OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Denver Community Planning and Housing Committee Meeting – April 28, 2026

Council Committees — Tuesday, April 28, 2026
BodyDenver, Colorado
SessionCouncil Committees
DateTuesday, April 28, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 59:02

Transcript — Verbatim
0:00

Welcome back to this weekly meeting of the Community Planning and Housing Committee with Denver City Council.

0:09

Your community planning and housing committee starts now.

0:17

Which does not do fire or it does really do.

0:28

Hi everyone.

0:29

We are on air, much to our surprise.

0:32

This is the community planning and housing committee of Denver City Council on April 28th of 2026.

0:38

I'm Clara Parity, one of your two council members at large, the chair of the committee.

0:42

We will start with council member introductions in the room and then see if we have anyone online, and I will go to my right.

0:53

I'm pausing to see if we do have colleagues joining us remotely.

0:58

We've had a little delay sometimes.

1:03

Yeah.

1:03

Alright, I don't see anyone online.

1:05

We have first a rezoning today from community planning and development of 8401 East Bellevue.

1:13

Tony is here.

1:14

We'll let him get settled and get started with the slides.

1:22

Alright.

1:23

We've got a light crowd today.

1:26

Yeah, I know.

1:27

Hopefully it'll hopefully it'll pick up a little.

1:30

All right.

1:31

Well, I am Tony Lechuga with Community Planning and Development, and I'm here to present the applicant proposed change to the zoning at 8401 East Bellevue Avenue.

1:42

So let's start by just looking at the applicant request.

1:46

I'm gonna pause as two more members cycle in.

1:54

I will welcome Council President Sandoval and Councilmember Torres, which gives us a quorum, which is great as for us.

2:00

Sorry, go ahead, Tony.

2:02

All good.

2:03

So we're talking about an applicant change to the zoning at 8401 East Bellevue Avenue.

2:09

And what they're asking to do is change their zoning from what is a currently former Chapter 59 zone district that has some waivers and two-use overlays to a standard Denver zoning code district, SMX8.

2:22

So the properties outlined in red there.

2:24

It's just under four acres.

2:26

What currently exists is a structure that used to house a two-story bank and office building.

2:32

It was a U.S.

2:32

bank for a long time, had associated offices with it.

2:36

There is an attached parking garage to that building, and then abundant surface parking lot.

2:41

The building has fallen largely into disrepair, and the bank functions have been moved elsewhere.

2:47

So in terms of location, it's located right on the southern edge of the city in Council District 4, represented by Council Member Romero Campbell.

2:58

And here we zoom in a little bit, and it's located in the Hampton South neighborhood.

3:02

If you're not familiar with all 78 of Denver's statistical neighborhoods, this is maybe more commonly known as the Denver Tech Center.

3:13

I'm gonna pause again real quick.

3:22

So in terms of the existing zoning, you can see a lot of this part of the city is former Chapter 59.

3:27

Um similar zoning north of it, that B8.

3:31

Um so this property, B8 is actually an intensive general business district as well as a high-density residential district.

3:39

So when we compare it to the proposed zoning, I'm gonna talk about in a minute.

3:49

The waivers on this site we're gonna get into in a second, but the use overlay one and two are the adult use overlay and the billboard use overlay, which while zoned here are both actually prohibited by the Denver Technological Center covenants on these properties.

4:05

And so they're not allowed uses by covenant.

4:07

Um and you can see that a lot of the area is still former Chapter 59.

4:11

However, the property immediately to the west rezoned to the similar district, SMX 8, a few years back.

4:17

Um, and then to the east, we have uh a linear park that has that OSA designation, and then some low-scale single unit districts.

4:25

And then to the south is Arapahoe County.

4:28

So the waivers on the site actually waive some of the uses.

4:32

So it waives certain fabrication, wholesale and warehousing uses that weren't deemed appropriate for the intense technological center uses that that this was dreamed out to be.

4:42

Um they also waive the gross floor area allowances of the B8 and establish a maximum height of two and a half stories.

4:48

So the proposed zoning gets away from that uh into a much uh into a height that much more aligns with the original intent of the B8 zoning.

