Speaker 0: 11 Eyes Council Bill 20 1-0939 has passed. Thank you, Fran. I we'll go ahead and move to our second hearing. Councilmember Sawyer, will you please put Council Bill 944 on the floor for final passage?
Speaker 4: I move that council bill 21 does 0944 be placed upon final consideration and do pass.
Speaker 0: Thank you. It's been moved and seconded. The required public hearing for Council Bill 944 is open. May we have the staff report?
Speaker 8: Hi, certainly. Good evening, council. I'm Brandon Shaver, senior city planner CPD presenting an official map application for 1901 West Street, 1600 and 20th Street and 1601 19th Street, requesting a rezoning from Pdg 19 to Pdg 26. As this request is a party to city rezoning and is closely linked to an approved, comprehensive signed plan and a forthcoming comprehensive site plan Amendment staff found it important to highlight the following. The current PD G 19 was adopted in November 2018, and the current comprehensive site plan, or CSP, was approved in December of 2020. Comprehensive signed plans allow for flexibility in same types, same area and same location, more so than can be achieved through the regular sign regulations in Article ten of the Denver Zoning Code. This flexibility is offered in exchange for a higher degree of design and use of high quality materials and require enhanced review by staff and other design professionals depending on where the project is located in the city. In this case, the Comprehensive Signage Plan was reviewed by Landmark Preservation Staff to ensure compatibility with the abutting historic district. All elements of PD G 19 are proposed to be carried forward and the new PD, including the design standards and Guidelines and includes the inclusion of two unique signs in the current Comprehensive Sign Plan, with allowances for animation and limited offsite advertising varying between the types. These types include the Content Plaza, canopy screen and the open space area and dynamic banner ground signs along the Wynkoop Promenade. As I mentioned, a forthcoming comprehensive site plan amendment is anticipated to go in from the planning board and then on to the zoning administrator in the coming weeks . And they will provide more detail on the public art and screen component, which could include a design review board or design board and a nonprofit organizations to use for curation, as well as a reporting mechanism to demonstrate compliance with the duty and mitigate any potential negative impacts. As some councilmembers may have noticed of the dynamic vendor, ground science and content plaza canopies screen are currently in operation on the site from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m.. This was due to the applicant's request to activate Configure Square in advance of and during the All-Star Game events that occurred in July. They were also granted a variance by the Board of Adjustment on July 13th to extend the temporary use permit and continue operation of these sites. There are other areas and districts in the city where these special site allowances are granted. These include the downtown Denver Theater District and Station, the National Western Center and the Billboard Use Overlay. In many of these instances, a planning document was adopted by council that spoke directly to the desire to allow special signage. The requirements and restrictions tied to these allowances can be found in the respective sections of the Denver Zoning Code. There are a number of considerations that were taken into account and staff reviewed this request. These include the unique, unique site configuration. And Jason has previously mentioned the fact that the subject site is on one's own, not that the billboard use overlay cannot be mapped where it does not currently exist and the public benefits provided by this party request. Now moving on to the requests, it's in Council District nine, represented by Councilwoman CdeBaca in the Union Station disco neighborhood . As previously mentioned, current zoning on the site is June 19 and there are a number of zoning designations surrounding the subject site, including eight, which is light industrial at Coors Field, IMX eight to the northwest, lower downtown zoning across 19 Emwazi streets and pads to the west and southwest. Again. Pdg 19, was approved in late 2018. It is based on the DA's 12 plus zone district, which can be found a few blocks to the north and east and at a high level. This PD provides a tailored building forms of private open space requirement and a parking maximum. Existing land use on the site is shown as vacant as this data was last compiled before construction of McGregor Square had commenced. When updated, the site would show a mix of uses including commercial, retail, multi-unit, residential and mixed use in office. Surrounding land uses include mixed use multi-unit residential across the Wynkoop Promenade and 19th streets, office entertainment, cultural land use at Coors Field and vacant land uses to the east of the site. These photos give you a sense of the building, form and scale on the area with the subject property and the wynkoop promenade under construction at the top left. And the photo on the bottom right is an example of the historic context in which the subject property is adjacent to. As previously stated, this party request would formalize the inclusion of two unique sign types across the site, each with their own minimum percentages of public art and screen share. These same types would allow for animation and limited offsite advertising, with further restrictions on signs within 50 feet of the lower downtown historic district to respect the character and minimize impacts for drivers along Wynkoop Street. Additionally, the Pudi outlines and enhanced CSP requirements at the site that would provide more guidance on the public art and screen share component and contain a reporting mechanism to demonstrate compliance with the duty and mitigate any negative impacts should they arise in the future. Informational notice of this application was sent in early March and the Planning Board public hearing was continued on July 21st to August 18th to allow the applicant team to respond to questions raised by the board . Notice of today's meeting was sent on September 20th and as a present to comments and received a letter of support and position. Letter for the party were received by the LoDo District R.A., as well as a letter from the condo building across Wynkoop Promenade supporting the extension of the temporary use permit. So based on the comments received at the July 21st planning board hearing here you can see the changes that the applicant made to their proposal, and ultimately it was recommended for approval on an 8 to 1 vote at the August 18th