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PERSONAL ESSAY: Joy And Frustration

Lessons Learned From The East Area Plan Can Help Neighbors To The North

By Gary Martyn | For the GPHN

Gary Martyn, at Campus Mosaic with Liam in May, 2024. At right, Triangolo Hall, empty for three years, will be renovated by Archway Communities and leased to people exiting homelessness.  Photos by Cara DeGette

I dropped in at the Greater Park Hill Community’s meeting in February to hear an update on the changes planned for the Mosaic Campus. The campus, in southeast Park Hill,  is near and dear to me, and I like to keep current on what’s going on there.  

A spokeswoman from Archway Communities, which lovingly restored four of the dormitories on campus, provided a comprehensive overview of the changes planned for the two remaining dorms, which have sat empty since Denver Housing Authority bought them three years ago.

Personally, I think Archway has done an amazing job with the four buildings, and I look forward to the rehab of two other old buildings. It’s fantastic that they not only are being preserved but also are finding new life as something the community desperately needs. The city as a whole benefits from repurposing our old buildings.   

Last year’s ribbon cutting by the mayor and other VIPs at Park Hill Park. At right, Parks and Recreation Director Jolon Clark. The acquisition of the old golf course, at 35th and Colorado Boulevard, has spurred planning efforts for the surrounding neighborhoods.

East Area redux

Before the Archway presentation, Abner Ramos Salcedo, of Denver Community Planning and Development, presented an overview of the process for the city’s Near Northeast Area Plan.  This is a five-neighborhood specific plan to guide development for the next 20 years. The neighborhoods include Northeast Park Hill, North Park Hill, Skyland, Cole and Clayton.   

This interested as well. I live in the south part of Park Hil,l and I, along with many others, spent a lot of time on another city-sponsored planning effort — the East Area Plan. After a very prolonged process, the Denver City Council approved that planin late 2020. It plan also serves as a 20-year guide, but for development in South Park Hill, Hale, Montclair and East Colfax.

The East Area Plan got off to a rough start, as the city failed to provide any meaningful notice to the residents who actually live in the area. A steering committee had been assigned and had been meeting for quite some time before the community was able to be involved. Some of the items the steering committee had approved were not acceptable to the community at large. The meetings became combative, and the online chatter was unpleasant.  

My takeaway was that the city’s planning department solicits input from the public, but they really don’t want to deviate much from their own ideas. Public support is vital, though, so they gently steer the public to their desired outcomes. At the beginning, the planners rolled out boiler-plate planner-speak concepts: density, transit and walkability. Not that there is anything at all wrong with these, but it’s the context and feasibility that matter.  

Did the city learn?

With regard to the Near Northeast Area Plan, I was curious to see how — or if — the planning process has evolved. 

I asked Mr. Salcedo how the city was informing area residents.  He said that in late April or May — this month and next — the city will saturate the area with notices sent to all homes and businesses and will place yard signs where appropriate. I thought to myself, Hooray! The city has learned something about actually notifying residents.  

But then Mr. Salcedo went on to say that an advisory committee would be also set up, with applications due at the end of February. 

Should the advisory board be in place before residents are notified? This gives the appearance of a board selected to back the city planning department — not the neighborhood.  With the East Area Plan, this avoidable error by the city certainly made for some hostile interactions between the steering committee and the community. 

Use your imagination

I hope my friends in Northeast Park Hill and North Park Hill will robustly participate in this process, even though it can be tiresome, maddening and frustrating.

My advice is this: You don’t have to accept what the city planners suggest. Use your own expertise, your experience, your imagination to help shape the plan. You will assuredly meet great people from Skyland, Cole, and Clayton that have a similar interest in building a great community plan, as well as meeting more of your neighbors. 

These plans are important, and it is one of the few ways to shape the growth our neighborhood will be experiencing.  

Remember, community does have a voice. 

Gary Martyn was born and raised in Park Hill. It is still his neighborhood. Check out the brief Planning Park Hill page 11 for details on how to get involved with the city’s Near Northeast Area Plan.

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