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.

On air.

You're just gonna keep on the grade.

There it is.

Alright.

Welcome to the community planning and housing committee on Cinco de Mayo, May 5th of 2026.

Um everyone is arriving right on time.

Some of you guys are supposed to be remote when you're here in the bush.

Everybody's here.

Alright.

So we'll start with introductions.

I'm Sarah Fardy, I'm the chair of this committee.

And one of your city council members at large.

And I'll start with the leaders on my left because she's one of the Nora Vidres, but Lucky District 7.

Jamie Torres, muting my computer and West Denver District 3.

Shanta Louis District.

Good afternoon, Diana Romero Campbell, Southeast Denver District 4.

Amazing.

And it looks like we don't have anyone online because everyone came into the room, which I love.

We actually have just a single action item today, which is a landmark designation.

3535 East 26th.

So while landmark is coming up to the table, we had a presentation scheduled from DHA, the Housing Authority, and we're gonna reset that for probably sometime in June.

So look for that to come back soon.

Alright.

Take all the time you need, don't feel rushed.

I was all prepared to be really short.

I thought your next item was gonna be long.

I know, thank you for taking that into account.

Yeah, so my name is Kara Hahn.

I'm the landmark planning and regulatory supervisor, and we're here for 3535 East 26th Avenue Parkway for a landmark designation application.

Uh this uh project and property is uh coming forward as an owner-supported designation.

It's been brought forward by Dr.

Renee Cousins King, and this is in the Skyland neighborhood in Council District 9.

Here is the proposed boundary of the um of the property.

It is the historic parcel, as you can see, it's much larger than the other parcels around it, and we'll talk a little bit more about that, but it's with the lots that have been historically associated with it.

Um, as you know, the process for designation is community driven, and in this case it came forward from the property owner.

In order for a designation to be eligible, it needs to meet the requirements of Chapter 30, which is the landmark ordinance.

Uh, the property needs to maintain integrity, be at least 30 years of age or older, meet at least three out of ten criteria, and the landmark preservation commission has to consider its historic context.

Um, for this particular application, the uh landmark preservation commission forwarded it with finding that it meets four out of the ten criteria, and we'll go over those four really briefly.

So, first, that it has a direct and substantial association with the recognized persons or groups of persons.

In this case, it's with two different families.

First, with Nora and Frank Harris.

They're the ones that uh built the property in 1966.

So Nora Harris worked for the American Woodman Association as a claims department manager, and so had a lot of influence on the community and society.

Um she was also um on the board of directors for the Denver chapter of the NAACP, and both Nora and Frank were part of the Cosmopolitan Club of Denver.

Uh Frank is Denver's first recognized black landscape designer.

He was self-taught.

Um wouldn't have been allowed to probably be going through land going through like a landscape architecture program.

Um he was very highly regarded.

He started out in the 1920s just being a horticulturist and um working in like grounds, and then he grew to be a really well respected business.

He did commercial institutional and large private properties of very affluent members of Denver.

And so his role as the first recognized landscape architect or landscape designer um and his work with Cosmopolitan Club makes both Nora and Frank significant members are Dorothy and Charles are cousins.

And so they are also really significant members of the community.

Uh Charles, while more visible in the business area, um Dorothy was a partner in the process.

Um, their daughter said much of the business success he attained um would not have been possible without Dorothy's conscientious assistance.

So wanting to make sure that even though her name wasn't on the businesses, that she was a strong supporter of it, and it was successful because of her.

The businesses were a lot of like real estate businesses and five points.

Here is a refurbished sign for the 715 Club that he was part of.

And so this is now in the Five Points Historic District, and the sign was just rehabbed within the last few years.

Both Dorothy and Charles were really active in the civic realm.

Really proud sponsors of the Owl Club of Denver.

They supported students at Manual High School and Cole Junior High School, parts of the American Red Cross, Friends of the Denver Public Library, and the Church of the Holy Redeemer.

Charles was also invited to serve on the commission for the Olympics in the 1970s, even though we ended up voting that down.

He was on the board and invited to be on the board of that.

And so both Dorothy and Charles are cousins, are exceptionally prominent members of the community.

And so between both Nora and Frank and Dorothy and Charles, you have two different people who have been associated with this property, and both had strong influence on society.

The property also embodies the distinctive visible characteristics of an architectural style.

So this is a ranch style house, but it is a custom designed ranch style house.

It's a very high-style version of ranch style.

And you can see that in its one story, long and horizontal, a low-pitched roof with wide overhanging eaves.

There's a really minimal front porch.

You can see here, particularly in these pictures, the large picture windows and the brick construction, as well as an attached garage.

And internally, the open flow of living room, dining room, and kitchen looking out onto the backyard is a really key characteristic of the style.

And so not only is it a range style, but it's a really high-end ranch style property.

The commission also found that it was the significant work of recognized actor architects and master builders.

So Frank Harris, as an accomplished horticulturist and landscape designer, falls within that, and he worked on the National Jewish Hospital, the Bonfees Estate, Park Hill Golf Club, Colorado Women's College, plus a variety of others, but very, you know, well-named and you know influential groups and organizations within the city and county of Denver.

And then he designed this as his personal residence, and it's one that we know that has good integrity.