meeting. I'll quickly go through the first five criteria, beginning with consistency, with adopted plans. We have four plans for land use guidance here. We find this request to be consistent with many of the strategies and plan 2040. So I move directly to Blueprint, which maps this as a downtown neighborhood context. This is the densest and most active context in our city that gives prominence to the pedestrian realm. And this joining requests as it's based on a downtown district is consistent with the context map, the featured places map designates. This is a regional center. These places have the widest customer draw and provide a 24 seven live work and play environment. This rezoning request is consistent with the future place designation as it creates an environment for an active and lively pedestrian experience with urban building forms. Four Street types, both 19th NYC are classified as downtown arterials. These streets are surrounded by intense land uses and have a very high degree of building coverage which also cater to pedestrians. 20th Street, at the northern edge of the property, is a mixed use arterial, which is also characterized by a varied mix of land uses and multistory buildings with continuous building frontages. The requested property district is consistent with these street types because it allows for a variety of land uses at an intense scale focused around pedestrians. For Growth area strategy. Regional centers are anticipated to absorb 50% of new jobs and 30% of new housing by 2040. The proposed party allows for housing and job opportunities consistent with this plan direction. We also have additional recommendations from Blueprint that speak to updating or assigned code regulations to recognize changing technologies and limiting the use of custom zoning. In this case, a standard zone district does not exist to implement adaptive plans. Thus, custom zoning through the use of the PD was found to be appropriate and supported by CPD staff. Moving to the downtown area, a plan which was adopted in 2011. This plan has key recommendations relevant to the site. It calls for prioritizing pedestrians through the encouragement of housing and active ground floors. It also promotes enhancing the public realm and providing venues for outdoor activity while transitioning appropriately to the lower downtown historic district. The proposed PDE, with its high floor for heights, transition and building height special attention to the Wynkoop Promenade and private open space agreement is consistent with the downtown area plan. Next we have the Central Valley Comprehensive Plan Amendment from 1991. This guides the redevelopment of the Valley into a neighborhood with a mix of uses, open space and pedestrian network, strong connections to downtown, and a unique character that complements downtown. The subject site is identified as general mixed use, which includes office, retail, housing, entertainment and hotel, while specifically stating that light industrial uses are not allowed. The plan recommends mid-rise building heights as appropriate for this area and that the building index or the planned index should consider. The steering committee assumed a height of about 140 feet for these mid-rise areas. Here you can see the plan also identifies a primary pedestrian route across the site at the location of the current Wynkoop Promenade. Lastly, the plan identifies the site as being within the plan's sub area, which includes specific guidance that lower downtown's scale and character should set a precedent for the scale and quality of future development in pedestrian and bicycle access should be provided. It also calls for a small, open public space, and that development on the site should strengthen Moto's mix of uses. Therefore, the proposed rezoning is consistent with the CPV plant amendment as it will result in uses consistent with the plan. Facilitate compatible building form and design. Allow building heights that are generally consistent with the mid-rise height guidance. Provide an enhanced pedestrian connection recommended in the plan and provide open space coupled with design standards and guidelines that will ensure quality compatible development. Moving for the next two criteria. The rezoning would result in the uniform application of zoned district building form, use and design regulations, with the PD being based on a downtown zone district. It would also protect the public health, safety and welfare through implementing adopted plans and requiring enhanced design standards, open space amenities and custom sign regulations to mitigate negative impacts to surrounding properties. Significant development and redevelopment in and around the Union Station neighborhood, coupled with the city adapted plans that call for enhanced pedestrian amenities in downtown areas, serve as appropriate justifying circumstances. This rezoning is also consistent with the neighborhood context zone, district purpose and intent statements as it uses the 12 plus as a base with tailoring to ensure compatibility. There are also five additional PD specific review criteria that apply to this case. To begin, this PD is consistent with the intent and purpose of such districts as a customized approach is needed to address the unique downtown location while respecting the immediate historic context. Similarly, the beauty is not intended as a vehicle to develop the site and consistent with the surrounding contexts or to enhance economic feasibility as it is based on the downtown neighborhood context and is intended as a mechanism to ensure development is consistent with what adopted plans call for. The party must also create significant public benefit. These benefits include. The inclusion of public art, opportunities for family friendly events and private open space with within urban building forms. The rezoning also meets the next three specific criteria as it complies with the Vision 9.6. There is no standard zone district available to apply downtown appropriate science standards to address the uniqueness of the site, but that multiple variances waivers were conditions and the pre establishes permitted uses that are compatible and the same as the Ds220+ Zone District on which it is based. The party is also consistent with the last criterion, as it provides customization largely based on existing building forms found in the zoning code and incorporates design standards and guidelines based on those proposed square that are tailored to address adjacency to lower downtown, the Wynkoop Promenade and the private open space requirement. With that, CPD staff recommends approval of this rezoning request, finding that all ten review criteria have been met. That concludes this presentation and team is present in person if you have questions.