4:57

And that's what they're asking for.

4:59

SMX8.

5:00

That's suburban, mixed use, up to eight stories.

5:03

And this is a suburban district, but it our suburban districts are intended to provide diverse areas where you can walk, shop, gather.

5:10

This is meant to apply to larger sites.

5:12

It's meant to provide some flexibility that we see on large sites and suburban contexts and balance sort of that street presence with necessary parking that we see in some of these suburban contexts.

5:24

And it does allow a diversity of building forms, both of the drive-throughs as well as the general and the shop front building form.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Housing Preservation█████████████████████████████████████████████59%
Land Use Zoning██████████████████24%
Legislative Affairs████5%
Community Planning██3%
Housing Development██3%
Environmental Protection██2%
Community Engagement██2%
Affordable Housing█1%
Procedural█1%
Summary of Proceedings

Denver Community Planning and Housing Committee Meeting – April 28, 2026

The Community Planning and Housing Committee of the Denver City Council met on April 28, 2026, at 1:30 PM to consider two action items and two consent items. The committee approved a rezoning for a property in the Denver Tech Center and advanced amendments to the Preservation of Affordable Housing Ordinance, including new right-of-first-offer provisions for market-rate properties.

Consent Calendar

  • 26-0560: Approved a grant agreement with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for $2,377,929.79 to fund housing services and projects citywide, with an end date of September 30, 2034.
  • 26-0562: Approved a resolution waiving the City and County’s Right of First Refusal and Right of First Offer provided by state law HB 24-1175, accompanying the Preservation of Affordable Housing Ordinance.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • One speaker, Mr. Beshow, urged a no vote on the preservation ordinance, arguing it does not adequately address affordability for households below 30% AMI. He stated that costs simply shift to shelters, emergency rooms, and jails, and questioned whether the policy measures success equitably.

Discussion Items

Rezoning – 8401 East Belleview Avenue (26-0557)

  • Tony Lechuga from Community Planning and Development presented a map amendment to rezone a 4-acre site from B-8 (with waivers and use overlays) to S-MX-8 (Suburban Mixed-Use, up to 8 stories). The property, currently a vacant bank and office building with surface parking, is located in Council District 4 (Representative Diana Romero Campbell) in the Denver Tech Center.
  • The rezoning aligns with Blueprint Denver’s designation as a Regional Center and supports high-density mixed-use development near transit (half-mile from Belleview light rail). Planning Board recommended approval unanimously on April 15, 2026, with no public opposition.
  • Councilmember Romero Campbell expressed strong support, noting the opportunity for housing and retail. Questions were raised about preserving existing mature trees; Sky Stewart (Shay Properties) confirmed they would work with the city forester during the site development plan process. The Denver Tech Center Architectural Control Committee requires 40-foot setbacks along Belleview and DTC Boulevard, which would protect trees within that zone.
  • Councilmember Alvidrez asked about the history of the Goldsmith Metro District and its design standards. The committee unanimously moved to recommend approval.

Preservation of Affordable Housing Ordinance Amendments (26-0561)

  • Kendra Garrett (HOST) presented changes to Chapter 27, Article III of the Denver Revised Municipal Code. Key modifications include:
    • Extending minimum affordability covenants from 60 years to 99 years for city-subsidized affordable housing projects, effective July 1, 2027.
    • Adding a Right of First Offer (ROFO) for market-rate properties with at least 15 units and built 30+ years ago (no upper unit limit, unlike state bill’s 100-unit cap).
    • Conforming notice periods to state HB 24-1175: two-year notice (previously one year) and a new six-month notice for income-restricted properties; ROFO uses 21-day notice, 10-day expression of interest, 14-day exercise/waive, 90-day PSA, 120-day closing.
    • No changes to 90-day sale notice, tenant notification, or no-cause eviction protections.
    • Opt-out resolution (26-0562) waives state provisions to allow city’s more flexible timelines and avoid requiring the mayor to personally sign compliance certificates.
  • Preservation Partners: HOST has 18 designated partners (from a 2023 solicitation) who can receive early notice of properties and negotiate before public marketing. The ordinance does not currently have dedicated funding for acquisitions; use depends on partner interest and available gap financing.
  • Enforcement: Fines up to $15,000 per violation, liens, or penalties on existing agreements. HOST has not had to enforce these to date.
  • Discussion: Councilmembers asked about capacity to enforce ROFO on market-rate properties, the number of affected properties (~510 under ROFR, ~1,000 under ROFO per assessor data), and the need for public education, especially among market-rate owners. Council President Sandoval requested examples of successful preservation deals to use in outreach.