So as his personal residence where he chose to live, this is a significant example of his work.

And then the architect, William J.

Borman, he's a recognized architect here in Denver and in Colorado.

He did work particularly, he focused a lot of his work on ranches, but they were sometimes just like developments for neighborhoods, like a builder would come and he'd do like six spec houses or something for them.

But he also was really well known for his custom design work.

And he primarily worked in Welshire Country Club in Cressmore, primarily wealthy and primarily white communities.

It's this particular house is likely one of the first examples of his high style and custom work in the recently desegregated North City Park or Skyland neighborhood.

So it's a significant example of working in that community.

And then finally it's associated with social movements and patterns of growth or change in the community and the neighborhood.

It's really a story of sort of civil rights and racial integration.

The city was founded on systemic racism, and it can be really seen here in the redlining in the residential security map.

Through discriminatory zoning and covenants, you can see the blue arrow points to approximately where the house is currently located, and it was graded as a third grade area to live.

And the civil rights movement through a lot of anti-discrimination lawsuits, particularly, saw changes in housing and schools desegregation, is really seen here in this neighborhood.

As you start to see the racial character evolve in the 1950s and 1960s, and then you start to see more prominent black families and communities moving in along the park.

I don't know if you can see my mouse.

Yeah, so kind of right along here, the golf course and that down on the side.

And Nora and Frank Harris were some of the first to move into the area.

They were one of the first black families to purchase lots.

And as you can see here, they purchased approximately eight lots, which takes up about three or four sizes of houses on either side of it.

It's still the largest lot along the golf course.

And so for Nora and Frank Harris to be able to move in, purchase that much property, and then engage a really well-respected architect and builder to build our high-style custom design house.

One shows Nora and Frank's influence within the community, and also because they were one of the earliest black families to move into this area, it represents a pattern of change and growth in the neighborhood and reflects the evolution that you see happening further along and later in the 1960s.

So the LPC found that it met three of our four out of the ten criteria for designation.

The other thing that people need to look at is integrity, and this is not structural integrity, it's historic integrity, which has um seven different aspects of integrity, but really it's would prior residents recognize the property today.

And so in this case, the integrity is excellent.

There are very minimal changes to anything on the property, it's in the original location.

The feeling and the setting and association are really similar.

It's still in a residential neighborhood, still directly across from the golf course.

And you can see the workmanship and the design and the materials that are still really evident in the house.

It's been you know lovingly taken care of and maintained, so it has excellent integrity.

The Landmark Preservation Commission is also tasked with looking at the historic context, the development of why and how a building is in its place.

This designation has an exceptional historic context.

It's very detailed on the development of the neighborhood, on the histories of the owners and their families, and the background on the architect and builder, and so this is a really good example of what a historic context should be and how it's so closely ties with the criteria, and so the commission agreed with that.

And then the period of significance or the time period for which our property is significant, begins in 1958 with the date of the construction, and it continues through 1996, which is 30 years from now, or 30 years ago, and we have a 30-year threshold.

So even though the same families still own the property, it ends in 1996 at that 30 year mark.

And we did not receive any written public comment, but at the LPC, there were five community members that spoke in favor, as well as Historic Denver who spoke in favor, and they've been helping out some with this designation application.

So in summary, the landmark preservation commission found that it was over 30 years of age, that it met at least three, it met four of the criteria, that it retains integrity, and they considered the historic context.

So our recommendation is that it is forwarded to the full council for their review.

And I'm happy to answer any questions.

Great.

Thank you so much.

Usually I would let the person who's distorted as in speak first, but council member is not on the committee.

We're here today.

Um and I don't know that I have everyone, anyone in the queue.

Right.

Just one.

I'm just curious who the five community members were that spoke.

Okay.

Sorry, Mike.

That really wet on the way in.

Oh my gosh.

Yes.

It was, it was.

Um Sue Glassmacher from the uh Curtis Park, um, Happy Haynes, John Duffenbaugh, John Hayden, and Victoria Scott.

Okay.

That's it.

Thank you.

Council, thanks.

Um, no questions.

This is really straightforward and cut and dry, and I think just really fantastic.

So super excited about this.

I'm I just love it when historic designation properties come through, especially when their owner supported and applied for.

So this is really great.

It's such an important thing for the city of Denver to have to make sure that we're um recognizing our history and also preserving it.

So this is super cool.

Thanks for doing all this work.

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Same.

I echo the same sentiment.

It's so exciting to see that this is coming through.

I know exactly where this house is.

I've always wondered about it.

It's like, you know, when you see houses and they show and it's just like, oh, I know this house.

Um so just excited to hear more about the history and and to be able to have that recognized for um for Denver.

So thank you.

I'm excited to see this.

Cool.

Um I really have nothing substantive to add.

Um anybody else have a question or want to get in?

Okay, cool.

Yeah, thank you for this.

It's really great.

I I love when we just get a little history lesson in committee.

Um, so with that, it is an action item.

I will get a motion in a second to move it to the floor.

Move by Lewis, not by Torres.

Third and by everybody else.

Um thank you.

We will uh see you back in council.

Awesome.

Always good to see your face.

And with that, um we have nothing on consent.

Nothing further on the agenda.

Go back and reclaim some time.

This is amazing.

Right.

That was easy.