OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Community Planning and Housing Committee Meeting - June 2, 2026: Southwest Area Plan Rezoning and Landmark Designation

Council Committees — Tuesday, June 2, 2026
BodyDenver, Colorado
SessionCouncil Committees
DateTuesday, June 2, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 1:06:02
Transcript — Verbatim
0:01

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

0:10

Your community planning and housing committee starts now.

0:18

Okay, I guess we are live.

0:20

Hello there.

0:21

Hello, everyone.

0:23

Today is Tuesday, June 2nd, and uh I'm Diana Romero Campbell, and we are gonna start with some introductions.

0:31

I believe we have let's start with council members online first.

0:35

Well, Southwest Numbers District 2.

0:41

Okay, thank you.

0:43

And I will start here to left.

0:46

Good afternoon, Flora Alvidez with Lucky District 7.

0:49

Chantal Luz, District 8.

0:50

Amanda Sawyer, District 5.

0:53

Wonderful.

0:54

Um again, Diana Romero Campbell, represent Southeast Denver District 4, and we are going to get started with the legislative rezoning for the Southwest Area Plan.

1:03

So I will turn it over to you, Libby.

1:05

Thank you.

1:05

I'm Ruby Glick with community planning and development, and I will be presenting the rezoning on the Southwest or for the Southwest area plan.

1:14

So first we'll go through the background of the plan, then we'll discuss the proposal, followed by the process, and then finally the review criteria.

1:22

So the Southwest Area Plan was adopted in March of 2026.

1:26

It outlines the vision for the neighborhoods of Westwood, Athmar Park, Marley, Ruby Hill, and Overland.

1:33

So overall, the community priorities for the plan include creating vibrant cultural hubs, having safe, comfortable, and welcoming public spaces, making sure that housing is affordable and high quality, having or making sure this area remains a key center for industry, manufacturing, having well designed infrastructure, and then protecting and celebrating the natural resources.

1:56

It's located in council districts two, three, and seven, and council members Flynn, Alvidres, and Torres are the sponsors of this rezoning.

2:06

So now we'll go through the proposal.

2:08

So this is just a quick overview of the proposal.

2:10

I'll get into more detail about the specific proposed to and from districts when we go into the review criteria.

2:18

So this proposal will implement key land use guidance, including making sure that the corridors are vibrant, commercial centers and corridors, that industrial areas are right zoned, that Southwest residents have access to affordable and secure housing options, and that the zoning is consistent with the overall vision for these neighborhoods.

2:38

So there's four kind of categories that these rezonings fall into.

2:42

This is kind of how we've organized the rezoning.

2:45

So the first is centers and corridors.

2:48

The second are the riverside communities, which is kind of the existing industrial areas, the third are housing opportunities, and then the fourth are institutional properties.

2:59

So I'll go through each of these in a little bit more detail and then more detail later on.

3:03

So for centers and corridors, for all the corridors, we're removing the billboard use overlay where it exists and keeping the adult use overlay.

3:15

And then for Federal Boulevard, it's kind of a few different things that we're doing, but mainly rezoning to existing mixed use or to mixed use and main street districts, applying the active centers and corridors design overlay within a block of future bus rapid transit stops, and then aligning the allowed heights with the plan guidance.

3:36

For Mississippi Avenue, we'll rezone to include the design overlay, so just adding the DO8.

3:42

For Broadway, the proposal is to rezone from existing mixed use and industrial, so that all of Broadway is a main street or within a main street district, and then Morrison Road.

3:54

We're just rezoning the former Chapter 59 properties into a mixed-use district that matches the existing corridor.

4:01

And then lastly for Evans Station, rezoning those existing industrial properties to an urban center mixed use district, and then aligning the allowed heights with the plan guidance.

4:14

For the riverside community, so these are our existing industrial areas.

4:18

So along La Pan Street, we're proposing to rezone from industrial mixed use to Row House and then Main Street in the value manufacturing areas.

4:29

We're proposing to rezone from industrial mixed use to a light industrial or IA district, and then along the Santa Fe Corridor, which is just east of Santa Fe, rezoning those areas from a light industrial and more intense industrial to industrial mixed use five stories.

4:45

Again, again aligning those allowed heights with the plan guidance.

4:50

For housing opportunities, these include properties owned by Habitat for Humanity and Denver Housing Authority.

