New Denver Planning Chief Vows to ‘Work Together’
Denver’s new director of Community Planning and Development (CPD) acknowledges his appointment is controversial and people have reasons for being skeptical of recent city actions.
“The sacred trust that should exist between the community and the city is bruised,” said CPD Director Brad Buchanan during a recent meeting of the Inter-Neighborhood Cooperation coalition of Denver neighborhood groups.
“What do we need to do?” Buchanan asked. “How do we create a forum for respecting each other in making change? There’s got to be a better way.”
Buchanan, a longtime Denver architect and developer, was appointed after being chair of the advisory Planning Commission while a principle at the architectural firm, RNL Associates. Because of open discontent by citizen groups over recent, controversial zoning matters throughout the city, Buchanan’s job could be critical as Mayor Michael B. Hancock campaigns for re-election next year.
“The opportunity to be of service is absolutely what drives me,” said Buchanan. “We have to figure out solutions that do the most good. You may choose not to believe me, but I am absolutely committed to building that (public) trust.”
“I will win you over with my actions. Let’s see what happens when we work together,” he said.
In the press release announcing his choice, Mayor Hancock praised Buchanan. “His knowledge of the city and its communities is unsurpassed and will inspire smart, sustainable and livable economic development in our neighborhoods.”
Bernadette Kelly, an architect and land use specialist for the Greater Park Hill Community, is one of many community leaders who isn’t convinced. Kelly wonders whether Buchanan will take to heart what citizens want for their neighborhoods.
Community leader Ann Elizabeth of the Elyria neighborhood north of Park Hill wants a stronger commitment: “I don’t see an enlightened approach to urban communities. We need a process that works better.”
George Mayl, who represents the Cory-Merrill neighborhood in south Denver, contends “the 50,000 voices (represented by INC) aren’t being heard” by city planners.
Buchanan quotes longtime city planner Jennifer Moulton, who said “cities are messy places.” He says the challenge is how to deal with what he calls “inflamed edges” – or what is between commercial areas and stable, historic neighborhoods. His notable recent experience in this realm confirms just how messy things can get.
Opposition from neighbors
As an architect, while still chair of the Denver Planning Commission, Buchanan was hired by Red Peak Development to design a 5-story commercial residential development at 32nd and Lowell. Many in that neighborhood considered the building too high and out of scale for the mostly historic character of the area.
Lately, Buchanan’s role in the redevelopment of the St. Anthony’s Hospital site on West Colfax has raised additional criticisms over his design for downtown scale density and heights in the single-family residential area. His former colleagues on the Planning Commission approved the plan, despite overwhelming objections from neighbors.
Buchanan lived in Park Hill from 1986 to 2010. Now he doesn’t live in Denver, but rather resides on a small farm in Strasburg, in Adams County, Yet Denver’s new planning director says he maintains a strong sense of the urban experience. “Cities are collections of places. What we learn about variables is our sense of those places. Some have appeal and others don’t. We have to respect everyone else’s experiences with places.”
Buchanan’s predecessor, Rocky Piro, resigned suddenly in February after CPD postponed a contentious zoning text amendment to govern the amount of open space in large redevelopment projects. (For more on the zoning amendments, see the February edition of Greater Park Hill News.)
Buchanan says he intends to move these amendments forward, despite objections from Inter-Neighborhood Cooperation. INC has called upon the Denver City Council to set up a process to determine how such open space should be determined.
Buchanan faces a litany of other pressing planning and development matters, including updating the master planning guidelines known as Blueprint Denver, redevelopment projects at the old University of Colorado Hospital at 9th Avenue and Colorado Boulevard, and reconstruction or re-routing of Interstate 70.
Buchanan says he is not supportive of re-routing elevated I-70 and is concerned about restoring the connections in the Elyria-Swansea-Globeville neighborhoods.
“I’ve been pleased that, in addition to core zoning and planning work, Brad has also spent time understanding conversations about broader topics that impact our city’s future and the built environment, such as affordable housing,” says Councilwoman Robin Kneich. “It’s my sense that he really believes the city needs to coordinate at all levels, across departments, and I think that’s a good thing for our residents.”
Hoping for ‘respectful’ conversations
Coordination is important because other departments impact planning. For example, under the new zoning code, the executive director of Parks and Recreation has control over all zoning in parks. Public Works also has a significant role since redevelopment often involves traffic engineering.
At the April meeting of INC during which Buchanan spoke, delegates repeatedly expressed concern that planners and councilmembers don’t understand or pay attention to the neighborhoods, and there needs to be more citizen involvement at the ground level.
Neighborhood representatives also maintained that developers need to take more responsibility and make a stronger financial commitment to such aspects as open space.
“I intend to attend INC meetings as often as I can to have you (delegates) help me develop a forum of respectful conversations,” Buchanan told the group. “We’ve got to commit to caring that crafting an answer is important to the community. Responding to you doesn’t mean trying to talk you out of something.”
While he speaks of sensitivity and commitment to neighborhoods, Buchanan’s record is mixed.
Past ethics issues
Before RNL, his previous firm – Buchanan Yonushewski Group – was a “design-build” company, with architects and contractors on staff. Pinnacle on East 17th Avenue and the residential tower at 20th and Broadway are BYG projects.
Numerous community leaders suggest Buchanan’s leadership of the Planning Commission presented the potential of competing interests. The city’s ethics board cleared Buchanan of a formal conflict of interest complaint from former City Councilwoman Cathy Donohue in the St. Anthony’s matter.
Although Buchanan’s bias can be seen as pro-development, he supported efforts to protect the southwest corner of Park Hill from what many considered inappropriate higher-density development.
Buchanan represented developer interests in the “Quick Wins” negotiations preceding the new zoning code. The compromise on residential open space was supposed to mitigate replacement of existing homes in stable neighborhoods with larger structures.
However, prior to enactment of the code, City Council members joined Buchanan in notifying GPHC that open space would not be protected in neighborhoods such as Park Hill where greater open space had been the norm.
Now, community leaders contend zoning amendments would reduce open space at the same time Buchanan enjoys living in a rural area. Neighborhood representatives say diminishing open space would violate the spirit, if not the letter, of prior negotiations.