We don’t usually weigh in on local zoning disputes, not only because they’re so common but also because they mainly interest those in surrounding neighborhoods. But an ongoing controversy in northwest Denver ought to concern residents in every corner of the city — especially if they own property and wonder if the city’s revamped zoning rules mean what they say.
The dispute has already provoked a plea from Denver council president Chris Nevitt for citizens to respect the privacy of his colleagues in their own homes. Nevitt issued the request after councilwoman Susan Shepherd reported an incident in which two women who had come to her door to argue against a planned five-story apartment complex became verbally abusive in front of her family.
Ironically, Shepherd is not a proponent of the project and worries about its impact on the Highlands Square district, near Lowell Boulevard and West 32nd Avenue. And she’s asked the developer, Denver-based RedPeak Properties, to reduce the project’s height. However, activists are insisting that she propose an ordinance to down-zone the site to block the project.
Shepherd should resist this idea, as even the threat of down-zoning would set a terrible precedent. Nevitt himself says he can’t recall a single instance when the council has downzoned simply to block a development that some neighbors didn’t like but that was allowed by existing zoning.
Downzoning would send tremors through the business community and signal that Denver’s zoning laws could be shredded or challenged according to political convenience.
It’s not as if Denver-based RedPeak Properties is trying to steamroll its way to construction of three apartment buildings in West Highland. After months of outreach, the developer in November agreed to participate in a design advisory committee whose members include appointees by Shepherd and neighborhood groups.
Since then, the firm has offered a series of concessions and adjustments.
None of this satisfies critics at No High Rises in West Highland, who insist the present zoning is a mistake and that RedPeak’s project will have devastating effects on the neighborhood. Yet they appear to exaggerate, beginning with their name. Since when is five stories a “high-rise”?
RedPeak is a respected local developer and apartment operator and its plans take into account the nature of the neighborhood and its history — including by preserving the adjacent Beth Eden Church building.
Adding density to any neighborhood has both benefits and downsides, but Denver’s zoning rules allow greater density in a number of neighborhoods — and explicitly welcome it in some corridors.
As RedPeak goes forward with its plans, it’s essential that the city continue to abide by its zoning rules and not try to change them in midstream.
