Speaker 0: Council is reconvened. We have one public hearing. This evening's speakers should begin their remarks by telling the council their names and cities of residents and if they feel comfortable doing so, their home addresses. If you're here to answer questions only when your name is called, please come up to the podium. State your name and note that you are available for questions of council. Speakers will have 3 minutes. There is no yielding of time on the presentation here. On the wall you'll see your time counting down. Speakers must stay on the topic of the hearing and must direct their comments to the council members. Please refrain from profane or obscene speech. Direct your comments to council as a whole and please refrain from individual or personal attacks. Councilmember Sandoval, will you please put Council Bill 1364 on the floor?
Speaker 5: I move that council 1634 be placed upon final consideration and do pass.
Speaker 0: Thank you. It has been moved and seconded. The required public hearing for Council Bill 1364 is opened. May we have the staff report?
Speaker 5: Good evening, counsel. My name is Jenny Button, board planner with Community Planning and Development. And I'm going to walk you through the designation application of four 4431 East 26th Avenue. So as you guys know, the ability to designate individual landmarks and historic districts in the city and county of Denver is set forth in the 1967 Landmark Preservation Ordinance. This designation application that you are considering this evening is the last one to be reviewed under the old ordinance, which was updated with your approval just this past year. Currently, we have 347 individual structures and 56 historic districts designated in the city and county of Denver. And that equals about 7000 buildings across the city, or approximately 4% of the city, or one and 25 structures that are designated landmarks. The designation process is community driven and applications can be submitted by a variety of persons. For this property, the owner submitted the designation application and they're here with us this evening. The owners are the Dennis Residency Family Trust. This is located in the North Park Hill Neighborhood Council District Number eight, Christopher Herndon in Blueprint, Denver. This is an urban future, neighborhood context and low residential future place type. The current zoning is used, you see. In order for property properties to be designated, they have to meet a set of criteria that you guys can see on the screen. They have to meet a designation criterion in at least two of the categories of history, architecture or geography. They must maintain their historic and physical integrity and finally be considered by the Landmark Preservation Commission for relation to historic context or theme. This property meets three criterion. It meets history. See, it is 30 years old and it has direct and substantial association with a person or group of persons who had influence on society. It meets architecture eight embodies distinguishing characteristics of an architectural style or type, and it also meets geography. It has a prominent location, or it is an established, familiar and orienting visual feature of the contemporary city. And I'll walk you through these in a little more detail. So this is an unusual property in that there are a number of persons of significance connected to it, including Charles Marble Kittredge, Charles Ginsburg and William Bill Force that you see pictured on the screen. Kittredge resided in the house with his extended family between 1911 in 1915. He gained wealth in banking and real estate, developing properties like the Kittredge Building, which is still downtown and the now demolished Kittredge Castle in Denver's Montclair neighborhood. Kittredge developed real estate in Park Hill under the Parkhill Heights Realty Company, including the blocks on Claremont Street between 26 and 28th Avenues, of which the property at 4431 East 26th Avenue was a part. He would continue his real estate ventures in other East Denver neighborhoods like Montclair and East Colfax. In the center is Charles Ginsberg. In 1920, he purchased the property and lived there until 1929. During that period, Ginsburg actively engaged in the racial politics that dominated Denver and Colorado at that time, specifically in opposition to the Ku Klux Klan stronghold on local and state political leadership. Ginsberg, who was Jewish, debated Klan supporter Reverend William Oscar at the University of Colorado in May 1924. The well-attended debate is considered by some to be the single most successful anti Klan events in Colorado and contributed to the downfall of the hate group in the state. And then lastly, we have William Bill Forest, pictured on the right of the screen, mountaineer and inventor who owned and resided in the house from 1971 to 1998. He operated Forest Mountaineering Ltd, inventing and selling technical mountaineering gear that advanced the sport. He even tested some of the gear on the house itself, including the pounding pitons and the brick, the holes of which you can still see in the property to this day two, of course, most well-known inventions are a wall hammer that you see pictured on the screen and the Denali Snowshoe invented during his residency at 4431 East 26th Avenue. The snowshoe was purchased by Mountain Safety Research, becoming the company's best selling snowshoe, forced to go on to work as manager of R&D at Msaa, where at the time of his retirement in 2010, he had over 100 products on the market and 17 patents to his credit. The house was built in 1911, and it embodies the distinguishing characteristics of the mission revival style of craftsman style elements. The curvilinear shaped gables and String course illustrate the mission revival style while the exposed rafter ends knee braces at eaves, overhanging eaves and divided upper window lights illustrate the craftsman style. The structure also represents the tuberculosis home form. When the structure was built in 1911, tuberculosis was still a national pandemic and Colorado's climate conducive to natural treatment of the disease. The characteristic feature of such structures is the sleeping or cured porch where patients could take in the fresh air. All the bedrooms in this structure are located on the West End. So in the fort excuse me, photo you see on the screen on the right open directly onto an enclosed porch with 15 large windows. The structure is also prominently located on a large parcel consisting of four lots. It is one of a few houses along 26th Avenue in this area, Park Hill, with