4:56

So the first piece is to rezone single unit properties to two-unit, and that's about 16 properties, and then there's four properties owned by DHA that we're proposing to read that are currently single unit and two-unit that are proposed to be rezoned to mixed use and multi-unit.

5:13

And then lastly, for the institutional properties, there's just two.

5:17

The first is the Denver Health Westwood Family Health Center, and the proposals to rezone from an old code hospital district to a campus health care, and then the Westwood Library and Community Center is proposed to rezone, be rezoned from an old code multi-unit to multi-unit.

5:35

So now I'll go through the process.

5:38

So this application was complete at the beginning of March.

5:40

It went to planning board in the beginning of May, and then we're here before you today for, sorry, this is LUDI committee, it should be CPH, and this will go before you at City Council in mid-July.

5:52

At Planning Board, the board voted unanimously to recommend approval.

5:57

There were some points raised during deliberation, including just asking how the rezoning will impact existing uses, particularly those existing industrial uses, and then federal park or federal about the parkway setback, which is 20 feet, and if the lots are how deep they are along federal, because that parkway setback would kind of override the DO8 setback of two feet.

6:23

For public comments, we received a public comment from the Westwood Community Action Team RO, that they commented they support the rezoning with protections to support residents and businesses that are already in the community.

6:35

And then we've received comments from nine members of the public.

6:39

So four were questions just about like, is my property included?

6:42

What does this mean?

6:44

Five commented in opposition.

6:46

So one resident near the Evans station is concerned about going, allowing up to eight stories in height.

6:52

And they submitted a lot of information.

6:54

They had concerns about just bringing more apartments and potentially more dog owners and dogs that don't have areas like to relieve themselves in these apartments, as well as parking.

7:04

And then there were two property owners along LaPan who are business owners who are concerned about rezoning to Main Street.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Community Planning████████████████████████████████32%
Land Use Zoning██████████████████████████████30%
Historic Preservation█████████████████████████████29%
Small Business Opportunity███3%
Public Engagement██2%
Transit-Oriented Development██2%
Parks and Recreation██2%
Summary of Proceedings

Community Planning and Housing Committee Meeting - June 2, 2026: Southwest Area Plan Rezoning and Landmark Designation

On Tuesday, June 2, 2026, the Denver City Council's Community Planning and Housing Committee convened at 1:30 PM in Room 391 of the City & County Building. The committee considered two action items: a large-scale map amendment to implement the Southwest Area Plan (26-0741) and a landmark designation for the Federal Garages (26-0742), along with four consent items. The meeting concluded with unanimous approvals on all votes.

Consent Calendar

  • 26-0743: Approved a $4,750,000 loan agreement with Green Valley Vistas Owner, LLC for 19 years to finance 156 income-restricted apartments (30%–80% AMI, 99-year covenant) at 5000 Tower Road (District 11).
  • 26-0744: Amended a contract with Archdiocesan Housing, Inc. (dba Catholic Charities) to change the final unit mix at 2595 S. Federal Blvd (District 2); no change to capacity or term.
  • 26-0745: Amended a loan agreement with 18th and Penn Building I, LLC to correct the legal land description at 1799 North Pennsylvania Street (District 10); no change to term or capacity.
  • 26-0746: Approved a $1,050,000 loan agreement with Kappa Housing, Inc. (60-year covenant) to finance 30 income-restricted senior units (30%–50% AMI) at 9095 East 48th Ave (District 8). All consent resolutions were approved without objection.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • For the Southwest Area Plan rezoning (26-0741):
    • Written comments were received from the Westwood Community Action Team RO, expressing support with protections for existing residents and businesses.
    • Nine members of the public submitted comments: four had questions about property inclusion, five opposed.
      • One resident near the Evans station opposed allowing up to eight stories, citing concerns about apartments, dog owners, and parking.
      • Two property owners along LaPan Street (business owners) opposed rezoning to Main Street.
      • One resident in Athmar Park opposed rezoning from mixed-use to solely industrial.
      • One resident in Mar Lee requested a fenced-off dog park.
  • For the Federal Garages landmark designation (26-0742):
    • No written comments were received by CPD.
    • At the Landmark Preservation Commission hearing, John Deffenbach of Historic Denver spoke in favor.