Speaker 0: All right. Thank you, Brandon. And this evening, we have seven individuals that signed up to speak. Our first three speakers are going to be in person. And so first up, we have Sean Maley.
Speaker 1: Signed up to answer questions. So I have only answers to questions if you have them. Thank you so much.
Speaker 0: All right. Very good. Thank you, Sean. Next up, we have John Young, new SKUs.
Speaker 7: So, you see.
Speaker 0: I might have missed pronounce it. I'll let you go ahead and correct me, sir.
Speaker 1: Thank you. It's Joni on a shoe ski, and I'm here just to answer questions.
Speaker 0: All right, very good. Our next speaker is Hal Roth.
Speaker 1: Good evening, Madam President and council members. I'm here to speak. So I'm Helle Roth with the West Flight LLC, the developer of the Gregor Square 2001 Blake Street, Denver. We're delighted to be before you tonight with an amendment to our PWD MacGregor Square that will complete the activation and placemaking for the over 50,000 square feet of open space that is accessible to the public. As you heard in the staff report, the purpose of this piece is to allow for specific types of signage, mainly video, which are appropriate in a downtown outdoor plaza context. Nearly all the signs are internal to the site, which serve to activate the 30% of open space on the site, enhance the pedestrian and events experience, and provide public benefits to arts, local nonprofits and small businesses. These signs were always part of our project and the design for the Content Plaza and were included in all of the presentations and renderings that we presented to you back in 2018. Since that approval, we continue to work with the city on our comprehensive sign plan and were informed in July of 2019 that we needed to amend the period to have video. We have been working with the city ever since on this amended PD and the related CSP. The video features are designed to attract people, their families, children and events to the plaza and enhance the widen the walkway or promenade, as Brandon referred to it, and are part of the 50 to 80 trail. We will also display a significant amount of art and have a screen share component to promote local nonprofits, public messaging and local small business all at no charge. The content for these elements will be helped by an advisory board, which will include representatives from the neighborhood, arts and nonprofit communities. We have also discussed partnerships with local art schools. The broader public benefits associated with McGregor Square include transforming an old parking lot into a redevelopment that will provide $125 million for capital improvements over 30 years for Coors Field, at no cost to the city or the taxpayers and a larger generation of sales, private lodging and property tax revenue to the city. We'd like to thank the city staff who have spent countless hours with us on this project, as well as all the community groups and our closest adjacent neighbors for their input and support in this process. This is truly a project where all the collaboration with the neighborhood made the project what it is today and much better than when we started. Thank you. And we are available for questions.
Speaker 0: All right. Thank you very much. The rest of our speakers are joining us online. And I have next David Tweed. And so, David, if you could please raise your hand.
Speaker 2: We'll.
Speaker 0: Move you over to make sure you can. Share your comments with us. Okay. Go ahead, David.
Speaker 1: I'm just here to answer questions as necessary.
Speaker 0: All right. Thank you. Next up, we have Caroline White.
Speaker 7: Madam Chair, I am.
Speaker 4: Also here to answer questions.
Speaker 0: All right. Thank you. And then we have Rick, Nina, man. Go ahead, Rick.
