed petition.
• Committee encourages neighborhoods to take the lead on establishing priorities related to pedestrian safety.
• Continuing book club – Human Transit (copies available for check out through Transportation). Next discussions are both two tracks: Feb 7, Feb 21 and Feb 28, Mar 14.
• Civic Center Station reconstruction – Committee arranged a hard hat tour for Jan 27 – if interested, please contact transportation@denverinc.org

Diana Helper related University Park has done a traffic study and if any members would like more information, it’s available by request.

Zoning & Planning (ZAP) – Margie Valdez, Chair

Margie presented a motion adopt a proposed text amendment to amend the Pre-Existing Small Zone Lots Parking Exemption. Motion seconded by Gertie Grant.

Inter-Neighborhood Cooperation (INC) opposes Denver Zoning Code Text Amendment #11, the Pre-Existing Small Zone Lots Parking Exemptions Amendment, and strongly urges City Council to extend the moratorium, as necessary, for permits for Small Lot Parking Exemptions which is due to expire March 30, 2017 and search for a more equitable solution with balance between the parking requirement constraints of development and the associated impact of increased neighborhood street parking.

Bob Hickman of Humboldt Street Neighbors presented why delegates should support this amendment and extension on the March 30, 2017 moratorium.  Arguments included that two “qualifying” small lots were combined into one developer plan which then should no longer be protected under the current zoning (in place since 2010). He cited that most who live in micro-apartments or other small units do take transit but they own cars for excursions not covered conveniently by transit. He also stated there are developer incentives to reduce off-street parking which may be a great future goal but it is not working to reduce private automobiles today because transit is not yet available.

John Riecke, INC VP and from RNO The Shire of Capitol Hill, presented why delegates should not support this amendment. He indicated the language in the zoning is already a compromise. Traffic is a problem that cannot be solved (growth); additional parking equals additional developer costs which moves rents and sales prices up; street parking is deemed “public good” and anyone is free to use the streets for parking. He urged to allow the moratorium to expire in March.

Councilman Jolon Clark spoke for himself and Councilman Kashmann in favor of approval to support the motion because transportation options are not here and require further study about Denver’s plans for increasing mircro-apartments and wants to promote citizen partnering with development/city planning as neighborhood change and not make blanket zoning rulings without further study.

Motion carried:  For 40, Against 9, Abstain 5 (including Joel Noble)

Please see original discussion at ZAP meeting – http://www.denverinc.org/inc-zoning-and-planning-committee-minutes-december-3-2016/

Please see full motion posting – http://www.denvergov.org/content/dam/denvergov/Portals/646/documents/Zoning/text_amendments/Small_Lot_Parking_Amendment_Public_Review_Draft_1_3_17.pdf

Special Program for January

A great and informative panel about building diversity and neighborhoods