Discussion Items

26-0741 – Southwest Area Plan Map Amendment Libbie Glick (CPD) presented a comprehensive rezoning across Council Districts 2, 3, and 7 (Westwood, Athmar Park, Marley, Ruby Hill, Overland) to implement the adopted Southwest Area Plan (March 2026). Key components:

  • Centers & Corridors: Rezoning along Federal Boulevard (including removal of billboard overlay UO-2, adding Design Overlay 8 near future BRT stations, heights up to 5 stories south of Mississippi), Mississippi Avenue (adding DO8 for pedestrian-friendly design), Broadway (rezoning to Main Street districts), Morrison Road (rezoning old code properties to EMX-3), and Evans Station area (up to 8 stories for transit-oriented development).
  • Riverside Communities: Rezoning LaPan Street to Main Street and Row House districts; converting value manufacturing areas to Light Industrial (IA); rezoning Santa Fe corridor to industrial mixed-use 5 stories.
  • Housing Opportunities: Rezoning 16 single-unit properties owned by Habitat for Humanity and Denver Housing Authority (DHA) to two-unit; four DHA properties to mixed-use/multi-unit.
  • Institutional Properties: Rezoning Denver Health Westwood Family Health Center to campus health care and Westwood Library/Community Center to multi-unit.

Process: The application was complete in March 2026; Planning Board voted unanimously to recommend approval on May 6, 2026. Over 9,000 postcards were mailed twice to property owners and renters. Staff confirmed the rezoning meets all three review criteria (consistency with adopted plans, public interest, and zone district intent).

Council Discussion:

  • Council President Sandoval (District 1) commended the work and expressed full support.
  • Councilmember Alvidrez (District 7) highlighted the removal of billboard overlays, the shift to “river side communities” focusing on the river, inclusion of South Broadway, and engagement with the Colorado Asian Pacific United group regarding the Asia Center. She noted potential floor amendments to exclude a few industrial properties with existing residential uses. She also requested DHA representatives attend the final City Council hearing to discuss wraparound services for new dense housing.
  • Councilmember Sawyer (District 5) asked about non-conforming uses created by rezoning industrial mixed-use to light industrial or row house. Libbie Glick confirmed non-conformities exist but existing uses can continue. Councilmember Sawyer raised concerns about food truck prohibitions under urban context zoning and urged prioritizing text amendments to allow food trucks, citing a specific taco truck that had to move. Elizabeth Weigel (CPD) noted the text amendment is on the work program.
  • Council President Sandoval also queried the interaction between the Design Overlay 8 and the 20-foot parkway setback on Federal Boulevard (managed by Parks and Recreation), suggesting a need for CPD and Parks to reevaluate outdated setbacks.
  • Councilmember Alvidrez noted that a previous rezoning in Athmar Park near a park was denied; the new row house designation addresses that concern.

26-0742 – Federal Garages Landmark Designation Becca Dierschow (CPD) presented an owner-supported landmark designation for the two bus garages built in 1925 and 1947 (2100 California St. and 2101 Welton St.), historically known as the Denver-Rio Grande Garages. The property, owned by the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA), is being sold; the GSA initiated the designation as part of the disposal process. The garages meet three of ten significance criteria: association with development of intercity bus transportation (Denver-Colorado Springs-Pueblo Motorway, carrying over 1,500 people daily at peak), architectural style (Spanish Colonial Revival with tile roof, tower, stucco), and rarity as remaining industrial buildings in a heavily redeveloped area. The period of significance is 1926–1961. Potential adaptive reuse aligns with the Downtown Area Plan’s 5280 Trail and ground-floor activation goals.

Council Discussion:

  • Councilmember Sawyer asked about the “widespread change” notation under setting integrity. Dierschow clarified that while location, design, materials, and workmanship remain intact, the surrounding setting has changed drastically (urban renewal, parking lots), which reinforces the rarity criterion.
  • Councilmembers noted the parallel to the VA property sale in District 5; the GSA representative was available but no additional questions were asked.

Key Outcomes

  • 26-0741: Motion by Vice Chair Sawyer, seconded by Councilmember Alvidrez, to approve the rezoning for filing. Approved 5–0 (Aye: Alvidrez, Lewis, Romero Campbell, Sandoval, Sawyer; Nay: 0; Absent: Torres, Parady). A floor amendment may be offered to remove a few industrial properties with existing residential uses before City Council consideration in mid-July.
  • 26-0742: Motion by Councilmember Alvidrez, seconded by Councilmember Lewis, to approve the landmark designation for filing. Approved 5–0 (same vote tally). The designation will go to full City Council for final deliberation.
  • All four consent items were approved by consent without discussion.
  • The meeting adjourned at approximately 2:45 PM.