its facade facing 26th Avenue, as opposed to facing the side street as most homes are situated in the neighborhood. The mission revival style architecture lends to the prominence of the property, as it is not a prevalent style in Denver. In respect to integrity, the primary structure retains a high degree of integrity, of location, design, setting materials, workmanship and association alterations have been minimal and the key character defining features of the structure, like the curvilinear shaped gables brick coursework, stained glass in large windows of the enclosed cured porch are preserved. Likewise, the location and setting of the property have experienced minimal change over time. The solar panel installation on the roof does affect the aspect of feeling because it introduces a modern feature to a historic house. However, the panels are reversible and their placement maintains the original roof slope with a flush minimum rise above the roof plane. They do not conceal the essential physical features of the property that help it meet its its significance under the designation criteria. So ultimately the property retains the identity for which it is significant. The property does have multiple periods of significance, including 1911 to 1915, 1922, 1929 and 1971 to 1998. The property relates to several historic contexts and themes, including Colorado's history of tuberculosis treatment. In the late 1800s and early 1900s. Early development of Park Hill from the late 1880s and early 1900s influenced the Ku Klux Klan, Denver and Colorado politics during the 1920s, and also the growth and prominence of Colorado's outdoor recreation industry from the 1970s onward. Designation of this property is consistent with the comprehensive plan with Blueprint Denver and the Park Hill Neighborhood Plan completed in 2000. This includes several comprehensive plan vision elements, most directly the strong and authentic neighborhoods vision element, which includes the goal to preserve the authenticity of Denver's neighborhoods and celebrate our history, architecture and culture. It also meets the environmental, religious, resilient vision element, specifically the goal and strategy to mitigate climate impacts by significantly reducing greenhouse gas emissions through the use of renewable energy sources. The solar panel array on the roof of the primary structure illustrates a successful application of energy efficiency improvements that are compatible with the character of the historic property and help reduce greenhouse gas emissions. It is also consistent with Blueprint Denver's vision to improve quality of design that preserves and creates authentic places, and the strategy that recommends using historic designation to ensure residential neighborhoods retain their unique character as infill development occurs. And then finally, the designation also supports the vision and goals of the Park Hill Neighborhood Plan that call for the preservation of areas of historical significance through designation, as well as preservation of the community's historic character. In summary, the property meets the criteria for landmark designation. It meets one designation criterion in all three categories. It maintains its historic and physical integrity, and it relates to several historic contexts or themes. Ten members of the public have commented in support of designation. There has been no opposition and the Landmark Preservation Commission unanimously recommended its approval. Therefore, staff recommends approval and forwarding. Excuse me, of my old notes from your committee meeting. We recommend approval this evening by you guys. City Council for designation of 4431 East 26th Avenue. Thank you.
Speaker 0: Thank you very much. We have three individuals signed up to speak this evening. So first up is Amy Zimmer.
Speaker 5: Evening Council Members and thank you for considering this property for landmark designation. I'm a neighbor of the owners. I live just down the street and I can tell you I see this house all the time and it is definitely a standout property in our neighborhood. I'm really excited to see that possibility for a landmark property in North Park Hill. We don't have is to my knowledge, I don't believe we have any yet so far. So this would be a great addition to the neighborhood and this is a terrific house in terms of it's got all of the criteria. It's got architecture, that great mission revival style. It's got geography. But it's especially, I think, stand out on the history. We have three really incredible people associated with this House. I think if any one of those people would have lived in this house, it would have met criteria for history designation. But we have three. So. So I'm just very excited to see this come forward and speak in support. And thank you very much.
Speaker 0: Would you mind just stating your name for the record?
Speaker 5: Yes. Amy Zimmer.
Speaker 0: Thank you very much. Next up, George Dennis.
Speaker 3: Wow. Good evening. My name is George and I am an old house addict. But our heads lately have been filled with nothing but real estate tycoons, lawyers and hate speech, divisive actions in the neighborhoods, all kinds of far right sorts of things. Now, a house, if you like, to think of it this way, the windows are its eyes. And Jeff House has seen it all before. It has seen partizan, right wing conservative nastiness to its own population. It has seen boom and bust of Denver. It has even seen the CU, the John Denver, the emergence of Colorado as a destination. And it has endured it has also endured the biggest blizzard Denver ever saw in 1913, two world wars, a major depression. And in spite of all that, this House still has the same style she came in with. So we think that it's well worthy of preservation and recognition for its past. But I would also like to bring up some of its future. Being old doesn't necessarily get you a free pass. Instead, I would like to point out that Cage Greenhouse is also darn near carbon neutral solar drives, geothermal heating and cooling system, and therefore it is a minimal impact on the environment and will continue to be so for the next century. Even so, any of the three individuals that Jenny told you about, plus the ten or 12 other owners who have been there in the intervening years, would absolutely recognize their old house is even in pretty close to the original colors . So for those reasons, its past, its present and its impact on the future, which hopefully won't be much. We think that it is well worth preservation recognition from the council. And thank you for your votes.