Key Outcomes

  • Rezoning (26-0557): Motion by Vice Chair Romero Campbell, seconded by Councilmember Alvidrez, to approve CB 26-0557 for filing. Passed 6–0 (Sawyer absent).
  • Preservation Ordinance (26-0561): Motion by Councilmember Alvidrez, seconded by Councilmember Torres, to approve CB 26-0561 for filing. Passed 6–0 (Sawyer absent).
  • Consent Items (26-0560, 26-0562): Approved by consent without objection.
  • Next Steps: The zoning bill will go to full City Council in early June. The preservation ordinance will be presented to council over the next three weeks, with final approval expected in summer 2026. HOST will update rules and regulations and launch a public webpage on the preservation ordinance.

Meeting Transcript

Welcome back to this weekly meeting of the Community Planning and Housing Committee with Denver City Council. Your community planning and housing committee starts now. Which does not do fire or it does really do. Hi everyone. We are on air, much to our surprise. This is the community planning and housing committee of Denver City Council on April 28th of 2026. I'm Clara Parity, one of your two council members at large, the chair of the committee. We will start with council member introductions in the room and then see if we have anyone online, and I will go to my right. I'm pausing to see if we do have colleagues joining us remotely. We've had a little delay sometimes. Yeah. Alright, I don't see anyone online. We have first a rezoning today from community planning and development of 8401 East Bellevue. Tony is here. We'll let him get settled and get started with the slides. Alright. We've got a light crowd today. Yeah, I know. Hopefully it'll hopefully it'll pick up a little. All right. Well, I am Tony Lechuga with Community Planning and Development, and I'm here to present the applicant proposed change to the zoning at 8401 East Bellevue Avenue. So let's start by just looking at the applicant request. I'm gonna pause as two more members cycle in. I will welcome Council President Sandoval and Councilmember Torres, which gives us a quorum, which is great as for us. Sorry, go ahead, Tony. All good. So we're talking about an applicant change to the zoning at 8401 East Bellevue Avenue. And what they're asking to do is change their zoning from what is a currently former Chapter 59 zone district that has some waivers and two-use overlays to a standard Denver zoning code district, SMX8. So the properties outlined in red there. It's just under four acres. What currently exists is a structure that used to house a two-story bank and office building. It was a U.S. bank for a long time, had associated offices with it. There is an attached parking garage to that building, and then abundant surface parking lot. The building has fallen largely into disrepair, and the bank functions have been moved elsewhere. So in terms of location, it's located right on the southern edge of the city in Council District 4, represented by Council Member Romero Campbell. And here we zoom in a little bit, and it's located in the Hampton South neighborhood. If you're not familiar with all 78 of Denver's statistical neighborhoods, this is maybe more commonly known as the Denver Tech Center. I'm gonna pause again real quick. So in terms of the existing zoning, you can see a lot of this part of the city is former Chapter 59. Um similar zoning north of it, that B8. Um so this property, B8 is actually an intensive general business district as well as a high-density residential district. So when we compare it to the proposed zoning, I'm gonna talk about in a minute. The waivers on this site we're gonna get into in a second, but the use overlay one and two are the adult use overlay and the billboard use overlay, which while zoned here are both actually prohibited by the Denver Technological Center covenants on these properties. And so they're not allowed uses by covenant. Um and you can see that a lot of the area is still former Chapter 59. However, the property immediately to the west rezoned to the similar district, SMX 8, a few years back. Um, and then to the east, we have uh a linear park that has that OSA designation, and then some low-scale single unit districts. And then to the south is Arapahoe County. So the waivers on the site actually waive some of the uses.

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