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 … Continue reading →
The August 2018 INC ZAP meeting was almost entirely focused on an overview of two key planning documents: Comprehensive Plan 2040 and Blueprint Denver. Both are currently in the public comment period and all citizens are encouraged to review the documents and offer feedback. See the minutes for Citizen Open House events to speak with Planning Department staff.
The August INC Delegate meeting included the following:
A comprehensive presentation about proposed changes to liquor license processes, particularly moving the petition process online.
A Denver Architecture Foundation representative spoke of the 2018 Doors Open Denver event September 22 & 23, and was presented with a $1,000 contribution from INC.
CU’s “The Denver Study of the Built and Social Environment” project was spotlighted.
In Around the Town, many neighborhood reps expressed concern about Denver’s initiative to repair sidewalks and potential impacts on historic flagstone sidewalks.
Improve Communication
Can we have a group that pushes information through Next Door? How do our delegates do wants to receive information (website, social media, etc.)?
Street blog, Channel 8, and other mediums can be used to relay information.
EC will use survey results and research some more communication options. This will be discussed at a future EC meeting.
The Zoning and Planning Committee of Inter-Neighborhood Cooperation met on August 26, 2017 and briefly discussed the proposed “framework agreement” that will govern the National Western Center for the next 50 years and which is expected to be filed with City Council on September 7, 2017. Please note that we had no access to the document to review, because the very lengthy agreement has not been made available to the public and was negotiated and written behind closed doors.
The governance structure for a Denver P3 office hasn’t been determined. In fact, whether the office will in fact be created hasn’t been determined. Right now, city officials are $475,000 deep into a contract with Arup Advisory Inc. to develop the program, and they’ve asked City Council to approve an additional $480,000 in consulting work (for a total of $955,000) to get the program up and running by year’s end. The actual creation and staffing of the office would be part of the 2018 budget process.
But City Council members — even those that like the idea of the office — are concerned about the process that Arup has suggested for future deals. Instead of City Council getting an up or down vote on the final contract, as is the case now, council would approve a “parameters ordinance” or “framework ordinance” that lays out what they’d like to see in the deal. The city’s P3 office would then go out looking for a partner willing to work with the city under those conditions. As long as the final contract complied with the framework ordinance, it could be approved administratively.