Speaker 0: Thank you. Next up, Beverly Dennis.
Speaker 5: Hello. My name is Beverly Dennis and I live at 4431 East 26th Avenue. I, too, want to thank you for your time tonight to meet with us and talk about my old house as prior owners. We were sitting outside waiting because we wanted to make sure we made the meeting this week. We came last week, but we were here too late, so we left at 430 today and we were waiting outside. Each time the elevator opened and no one came out or went in, we set up. There's Charlie.
Speaker 1: Oh, there's Bill. And. Doors opened more, more.
Speaker 5: Frequently than I thought they would be without someone inside. Not that I believe in that kind of thing. When we first looked at the house, it was in a great bit of disrepair. We walked around. And for some reason, the House just spoke to us. You know, for me, it was like, we need to we need to buy this house or it's going to get torn down. And and it was in such bad repair that when we called the realtor and said, we'd like to make an offer, she said, You're kidding. Then we said, No, we're quite serious. So we we bought the house and then started our our. Adventure with it. We couldn't understand why when we redid the windows, there was quarter inch glass and all of the main windows on the first on the main floor. Then we heard Ginsberg's tape talking about the Klux Klan ambushing him on the corner of 26th and Colorado Boulevard. I'm sure that that glass went in as a bullet proof preventer preventive after that incident. So all of my cursing of him for the quarter inch glass and the broken windows because of it was understandable. We're now working.
Speaker 1: On the dining room and.
Speaker 5: Ginsburg was a great cigar smoker, so much so that all of the wood in our dining room is black.
Speaker 1: Oak.
Speaker 5: Totally black. So we're having to send it down to raw wood to break it back. But we're doing that swearing at Charlie along the way with this. Great history that the House has. We would really like to see it maintain its integrity for the future. So I really hope that you will vote for our designation and help us keep this house going. We don't view ourselves as the owners. We view ourselves as the caretakers. Thank you.
Speaker 0: Thank you. That concludes our speakers on this item. Are there any questions from members of council? Councilman Flynn.
Speaker 3: Thank you, Mr. President. Jenny. On this house. You discussed a little bit the solar panels that are on the front roof. And I know that our design guidelines for solar on landmark buildings does not permit that. So can you tell me what the discussion was at the staff level of of recommending approval of a building that has elements that we would not allow on an already landmarked building if the owner there had requested it. What was the discussion about that?
Speaker 5: Yeah, we actually discussed this at length. This was the first conversation we had about its eligibility for designation. The guidelines do recommend that solar panels be as non-visible as possible.
Speaker 3: So there are two.
Speaker 5: Two thirds. When you look at the images and the design guidelines, you see buildings that are generally front gables. So it's hard when you've a house like this where there's side gables to make that argument. So there are some exceptions. There are different, you know, levels of meeting the design guidelines for a solar array installation. And while this one doesn't meet that RIR two thirds, it does meet a lot of other parts of the design guidelines as well. These are reversible. They are.
Speaker 3: Excuse me. What does reversible mean?
Speaker 5: So if you remove them, it doesn't match the building itself.
Speaker 3: Okay. When I read the staff report, I thought, I mean, you can turn them upside down.
Speaker 5: Oh, that'd be interesting.
Speaker 3: Do you mean they're removable, not reversible?
Speaker 5: Well, yes. Yeah. Reverse. Yes, through movable reversible. Yeah. We kind of use those two things for the same meaning, but they're also following the roof slope as well. They are, you know, coming off of the pitch of the roof, they're not going over the top. Right. So there are a lot of things that it does made its but it rear to third with this house was difficult.
Speaker 3: Yes. Because of the the the gate.
Speaker 5: Because of the side facing Gables.
Speaker 3: Mr. Dennis Crasher, did you put these up to the mike so that people can hear on who are watching on Channel eight? Sorry. Did you put the solar panels on? Not me personally. No, they were. But you had them put on amnesty, so I'll put a plug in for them. Okay. And they did a like a very discreet, I think we would call it job. They they sit on top of on rails, on top of the roof flying. Right. They look very discreet in the pictures. All right. I'm sorry. They look very discreet in the pictures. Yes. And and it's just nice only sending, you know, exhale 40 bucks a month for heating that place. Thank you, Jenny. Could that be building on these answers? Because obviously this is a structure that is quite eligible. Could I ask you to come to the mike again? Thank you. Mr. Downs, did the discussion on this cause any of the staff to consider, given our challenges today and our are wanting to encourage more solar installations, would the staff use this example, which is obviously something that meets every other criteria other than we wouldn't allow them to put it on tomorrow morning after we vote on this if if they should get it to allow under our design guidelines similar installations on already landmarked properties given our our our interest in climate action. Sure. That's something you might consider.