Speaker 1: Good evening. My name is Rick Denman. I live at 1735 19th Street. I'm the board president for one Wynkoop Plaza. Essentially, our front door opens directly onto the winter walkway and faces directly at the Rally Hotel at McGregor Square. I wanted to attend today to again share why the LoDo condominium community supports the proposed zoning change at seven 1901 wasI. And to give kudos to my neighbors at McGregor Square for everything they've done and how great they've worked with us throughout the planning, construction and the operation of the development. The leadership of McGregor Square and the Rockies have communicated with residents and local businesses so as not to create undue or unforeseen problems. Naturally, with a project of this scope and magnitude, things come up. But I must share that these items were dealt with quickly and professionally and with good follow up communication. One Wynkoop Plaza, the LoDo and Ballpark communities were engaged in meetings and dialog right from the very start, including the acceptance of proposals from developers prior to the Rockies taking this project in-house. The project team told us exactly what was going to happen and when they listened to our concerns and actually made some changes so as not to create problems for us and other neighbors down the road. Following the construction, which we all survived, thankfully, we are still speaking to one another and prior to the opening of McGregor Square, residents were extremely concerned. What we could expect from the operation of such a large development prior to the opening, the McGregor Square leadership at giving us guidelines about operations and curfews on lighting, sound, live events and use of what I call the Jumbotron. I must say that our residents are very pleased with the McGregor Square team as they have more than lived up to their commitment to Curfew's noise and light and disruption. I can't imagine how we could have been more open and had better communication and responsiveness from our neighbors across the walkway. The long term benefits of having an urban resort out our front door far outweighs some of the dust and disruption we experienced during the build. Like so many other redeveloped urban communities around the country, this project brings new vibrancy to LoDo and downtown. It makes our city more of a destination spot. I regularly get asked while on my daily walks past Union Station, How does how do I find McGregor Square, which is the way to McGregor Square? The triad of Coors Field, Union Station and McGregor Square truly are the crown jewels of downtown Denver. Thank you very much. And thank you for your service to our community.
Speaker 0: Thank you. Our last speaker we have is Fabio Hilliard. And it doesn't seem like we have had Fabio joining us online and not in chambers. And so that's going to conclude our speakers this evening. Questions from members of Council on Council Bill 944. Councilmember Hines.
Speaker 1: Thank you. Council President. I also want to thank CBD for the presentation. I thank you the applicants for for being here tonight. I agree with with CBD. This is the core of the urban core and the density should be here. I also want to agree with the the plans that have been adopted as far back as the CPV plan in 1991 about how this should prioritize pedestrians and cyclists. So further, I want to thank Mr. Roth for acknowledging the 50 to 80 trail. It's very important to me and I and I think I think it will be transformative for our city center. I've heard that this location has a little bit of a hiccup. And so regarding the 50 to 80 trail. And so I wanted to ask if perhaps I'm inaccurate. So if I could ask either Mr. Roth or one of the applicants to the the question that I heard, the the hiccup that I've heard is that cyclists, as they go by in McGregor Square, will be required to dismount, even if it's along the 50 to 80 trail , which is somewhat counter to the intent of the trail. And I just, you know, since. Since there is a bit of a transformative project just like this is. Perhaps I'm incorrect, but if someone could answer that question, that'd be great. Thank you. Skip. Thank you, Councilman. We have during games when there's heavy pedestrian traffic. Ask bicyclists to dismount for safety reasons. Now, if there are games or events going on, that's certainly something we can look at to to allow that. We would hope a bicyclist, though, would realize they need to be at a slow speed going through there. Oh, and during games that totally make sense. I mean, I've been to a game there. I'm sure that pretty much everyone who's watching this has as well. And, and it is probably unsafe for cyclists to be there in such a pedestrian friendly area outside of games. I, I just want to make sure that, that we are willing to take a look at the trail. The, the trail is not really meant to be a, a place for speed racers. It's really meant to be more of a community building trail. And so I would hope that cyclists would be at a slow speed throughout the trail. And if people are really intending to use commuting speeds, they would use other, other avenues. But but I want to. I guess I just ask you, you're willing to take another look at the the dismounting during non-game times? Yes, absolutely. Okay, great. Thank you. Thank you. Council president.
Speaker 0: Thank you. Councilmember Hines. The public hearing is closed. Comments by members of Council on Council Bill 944. All right. Not seen any. I'll go ahead and chime in, seeing that this does meet all of the criteria as presented. Happy to support it this evening and ask my colleagues to do so as well. Madam Secretary, roll call on Council Bill 944.
Speaker 5: All.
Speaker 2: I work. I climb. I flinch.
Speaker 5: I tendons.
Speaker 6: I.
Speaker 7: Cashmere.
Speaker 5: I can eat. I. Ortega. Sawyer, i. Madam President.
Speaker 0: I. Madam Secretary, close the voting and announce the results.
Speaker 5: 11 Eyes.
Speaker 0: 11 Eyes Counsel Bill 20 1-0944 has passed. And before we go into the pre adjournment announcement, we have a member of our central team who I would love to come up a little closer or the Channel eight cameras can definitely get you.
A bill for an ordinance changing the zoning classification of 1901 Wazee Street, 1600 20th Street and 1601 19th Street in Union Station.
Approves a map amendment to rezone property from PUD-G 19 to PUD G-26 (alters the signage allowances), located at 1901 Wazee Street in Council District 9. The Committee approved filing this item at its meeting on 8-24-21.