Speaker 4: All right. The next public hearing is on Council Bill 841. Councilwoman Sheppard, would you please put a41 on the floor?
Speaker 2: Thank you, Mr. President. I move that council bill 841 be placed on final consideration and do pass.
Speaker 4: We will wait for technology to catch up. It has been moving and second in the public hearing on 841 is now open. May we have the staff report?
Speaker 5: Good evening, Theresa. Looser with community planning and development. Soon as I get to the white. Okay. Here we are. So Council Bill 841 is to rezone property located at 6900 through 7100 East First Avenue. It is located in the property is located in Southeast Denver in Council District five, in the Lowry Field statistical neighborhood. Many of you know the history of Lowry. I don't know if you want me to go into the detail of this, but through the seventies and up until 2005, the Air Reserve Personnel Center and the Defense Financing and Accounting Services were located on Buckley Annex. There were 3000 employees. In 1993, after it was announced that the Air Force base would close, the Lowry reuse plan was adopted by the city. And then in 2000, we adopted our comprehensive plan and re adopted the reuse plan as a supplement to our current plan. And then in 2000 to Blueprint, Denver was adopted. And at the time we thought that the finance and accounting services would stay. So the area was designated employment. On the Blueprint Denver map in 2005, the Department of Defense and Air Force announced closure of Buckley Annex. So in 2008, the Buckley Annex redevelopment plan was completed by the Lowry Redevelopment Authority. It was not adopted as a city plan. It is a concept redevelopment plan that was developed after a public planning process. And it does provide a framework for land use, transportation, building height, all of the things that we normally have in our small area plans. In 2011, the property was vacated by the Air Force, and in 2012 the transfer of the property was complete to the Lowry Redevelopment Authority. And in 2013, the Buckley Annex General Development Plan was approved largely based on the Buckley Annex redevelopment plan. So this is an illustration of what that redevelopment plan looks like and a purple dot showing you the property that we're discussing tonight. The property is about two and a half acres. The property owner is Larry Redevelopment Authority. The proposal is to develop, redevelop vacant property into new row homes. And so the proposal is to rezone from oh one to general urban neighborhood rowhouse with a three storey height limit and a waiver of that height down to two and a half storeys, but from 30 feet to 35 feet in height. One is a former Chapter 59 zone district that was brought over into the new code, as is. There were no height limits. I'm losing my voice. Excuse me while I take a drink. There were limited uses. You'll see on the list here. Correctional Institution, elementary schools and libraries were the only civic uses. Residential care and shelter for the homeless were the only residential uses allowed and so on with the other land uses. The General Urban Neighborhood Zone District does allow multi-unit. It's a multi-unit zoned district, so each zone, each housing unit will face the street. And this is something that was specifically outlined in the general development plan. So there are provisions in the Denver zoning code that allows some variance of heights and setbacks in bulk. However, you have to have an existing pattern on the block to conform to. So there is a primary street block sensitive setback and an administrative adjustment to building heights and bulk. But again, you have to have an established pattern on the block to adjust to to adjust your new development to. And since the property we're discussing is vacant, these remedies aren't available to this applicant. So as to our review, the first submittal of this came in with a request for some parking raise of parking requirements to two parking spaces per dwelling unit and an increase in the multi-unit parking requirement from 1 to 1 and a half per unit. CPD did not support that parking waiver and the applicant did remove it from their application and resubmit the application. The application was sent to all of these listed city agencies who did recommend approval of this application. As to public review. The notice of the application was sent out July 25th of this year. The planning board had a hearing on this September 17th or so and the and did recommend approval. Notice for that hearing was sent out 15 days prior to that hearing and the sign was posted on the property notifying the public of the date, time and location of the public hearing. And then the application moved on to Neighborhoods and Planning Committee and notice of that meeting was sent out ten days prior to that meeting. And then of course for this public hearing notice was sent out 21 days prior to the hearing and signs were posted on the property again, letting the public know the date, time and location of this public hearing. The list here on the slide are the Arnaud's noticed. I will note that we notified every R.A. surrounding Barclay annex. We were required to notify people within 200 feet of the property. But it's our practice on Barclay Annex to notify everyone surrounding Barclay Annex. And today you have a copy of a comment letter with your staff report. We have had one comment on this application. So the criteria for review is consistency with adopted plans are necessary for a community need that was not anticipated at the time, at the time of adoption of the city plans, uniformity of district regulations, public