City Council To Take Up Zoning Amendments
Open Space Interpretation Deemed Essential
When City Council considers a package of zoning code amendments later this month, there’s likely to be controversy over open space requirements in General Development Plans (GDPs). GDP’s are required of all new developments larger than 10 acres.
Joel Noble, a regular participant in the Inter-Neighborhood Cooperation (INC) Zoning and Planning Committee, termed the package a collection of ‘bug fixes’ gathered over the last couple of years. “The amendments provide flexibility and adaptability,” he said.
The proposed text updates would make the code “more modern, clear and user-friendly,” according to Andrea Burns, public relations specialist for the city’s Community Planning and Development Department (CPD).
“The Denver Zoning Code is not frozen in time,” she said. “By updating it, we’re able to address changes and trends in housing and other industries, and incorporate valuable feedback from those who use it regularly. In fact, many of the updates come in direct response to feedback from Denver residents and permit customers.”
Open space requirement questioned
One contentious section involves clarification that large-scale General Development Plans (GDPs) must devote at least 10 percent of net area to public open space, instead of 10 percent of gross area. This allows developers to deduct streets and right-of-ways from the gross area before the calculation and leads to an inverse relationship: The more streets, the less open space. For example, in the St. Anthony’s (Sloan’s Lake Town Center) GDP just approved, 44 percent of the project is streets and right-of-ways and 5.6 percent is open space.
Although INC has adopted a resolution favoring the gross area requirement, Noble acknowledges there is good reason to have more discussion on the proposal.
Burns, of planning and development, said: “The [General Development Plan] open space update does not represent a change in the city’s approach. It codifies the requirement that at least 10 percent of the developable land within a GDP be open space. In the past, a mixed-use lot had to include at least 10 percent open space when being redeveloped. Today, when assembling multiple lots for a GDP, the same open space requirement applies. Moreover, because this is a minimum requirement, there is always the option of open space amounting to more than 10 percent.”
Historical perspective different
INC President Larry Ambrose testified before the Denver Planning Board that under the old zoning code, lots zoned for high-rise and density required 20 percent open space.
“When developers assembled more than one lot, there would be streets and right-of-ways around and between the zone lots,” Ambrose said. “In this situation the code allowed the developer to reduce the open space to 10 percent of the gross area because the right-of-ways were already included.
“What happened here is a staff person in CDP began allowing some developers to get away with using 10 percent of net area, deducting the right-of-ways again that had, in effect, already been taken out of the calculation. Out-of-town planners, reading the code, clearly interpreted the code to require 10 percent of gross area as open space and were pleased to provide it knowing that open space makes developments more livable and marketable.”
Complex collateral impact
“I know there is discussion about the open space requirement based on net versus gross area,” said Councilwoman-at-Large Debbie Ortega. “I have not made a decision but am listening to the many views on this issue.”
There is also concern that less open space in high density developments would put additional pressure on parks in the city at the same time park use is increasing and there is demand for more park space. Some parks remain unprotected by ordinance designation, and the city is taking away some parkland.
“We all value open space, but that doesn’t necessarily mean parks,” Noble said. “Denver has a real need for more park space as the city gets denser and our per-capita park area falls. That’s the broader discussion that we need to be having.”
Said Burns: “In the context of General Development Plans, the term ‘open space’ applies to several types of publicly accessible space, from parks to plazas to improved pedestrian zones.”
Ambrose agreed: “Clearly people who live in these large, densely populated developments need and deserve adequate open spaces. For these folks and visitors, parks and open space serve a similar function. They are not like apples and oranges. They are more like oranges and tangerines.”
Opportunity for involvement
The ordinance process involves at least two public hearings. The first is at the Feb. 5 Planning Board meeting at 3 p.m., at 201 West Colfax Avenue (the Webb Building).
Councilwoman Ortega said the Land Use, Transportation, and Infrastructure Committee (LUTI) is scheduled to review the amendments on Feb. 18 at 10 a.m. on the 3rd Floor of the City and County Building downtown, across the street from the Webb building. She expects a public hearing and Council action in April.
Visit www.DenverGov.org/CPD and navigate to “Text Amendments” under the zoning menu to stay informed about the ordinance as it progresses.