Former City Councilman Chris Nevitt.
After his surprise loss last spring in the Denver auditor’s race, Chris Nevitt has landed a city position under Mayor Michael Hancock’s administration.
That’s not a surprise to some political observers, who had speculated on the next step for the two-term city councilman. But rather than receiving a high-profile political appointment, as some expected, Nevitt quietly was hired last month by the Department of Community Planning and Development as the new citywide transit-oriented development (TOD) manager. CPD’s director says Nevitt was chosen for the $120,000-a-year job after a competitive hiring process.
There’s an interesting juxtaposition at play with Nevitt’s new job.
Shortly after the election, but before he finished his council term, Nevitt forcefully defended his vote in favor of a rezoning change in east Denver. He argued for the virtues of denser development as the best way to absorb Denver’s continuing, and unavoidable, influx of new residents. He received for those comments, which were cited prominently in challenging the rezoning decision.
Now, Nevitt is in charge of coordinating city efforts to spur development that will bring density near transit stops.
But he makes a distinction between his new focus and the kind of development that sometimes has drawn neighborhoods’ ire. “TOD is the greatest opportunity we have to achieve the increased density we need while continuing to protect the quality of life we value,” Nevitt wrote in an e-mail Thursday. “By locating new jobs and housing next to transit, and making the nearby connections to transit as easy, safe, pleasant, and intuitive as possible, we can make a big shift toward being a multi-modal city without trying to impose a new lifestyle on our existing residents and neighborhoods.”
He’s the first to occupy the position, but CPD spokeswoman Andrea Burns says the department created the job last year.
Back then, Nevitt still was seen as the establishment-backed favorite to win the auditor’s race. But in May, he .
CPD executive director Brad Buchanan wrote in his internal announcement of Nevitt’s hiring last month that the former councilman “is uniquely suited for this position based on his experience working with private-sector constituencies involved with land development, including investors, developers, affordable housing advocates and community groups.”
He cited Nevitt’s council experience, including helping guide the development of several light rail stations in south Denver and the 2010 rewriting of the zoning code, as useful for his new job.
The TOD manager position was created last year after , Burns said, but had been vacant until Nevitt’s recent hiring. The plan plots out strategies for seizing on redevelopment and neighborhood improvement opportunities near Denver’s fast-growing number of transit stations, with several new train lines .
Buchanan’s hiring announcement says Nevitt’s job will center on “identifying and acquiring funding, crafting regulations and helping to prioritize projects to meet citywide goals.” He began Sept. 21 and said he was excited for the personal opportunity.
“As a councilman I was working hard to realize the TOD potential of the five light-rail stations in my district,” Nevitt said. “I now get to apply myself to every station in the whole Denver light rail system.”
Nevitt’s new position isn’t a mayoral appointment, but how does his $120,000 salary compare? Council members now make $87,623. If he had been elected auditor, Nevitt would have made a $141,148 salary. Most department directors and top mayoral appointees are paid much more. Within CPD, two deputy directors in CPD each make $136,712 a year while Buchanan is paid $170,000.