health, safety and welfare, justifying circumstances, consistency with neighborhood context and zone, district purpose and intent. And the City Council may approve an official Map Amendment rezoning application for property located within a general development plan area, taking into consideration the approved general development plan. So that's the criteria that you will use tonight. As to our adopted plans, the relevant plans are current plan 2000 allow re reuse Plan Blueprint, Denver and the General Development Plan for Buckley Annex. So for Comprehensive Plan 2000, we're told to promote infill development in Denver at sites where services and infrastructure are already in place to encourage development of housing that meets the increasingly diverse needs of our present and future residents to encourage quality infill development with the character of surrounding neighborhoods that offers opportunities for increased density and more amenities to preserve and enhance and extend the character of our primary street system and to modify our land use regulations to ensure flexibility that accommodates our changing demographics and lifestyle. The Lowry redevelopment plan did not anticipate that the Air Force would leave Buckley Annex. So it was adopted in 2000 and well after in 2000. And then in 2005, when the Air Force left. The plan was silent on that. So it is not applicable to this rezoning blueprint. Denver Also well, 2002. It is an area of change blueprint. Denver We didn't think the Air Force was leaving, but we did think that if it did, it would this Buckley Annex would be an area of change. We hoped it would remain employment and that was the extent of the land use concept. Just the thought of in Blueprint Denver, although four areas of change, we did discuss them as areas where we wanted to channel growth, where areas where we wanted to focus the new growth that was coming to the city. And specifically to Lowry. We wanted to be able to create a new neighborhood, and that was discussed in Blueprint Denver. And we also wanted to address the edges between our areas of stability and our areas of change. So the land use concept does talk about special design considerations. And I'm sorry, I have to take another drink.
Speaker 3: I know how you feel.
Speaker 5: So. There is some discussion of these transitions between areas of change in areas of stability and particularly height transitions, which is one of the features of the general development plan. So the transportation aspect of Blueprint in Denver First Avenue is a residential collector, street collectors balance, mobility and land access. And Quebec is a residential arterial street which basically emphasizes mobility over access. And this is the sub area of the general development plan that was adopted in 2013. It's called the Community Park Mixed Use Center. Some area for this property. The General Development Plan calls for mixed use land uses. But in this portion of First Avenue, it calls for attached and detached structures no more than two and a half storeys in height, with entrances that orient towards Lowry Boulevard and Pontiac Street. As to uniformity of district regulations. The proposed zoning with a waiver is unique in itself and therefore uniform to itself, but it also is uniform to the remainder of Buckley Annex, and we've already re zoned with similar waivers. And as to public health safety in general welfare, the proposed rezoning furthers the public health, safety and welfare through implementation of the city's plans, including the Berkeley Annex General Development Plan. So the next set of criteria are justifying circumstances and consistency with neighborhood context and zoned district purpose and intent. The Code states that a rezoning may be justified when the land or its surrounding environs is changing or has changed to a degree that it's in the public interest to encourage the redevelopment of the area or to recognize the changed character of the area. So the changed or changing character of the area is, of course, the announcement of the Air Force leaving Berkeley Annex in 2005 and the subsequent sale of the property to Lowry Redevelopment Authority for Redevelopment. The current plan blueprint Denver. The Buckley Annex General Development Plan provide policy support for a substantial public interest in encouraging the redevelopment of the area to meet our citywide area of change planning goals. As well as meeting the planning goals for Buckley Annex. So the neighborhood context is characterized by multi-unit. Residential land uses irregular pattern of grid blocks, sidewalks, presence of alleys, consistent orientation to the street. The zoned district purpose and intent promotes higher density residential neighborhoods, reinforcing development patterns that in existing neighborhoods will creating the same sort of pattern in our new neighborhoods. And the H3 specific intent is allows for urban house and rural house building forums no taller than three stories. Staff believes this rezoning does is consistent with the context in that it is multi-unit residential located along a collector street with orientation to that street. It is furthering the grid pattern of the existing surrounding neighborhoods will take access from alleys and will have that multi-unit rowhouse use that our general development plan calls for. So with that, staff believes that all of the review criteria have been met and staff does recommend approval of this application.
Speaker 4: Thank you, Mr. Lucero. We have four speakers lined up and I will call off for Bob Golic, Monty for Brian Word and Kevin Yoshida. So, Mr. Golic, you can go ahead and begin your remarks.
