Don't give up! Tell the City Council to Vote NO on the East Area Plan.
As Denver Yimby's for GOOD, we wanted to share what you can do to help fight off over-development in our historic neighborhoods. Developers are chomping at the bit to change our neighborhoods so they can remove limitations on height and remove single family housing zoning recommendations.
The East Area Plan, despite the hundreds of residents who have repeatedly voiced our opposition, continues to be pushed forward without reflecting the wishes of the residents who live here.
The FINAL VOTE ON the East Area Plan is scheduled for November 16, 2020. The developers will have several people on the call to try to push this through, despite all of the hundreds of residents that are opposed.
This is our opportunity to speak up and fill in the spots allowed for speaking at the public comment hearing. The One-hour public comment will begin at 5:30 PM before City Council. You can begin to sign up at 4:30pm on Monday, Nov 16th here: www.denvergov.org/content/denvergov/en/denver-city-council/public-input/public-hearings.html Make sure to get on right at 4:30pm to signup so that we can fill some slots before the developers fill them all. Please stay engaged to have your VOICE heard OR the dialogue will be directed by those who may not live in our neighborhoods or are representing special interests.
Learn more at: denvereastneighborhoodsfirst.com
Please get involved, one way to do this is to write our representatives to help protect our neighborhoods from over-development. Below is a sample letter that you could use to write to the following council members:
Email:
Email Subject:
VOTE NO on the EAP:
Email Letter to copy and paste and edit as desired:
Dear Council Members,
I am a resident in the EAP. On November 16th, I want you to vote “NO” on the EAP if the language “single unit areas should remain primarily single unit” from page 39 of the Land Use and Built Form of the EAP is not added back into our Plan.
This was the compromise language that the City and the residents reached, and the appointed Planning Board was not part of the Community Engagement. What is the point of community engagement if portions are wiped out by a body that is not involved in the EAP process? Shall we erase all language that was reached through compromise?
Additionally, while the Plan has improved it is not enough and I do not want the plan approved for the reasons listed below:
PROCESS: After 500 plus residents showed up at Johnson and Wales most of whom rejected the draft at that time, two additional plans have been released during the pandemic with only two virtual meetings. The virtual meetings lack transparency/authentic input as attendees cannot see who else is in the room, attendees cannot see all the questions as they are asked, access is only available by those who have technology skills, access to the internet or computers. The City goals are advancing, not the residents’ goals.
BRT: The height map is based on a fully funded BRT and without knowing if there will be complete funding and what configuration it will take, we cannot support upzoning. Build to current zoning.
NO UPZONING: Planners have stated that current zoning can take in the additional 4200 residents and with ADU’s, group housing, and missing middle proposed text amendments moving forward, there is plenty of room to welcome new residents. 9th and Colorado is not full. Disposition of the VA hospital and Johnson and Wales is not yet determined.
PARKS: EAP is short 332 acres of park access and/or every resident is not within a ten-minute walk to a park. Rectify this and then provide a plan that developers must provide acreage for the additional residents with the new builds. Without this correction, Goals of Blueprint Denver and Game Plan for a Healthy Denver are a sham.
FLOOD: Without studies and plans that take into account current flood areas as well as pour over flood areas due to density, we do not support this plan. Increased density without sufficient studies will potentially cause risk of life and increase insurance rates for homeowners. FEMA only covers $250,000.00 in flood insurance with caveats. We must mitigate flood areas before adding density.
GROCERY STORES: The number 1 amenity in our neighborhoods is our grocery stores. The City’s drawings eliminate one or both of these stores and gives us a Bodega. The City is clearly not listening to the residents.
ADU’S: We do not support ADUS as a matter of right in all neighborhoods of the EAP. ADU’s throughout the CITY is a city-wide issue and should be decided on by City Council on a city-wide level. Until the City process is completed, applications for ADU’s can be done lot by lot.
Failure to address increased traffic on residential streets, loss East/West car lanes on Colfax, upgrades to infrastructure, parking in favor of businesses, and the potential loss of single-family zoning.
COMPLETE NEIGHBORHOODS: Blueprint Denver seeks to have all neighborhoods to be complete with libraries and recreation centers. These are either absent or have no teeth in the current plan.
TREE CANOPY: Without a concrete plan that residents can understand/monitor, our quality of life will be decreased particularly by destruction through construction of mature trees and the need for additional trees as we add residents. SMART goals.
PERMEABILITY: Maximum lot coverage should include all buildings on a lot. The Plan needs to define how we will monitor permeability and the metrics of success with a periodicity for the next 20 years. SMART goals.
EAP will be significantly impacted by three city-wide text amendments. Text amendments on city-wide implementation of Group Housing, Residential Infill, ADU’s, and Affordable Housing are in the beginning stages of planning and therefore we cannot opine as residents if we agree to the implementation and verbiage in our EAP.
RESIDENTIAL INFILL: Residential Infill will be kicking off in 2021 which aims to “gently infill” all residential neighborhoods. Residents should not be approving a plan when the impact of this text amendment/zoning is unknown.
ILLUSORY PROMISES: NO REGULATIONS or ORDINANCES IN PLACE to preserve character of homes – community benefits should be driven by the majority of residents in EAP not select stakeholders – to prevent displacement/gentrification, or ensure development of affordable housing.
The City has Stated the goals they have meet under Blueprint Denver and Comp 2040 but they do not indicate what goals they could not meet. This is information that the residents have asked for but have not received.
As a Resident in the EAP, I do not want the Plan in its current form passed. The Plan needs to go back to the drawing board. Please vote No on the EAP.
Sign with your NAME, ADDRESS & EMAIL ADDRESS
Learn more and get involved at:
denvereastneighborhoodsfirst.com
Consider this: The East Area of Colfax is already zoned for 3-5 stories – and it has not been built to this capacity, not even close! Why are they proposing to increase height recommendations when the existing recommendations and zoning allow for plenty of room for growth? It's not because the neighborhood is pushing for it or needs it, it's because developers want to be able to build higher buildings with lots more units so they can make more money, over-burdening our existing infrastructure. These units will not be required to be low-income either, so it's not about helping provide affordable housing, it's about making more money.
Areas with proposed upzoning: View East Area Plan Maps »
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