Denver is changing, but it has always been changing. The rate of change since the recent recession has been remarkable, which some find exciting and others find distressing.
But those changes have been guided by years of citizens’ involvement in setting the vision for diverse neighborhoods.
Denver residents need to understand, demand and exercise the opportunities built into our system to shape the vision for our neighborhoods. We shouldn’t retreat to fear and cynicism, giving up our democratic, long-range, city-shaping influence.
City planners work with residents and business owners to capture their vision for the future of their city. Citywide, this resulted in the creation of the Comprehensive Plan and Blueprint Denver, which provides significant guidance on land use and transportation.
Small area plans — sometimes called neighborhood plans, corridor plans, or station area plans — go more in-depth to capture a community’s vision for how a specific area should evolve over time. What sizes of buildings should go where? What uses are appropriate? What should remain the same, what should change, and in what way? Having participated in my neighborhood’s plan a few years ago, I can attest that it’s a uniquely engaging process to meet as a community over the course of a year and imagine together what a part of the city should look like
All land-use regulation changes proposed in Denver must be consistent with these community-driven plans. The Denver Planning Board — a diverse group of 11 citizen volunteers, architects, business owners, professional planners, and neighborhood advocates – reviews proposals to ensure that plans are being honored.
Rezoning, the process to change the land-use regulations for a part of the city, is demanding.
In 2014, 53 percent of all rezoning applications did not move forward, most because they were withdrawn or abandoned by the applicant after learning that the request did not align with the city’s adopted plans. Developers don’t always get what they want; more than half of proposals fail to move forward.
Is it an indictment of the Planning Board that nearly all of the rezoning proposals that make it past city planners’ review merit support from the board? Of course not. It’s evidence that city planners are rigorously applying the standards in our plans to each proposal.
Is it wrong that professionals in real-estate development serve on the Planning Board, ethically recusing themselves if they have a conflict of interest? Of course not. We need diverse perspectives and professional insights in this oversight role.
Rezoning is not only demanding, it’s also rare. Only 34 rezoning applications were approved in the city in 2014. It’s not the picture of rapid, widespread zoning change that critics are painting, to be sure.
No one says that zoning will never change. Over time, zoning can change for a variety of reasons, such as where plans are newly updated, where multiple zoning choices may be appropriate, or where big opportunities arise for redevelopment of large sites. The test is always the same: Is it consistent with our community-driven adopted plans?
Critics who claim that zoning changes that implement community plans are examples of the city overreaching, or who decry neighborhoods changing in ways their own residents called for are arguing against the essence of community-driven planning.
In fact, you help set the vision for your part of the city. If your neighborhood doesn’t have a recent plan, ask your council and mayoral candidates to make it a priority. The city’s budget priorities have to be supportive for this to happen. Join with others in neighborhood organizations to amplify your voice.
When your neighborhood embarks on a plan, participate. Discover and develop your shared goals. Each year, neighborhoods come to the Planning Board and City Council, residents and business interests together, proud of the plans they’ve created and excited about the guiding role their input will have. It’s how city-shaping works. Denver has always changed. Denver will continue to change. Will you help guide it?
Joel Noble is on the Denver Planning board, and is president of Curtis Park Neighbors. The views expressed here are his own.
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