Speaker 6: Thank you, Mr. President, and members of council. My name is Bob Golic and my address is 609 South Gaylord Street in Denver. Here this evening on behalf of the Lourey Economic Redevelopment Authority for Council Bill 841 series of 2014. The Boulevard one property that you're looking at this evening, it seems like a very small portion of Lowry, but it is a very significant portion. It's one of the last undeveloped tracts that we have. As Teresa mentioned, it is an area of change in Blueprint Denver. And that's very important because there have been significant changes to in particular that have occurred on the Boulevard One property over the past few years. The first is that the United States Air Force turned control of this property over to the LRA in May of 2012. And the second is that the LRA immediately started planning efforts on this and sought approval of a general development plan, which was obtained in 2013 with a vote of the Denver Planning Board. And that general development plan established subseries throughout all of the Boulevard One property. The sub area that we're discussing this evening is called the Community Park. Mixed use debris and that's sub is about 25 acres. The subject property you're looking at this evening is just one parcel in that sub area and it's about two and a half acres that subtree that two and a half acres per the GDP is limited to two and a half storeys. And since we're applying for the grade three zoning, that's the that's the catalyst for the waiver and here of limiting that height down to two and a half storeys. It's a good zoned district for this because it only allows single family, residential allows both detached and attached, which is exactly what the general development plan has recommended and is approved. This grade three will provide a transition from the existing residential neighborhood outside of Boulevard one that's to the north, the first Avenue coming in to the more development area of the Boulevard One along Quebec Street and throughout the center of the Boulevard One property. The proposed R three, as I mentioned, is the appropriate district because of the allowed uses and is compliant with the GDP. This MAP amendment will bring the zoning in the conformance with that approved general development plan. We're providing or proposing nothing outside the parameters of that approved GDP. We have support of the Denver Planning Board and we have the support of community planning and development. And I urge you to do the same and will answer any questions you might have. Thank you.
Speaker 4: Thank you, Mr. Garlic Monte Force. Sorry.
Speaker 6: Good evening. I'm Marty Force. I'm the executive director for the Lowry Redevelopment Authority. Address is 7290 East First Avenue, Denver 802300. The application, my supplemental letter that's attached to the staff report and Teresa staff report I think together are quite throw in describing the conditions and the rationale for our rezoning tonight. So I'm going to focus my comments on the context in which you're reviewing this application tonight. Most of the 866 acres of Lowry Air Force Base closed in 1994. And today, Lowry is a thriving mixed use area now with more than 25 to 25000 people that live, work and recreate and go to school at Lowry. Tonight's Grade three application applies to only two acres of the 70 acre boulevard, one site, which in turn is the last phase of the 866 acres of Lowry Word on planning. Like the rest of Lowry, the 70 acre boulevard, one neighborhood has been thoughtfully designed with significant public input, starting in 2006 and over 60 meetings. That's documented in our application. The resultant final plan balances many diverse interests. It is consistent with the Denver Comprehensive Plan and Blueprint Denver. It meets market demand for urban living and it accommodates growth and provides new amenities for the surrounding area. The community input. Over the last seven years and those many meetings that we've had had some critical modifications for the Boulevard one boulevard, one plan. Specifically, we have fewer units than was originally called for. We reduced the units from 1200 overall on the site to 800, a medium density area similar to the Lowry Town Center area. We lowered the height of the buildings. We have a maximum height of five stories we're calling for, but we have no higher than three stories most of the time. More parking, parking ratios, as you heard, we waive originally had in the application. We took that out. We're going to deal with that through design guidelines on the site and traffic the projected traffic on the site is the same as when the site was occupied by the Department of Defense. That was 9500 vehicle trips per day. We did a transportation study as part of the GDP that demonstrates that the adjacent street system can accommodate the proposed development and was approved by the City Transportation Department during that process regarding waivers, in some cases, in order to replicate the building forms and the patterns elsewhere in Lowry and Boulevard one, we requested waivers with the zoning to provide that consistency, as is the case with tonight's application. Today, we have demolished a 600,000 square foot building. We've recycled 40 to 42000 tons of old roads, parking lots and runways. The Phase one infrastructure and street work is currently underway for the previously zoned areas. So this, of course.
Speaker 4: I apologize. Your 3 minutes is up.
Speaker 6: Sorry. Thank you.
