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OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD

Record of Proceedings

South Platte River Committee Rezoning and Parkland Briefing - January 14, 2026

Council Committees — Wednesday, January 14, 2026

BodyDenver, Colorado

SessionCouncil Committees

DateWednesday, January 14, 2026

StatusFILED

Video Record

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0:00

Welcome back to this biweekly meeting of the South Platte River Committee of Denver City Council.

0:09

Join us for the discussion as the South Platte River Committee starts now.

0:20

No, I think that's right.

0:22

Hi, everyone. Thank you for joining us.

0:24

We're at the South Platte River Committee for Wednesday, January 14th.

0:30

And Councilwoman Jamie Torres, honored to represent West Denver District 3.

0:35

We have a great agenda coming up today.

0:38

Go to the other side, okay.

0:40

And before we focus in on that agenda, let's do introductions.

0:45

I will start in the room and then go online, and I'll start to my left.

0:49

Good afternoon.

0:50

Darrell Watson, representing Fine District 9.

0:52

Good afternoon, Amanda Sandoval, Northwest Denver District 1.

0:56

Flora Alvarez, Lucky District 7.

0:59

Chris Hines, Denver's Perfect Ten.

1:01

Thank you.

1:01

And do we have any council members on Zoom?

1:09

Nope.

1:10

Okay.

1:10

None yet.

1:11

We will introduce them when they join on.

1:14

Today we've got an action item, a rezoning property, and then a briefing about parkland

1:20

and open space.

1:21

So thank you for joining us.

1:22

And Fritz, welcome to the table.

1:26

Thank you.

1:30

Hello, my name is Fritz Claussen, planner with Community Planning and Development.

1:34

Here to present on 2001 South Ocoma Street, a rezoning request from URH-215 to CRX5.

1:42

We'll go through the request, location and context, process, review criteria for rezoning application,

1:48

and finally staffs recommendation. So the request before us is to rezone 2001

1:55

South Tacoma Street from the current URH 2.5 to CRX 5. Property is a 6,250

2:05

square foot residential property currently containing a single-family

2:10

residence. The intention is to rezone to allow residential additional

2:17

residential and limited mixed-use options allowed by the CRX5 zoning. Next

2:23

location context we are here in Council District 7 in the Overland

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statistical neighborhood. Again the existing zoning is URH 2.5. There's a

2:38

variety of zonings in this area. We're fairly close to the Evans light rail

2:42

station immediately to the north is CMX5 to the west another CRX5 property to the east CMX5

2:51

and to the south more of the current URH 2.5 also industrial zoning generally to the west

2:59

and once you get on to the east side of past the east side of Broadway transitions to single unit

3:05

zoning. The proposed zoning is CRX5, a residential mixed-use zone district, which allows the

3:16

townhouse and general building forms. The current land use on the property is single-unit

3:23

residential. It's adjacent to a variety of other land uses, including multi-unit residential

3:27

to the north and also to the south in the form of a town or a duplex, a variety of industrial,

3:37

commercial retail, and other multi-init properties in the area as well.

3:43

We see to the top left the current property as seen from the corner of Acoma and Asbury,

3:50

and to immediately below that recent residential development

3:57

immediately to the north along Acoma.

4:00

And on the lower right, that's across the street,

4:05

an industrial use property at the other side of the corner of Acoma and Asbury.

4:12

Next we'll talk about the process.

4:15

The informational notice for this rezoning application

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first went out on August 25th of last year. Planning board notice went out on 1223 of last

4:26

year. I'm sorry, there's a typo there. It had gone on 2026. There have been two planning board

4:33

public hearings for this rezoning. We had one originally on November 19th of last year.

4:42

We discovered after that took place that the email notice to RNOs did not go out properly.

4:48

So we kicked it back in the schedule to send out the notice properly, and the application was reheard on January 7th.

4:58

Both times passed through planning board, recommended for approval.

5:02

We're here today, January 14th, 2026, and looking at a tentative council hearing date of February 23rd.

5:10

In terms of public comments, we've received two comments in support of the application

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting

Parks and Recreation█████████████████████████████████████████████54%

Affordable Housing████████████████████████29%

Environmental Protection█████6%

Community Engagement███4%

Water And Wastewater Management██2%

Racial Equity██2%

Procedural█1%

Engineering And Infrastructure█1%

Historic Preservation█1%

Summary of Proceedings

South Platte River Committee Rezoning and Parkland Deficit Briefing - January 14, 2026

The South Platte River Committee of Denver City Council met on January 14, 2026, to consider a rezoning application for 2001 South Acoma Street and to receive a briefing on parkland and open space deficits along the South Platte River corridor. The committee voted to advance the rezoning to full council and discussed strategies to increase park acreage across Denver.

Public Comments & Testimony

On the rezoning request, two written comments were received in support (supporting additional density near transit) and one in opposition (preferring to preserve the single-family nature of the area). No oral public testimony was heard.