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. Okay, I guess we are live. Hello there. Hello, everyone. Today is Tuesday, June 2nd, and uh I'm Diana Romero Campbell, and we are gonna start with some introductions. I believe we have let's start with council members online first. Well, Southwest Numbers District 2. Okay, thank you. And I will start here to left. Good afternoon, Flora Alvidez with Lucky District 7. Chantal Luz, District 8. Amanda Sawyer, District 5. Wonderful. Um again, Diana Romero Campbell, represent Southeast Denver District 4, and we are going to get started with the legislative rezoning for the Southwest Area Plan. So I will turn it over to you, Libby. Thank you. I'm Ruby Glick with community planning and development, and I will be presenting the rezoning on the Southwest or for the Southwest area plan. So first we'll go through the background of the plan, then we'll discuss the proposal, followed by the process, and then finally the review criteria. So the Southwest Area Plan was adopted in March of 2026. It outlines the vision for the neighborhoods of Westwood, Athmar Park, Marley, Ruby Hill, and Overland. So overall, the community priorities for the plan include creating vibrant cultural hubs, having safe, comfortable, and welcoming public spaces, making sure that housing is affordable and high quality, having or making sure this area remains a key center for industry, manufacturing, having well designed infrastructure, and then protecting and celebrating the natural resources. It's located in council districts two, three, and seven, and council members Flynn, Alvidres, and Torres are the sponsors of this rezoning. So now we'll go through the proposal. So this is just a quick overview of the proposal. I'll get into more detail about the specific proposed to and from districts when we go into the review criteria. So this proposal will implement key land use guidance, including making sure that the corridors are vibrant, commercial centers and corridors, that industrial areas are right zoned, that Southwest residents have access to affordable and secure housing options, and that the zoning is consistent with the overall vision for these neighborhoods. So there's four kind of categories that these rezonings fall into. This is kind of how we've organized the rezoning. So the first is centers and corridors. The second are the riverside communities, which is kind of the existing industrial areas, the third are housing opportunities, and then the fourth are institutional properties. So I'll go through each of these in a little bit more detail and then more detail later on. So for centers and corridors, for all the corridors, we're removing the billboard use overlay where it exists and keeping the adult use overlay. And then for Federal Boulevard, it's kind of a few different things that we're doing, but mainly rezoning to existing mixed use or to mixed use and main street districts, applying the active centers and corridors design overlay within a block of future bus rapid transit stops, and then aligning the allowed heights with the plan guidance. For Mississippi Avenue, we'll rezone to include the design overlay, so just adding the DO8. For Broadway, the proposal is to rezone from existing mixed use and industrial, so that all of Broadway is a main street or within a main street district, and then Morrison Road. We're just rezoning the former Chapter 59 properties into a mixed-use district that matches the existing corridor. And then lastly for Evans Station, rezoning those existing industrial properties to an urban center mixed use district, and then aligning the allowed heights with the plan guidance. For the riverside community, so these are our existing industrial areas. So along La Pan Street, we're proposing to rezone from industrial mixed use to Row House and then Main Street in the value manufacturing areas. We're proposing to rezone from industrial mixed use to a light industrial or IA district, and then along the Santa Fe Corridor, which is just east of Santa Fe, rezoning those areas from a light industrial and more intense industrial to industrial mixed use five stories. Again, again aligning those allowed heights with the plan guidance. For housing opportunities, these include properties owned by Habitat for Humanity and Denver Housing Authority. So the first piece is to rezone single unit properties to two-unit, and that's about 16 properties, and then there's four properties owned by DHA that we're proposing to read that are currently single unit and two-unit that are proposed to be rezoned to mixed use and multi-unit. And then lastly, for the institutional properties, there's just two. The first is the Denver Health Westwood Family Health Center, and the proposals to rezone from an old code hospital district to a campus health care, and then the Westwood Library and Community Center is proposed to rezone, be rezoned from an old code multi-unit to multi-unit. So now I'll go through the process. So this application was complete at the beginning of March. It went to planning board in the beginning of May, and then we're here before you today for, sorry, this is LUDI committee, it should be CPH, and this will go before you at City Council in mid-July. At Planning Board, the board voted unanimously to recommend approval.

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