Speaker 4: Brian. Brian were.
Speaker 7: I'd finished for Imani, but I don't know what you're going to say. Good evening. My name is Brian Wert. I reside at 250 Eudora St Denver and I'm a member of the LRA community or as I were called, Community Advisory Committee CAC and have been for 20 years. I stated this at the last lower Larry's zoning hearing, but want to reiterate that the public process related to Boulevard one, also known as Buckley Annex, has been the most intense of the public processes all through the redevelopment of the Lowry Air Force Base. The Boulevard one plan is, as Marty mentioned, and the GDP that resulted were modified significantly by the input that we received through the public process in her absence this evening. I want to mention that Councilwoman Sussman has followed this process every step of the way, attending many of the meetings hosted by LRA, as well as our CAC meetings. And Councilwoman Johnson did the same before her so that the Council representative from District Five has been involved with or followed the process all along and on the basis of the very public process and the GDP, which is the basis for this application, I recommend your approval. Thank you.
Speaker 4: Thank you, Mr. Ward. Kevin Yoshida. My name is Kevin Yoshida.
Speaker 6: My address is 8025.
Speaker 4: West Colfax.
Speaker 6: Avenue in Lakewood.
Speaker 4: I'm an architect and.
Speaker 7: Consultant to the Lowry Redevelopment Authority and available to answer any questions.
Speaker 4: Thank you. That concludes our speakers is now time for questions. Do we have any questions from members of Council? Councilman Brooks.
Speaker 6: Thank you, Mr. President. I want to give Mr. Force a chance to finish his comments. Thank you. Actually, I was almost finished. I was just going to urge your approval of the application tonight so that we can continue what we started here with the development of this important infill site and and add to the great legacy of city neighborhoods.
Speaker 4: Thank you, Councilman Brooks. Any other questions from members of council? Scene nine public hearing aid for one is now closed. Time for comments, Councilwoman Canete.
Speaker 0: Thank you, Mr. President. As one of the At-Large council members who helps to represent this district, I I've done absolutely no work on this rezoning. But what I can say is that I have continued to receive and respond to communications that come from residents of Lowrey and the surrounding neighborhoods. And it's very evident that over time, the process that you've created has worked through stage by stage and the flow of communication lessened. And now you're here with, you know, supportive comments. And I believe that that's a testament to the work. And I, I know that Councilwoman Sussman would would wish that she could be here. And I just as a council person who has watched how hard she's worked and also how seriously she's taken the feedback from the residents of Lowry that their concerns that they raised with you throughout the process about density and height had to do with the concerns about the transportation system being able to keep up with the population. And she has you know, I think we all know how closely she has taken that to heart and has really been a leader in thinking about how we can transform transportation systems in existing neighborhoods, bring increased transit to neighborhoods that are not core city neighborhoods. And so it just wouldn't feel right to to vote on this and this rezoning tonight without acknowledging her leadership and her work. So wanted to do that very briefly before I urge all of our colleagues to support this rezoning.
Speaker 4: Thank you. Councilwoman Canady, are there any other comments from members of council? All right. So, you know, Mr. Secretary, roll call.
Speaker 2: I.
Speaker 4: Brooks. Hi. Brown I thought I can h i layman. Lopez. Hi. Montero. I never i. Mr. President. All right, Mr. Secretary, please close the voting and announce the results. Ten 90909 821 have been placed on final consideration and does pass. One pre adjournment announcement on Monday, December 15, 2014. Council will hold a required public hearing on Council Bill 972 changing the zoning classification for 6200 leet stale dry. Any protest against Council Bill 972 must be filed to the Council offices no later than noon on Monday, December 8th, 2014. Seeing no other business before this body, this meeting is adjourned.
Speaker 0: Denver eight TV.
Rezones property located at 6900-7100 East 1st Avenue from a limited use list including living, commercial and some industrial uses (O-1) to General Urban, Row House, 3 stories (G-RH-3) in Council District 5. (NEIGHBORHOODS AND PLANNING) Rezones property located at 6900-7100 East 1st Avenue from a limited use list including living, commercial and some industrial uses (O-1) to General Urban, Row House, 3 stories (G-RH-3) in Council District 5. A PUBLIC HEARING WILL BE HELD AT LEAST FOUR WEEKS AFTER PUBLICATION. The Committee approved filing this bill at its meeting on  10-15-14.