Discussion Items

Rezoning: 2001 South Acoma Street (URH-2.5 to CRX-5)

Planner Fritz Claussen (Community Planning and Development) presented the request to rezone a 6,250-square-foot residential property from URH-2.5 to CRX-5. The property is in Council District 7 (Overland statistical neighborhood) near the Evans light rail station. The CRX-5 zone allows townhouse and general building forms up to five stories, intended to enable more housing density and limited mixed-use.
Process: Informational notice first went out August 25, 2025. Planning board hearings were held November 19, 2025 and January 7, 2026 (reheard after an email notice error). Both times the planning board recommended approval.
Public comments: two in support, one in opposition.
Councilmember Torres questioned the applicant, Andy (architect), about the timeline and engagement with the Overland Neighborhood Association. Andy explained delays due to market changes and a lease. He indicated plans for either four to five townhomes or a small apartment building, with flexibility from the general building form. Councilmember Flynn asked for deeper justification of the context change from Urban to Urban Center in Blueprint Denver; staff noted surrounding Urban Center designations and plan consistency.
Andy agreed to meet with the Overland Neighborhood Association before the full council hearing.

Briefing: Parkland and Open Space Deficits and River Corridor Opportunities

Rocky Piro (former city planner, retired) and Frank Rowe (Denver Park Trust) presented a citywide park deficit analysis. Key statistics: Denver currently has 9 acres of parkland per 1,000 residents, compared to the national average of 13 acres per 1,000. The 2019 Game Plan identified a gap of 1,300 acres citywide. Per council district: District 1 (9.7 acres/1,000), District 2 (3.3), District 3 (4.4), District 4 (close to 13), District 7 (~4.5), District 8 (exceeds 13), District 9 (9.5), District 10 (2.5). Only District 8 meets or exceeds the national average.
Along the South Platte River, challenges include E. coli levels at 137 times the federal safety standard, compromised vegetation, and incompatible adjacent land uses (e.g., industrial, auto repair, hot tub businesses). Vacant and underutilized parcels present opportunities.
Piro and Rowe proposed exploring a river-sensitive overlay district or new zoning to guide development, potentially modeled on other cities' river districts. They emphasized the need for a coordinated vision, retention strategies to avoid displacement, and demonstration projects (e.g., Sun Valley 11-acre park, River Sisters' Turquoise Necklace concept).
Council President Sandoval discussed the complexity of creating a new zoning district and the need for research into existing municipal code provisions. Councilmember Hines noted the challenge of downtown's 2.5 acres/1,000 and the potential for using city-owned assets (e.g., Bannock Street conversion). Councilmember Watson inquired about partnerships with Denver Public Schools for shared green space.
Committee members raised concerns about gentrification and displacement, and Councilmember Torres stressed the importance of retention strategies.

Key Outcomes

The committee voted unanimously (motion by Councilmember Sandoval, second by Councilmember Alvarez) to advance the rezoning of 2001 South Acoma Street to the full City Council, contingent on the applicant meeting with the Overland Neighborhood Association. A tentative council hearing date of February 23, 2026 was noted.
The committee expressed strong interest in further exploring a river corridor zoning district, parkland acquisition strategies, and potential legislation to achieve 13 acres of parkland per 1,000 residents by 2040. Staff were directed to research options and bring back recommendations.

Meeting Transcript

Welcome back to this biweekly meeting of the South Platte River Committee of Denver City Council. Join us for the discussion as the South Platte River Committee starts now. No, I think that's right. Hi, everyone. Thank you for joining us. We're at the South Platte River Committee for Wednesday, January 14th. And Councilwoman Jamie Torres, honored to represent West Denver District 3. We have a great agenda coming up today. Go to the other side, okay. And before we focus in on that agenda, let's do introductions. I will start in the room and then go online, and I'll start to my left. Good afternoon. Darrell Watson, representing Fine District 9. Good afternoon, Amanda Sandoval, Northwest Denver District 1. Flora Alvarez, Lucky District 7. Chris Hines, Denver's Perfect Ten. Thank you. And do we have any council members on Zoom? Nope. Okay. None yet. We will introduce them when they join on. Today we've got an action item, a rezoning property, and then a briefing about parkland and open space. So thank you for joining us. And Fritz, welcome to the table. Thank you. Hello, my name is Fritz Claussen, planner with Community Planning and Development. Here to present on 2001 South Ocoma Street, a rezoning request from URH-215 to CRX5. We'll go through the request, location and context, process, review criteria for rezoning application, and finally staffs recommendation. So the request before us is to rezone 2001 South Tacoma Street from the current URH 2.5 to CRX 5. Property is a 6,250 square foot residential property currently containing a single-family residence. The intention is to rezone to allow residential additional residential and limited mixed-use options allowed by the CRX5 zoning. Next location context we are here in Council District 7 in the Overland statistical neighborhood. Again the existing zoning is URH 2.5. There's a variety of zonings in this area. We're fairly close to the Evans light rail station immediately to the north is CMX5 to the west another CRX5 property to the east CMX5 and to the south more of the current URH 2.5 also industrial zoning generally to the west and once you get on to the east side of past the east side of Broadway transitions to single unit zoning. The proposed zoning is CRX5, a residential mixed-use zone district, which allows the townhouse and general building forms. The current land use on the property is single-unit residential. It's adjacent to a variety of other land uses, including multi-unit residential to the north and also to the south in the form of a town or a duplex, a variety of industrial, commercial retail, and other multi-init properties in the area as well. We see to the top left the current property as seen from the corner of Acoma and Asbury, and to immediately below that recent residential development immediately to the north along Acoma. And on the lower right, that's across the street, an industrial use property at the other side of the corner of Acoma and Asbury.

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