Speaker 5: Yeah. And first, I'll mention this was in your staff brief too, that, you know, as some repair and maintenance may need to be made to this solar panel array. Yes, we would just allow for it as is like you couldn't. I don't think there's actually room to add more in the front, but it couldn't change from what it is currently. But yes, through this consideration for this designation, we are looking to make some updates to our design guidelines in general and this would be one of those topics that we would consider moving forward, and we could use this as an example for them.
Speaker 3: Mr. President. I would encourage that actually, because we landmark buildings, but I don't think we mean to put a bell jar over them.
Speaker 5: No, not at all.
Speaker 3: And the fact is that 100 years after 109 years after this house was built, if it didn't have solar panels on it and it were a historic landmark, I wouldn't want to see us stand in the way of trying to help achieve our goals by having this this restriction. It's a landmark building. It just happens to have a solar a solar panels on its roof. Hmm. Thank you, Mr. President.
Speaker 0: Thank you, Councilmember Flynn. And even though you veered a little bit off of questions in the comment ceremony to say and I and I agree with you right there.
Speaker 3: That's why that's why you let me go.
Speaker 0: All right. Seeing no other questions. The public hearing for Council Bill 1364 is closed. Comments by members of Council. Council member Herndon. Did you want to go first? Yeah. Thank you, Mr. President. This is exciting. I and this is so controversial. We feel that. We feel the chambers. You're kidding. Now, this is wonderful. I met with the as a while ago, and I remember when you.
Speaker 6: First told me about it, I wasn't familiar with where it was.
Speaker 0: And then when I drove by, like, I drive by.
Speaker 6: This house all the time.
Speaker 0: As I drove down 26 and I saw that.
Speaker 6: So I'm excited to vote yes on this. Thank you for your due.
Speaker 0: Diligence and working to preserve it. We had lengthy conversations in the office and you were telling me stories that were just really remarkable. So this is. I welcome I welcome this, and I would encourage my colleagues to support it. I think the criteria have been met. Thank you, Mr. President. Thank you. Councilmember Herndon, Councilmember Black.
Speaker 5: Thank you, Mr. President. I just want to say thank you for making the effort to apply for this. And I loved both of your comments so very, very much. They were very heartfelt. And it really makes us all feel really good about our city and that you care about that building. And hello, Amy. I will be supporting this.
Speaker 0: Thank you, Councilmember Black Council Member Sandoval.
Speaker 1: Yes, thank you, Mr. President.
Speaker 5: I just wanted to reiterate what Councilman Black said. Thank you for proactively going out and adding this landmark designation to your house. We have many structures in northwest Denver in the neighborhood I was grown up in, and I represent that. I'm encouraging people to do this more proactively. I get emails often on what can we do to stop the demolition of homes in North Denver? And this is the only protection that we have. We can do overlays and tweak the zoning, but the only way that we will not demo the history of Denver is to add these protections such as yourself. So thank you so much for proactively doing it and tell your neighbors that we welcome these proactive owner designations here at City Council. So thank you. Thank you, Mr. President.
Speaker 0: Thank you, Councilmember Sandoval. Seeing no other comments, I will just add and again, echo what Councilmember Flynn had said about solar. I really hope that we dove deep into that. I would hate to see us as this climate crisis continues to escalate, start to force people into a situation where they are looking at the environmental impact of not being able to put solar on a historic or a piece of property building and preserve it versus tear it down to meet some of those goals, because we all know that there's a huge environmental impact to, you know, scraping something like this and building something new. And so I think I'm excited that you're taking that on. I'd love to find ways for the council to be involved in that, because I think that that is an important evolution in our preservation ordinances. So and then I also want to add that I also there's although this is not in my district, I also drive by this house all the time because this is a couple of blocks away from where my sister lives, who is one of council member Herndon's constituents. And just echo what other councilmembers have said. And thanks to you, you know, Councilmember Cashman, who always says that when you designate a property like this, it's a gift that you're giving to our city. And so on behalf of the residents of my district, I want to say thank you for your passion and for your gift that you giving the city and for your words. Tonight, I'm excited to support it. Madam Secretary, let's vote to recall.
Speaker 1: Herndon. I black. I see tobacco. I. Flit i. Gilmore. I. Hines. Cashman. Kenny Ortega. I seen the ball. I. Sawyer, i. Torres, i. Council President.
Speaker 0: I. And I don't know if our. If everybody has to push their button there or the screen was just taking time to catch up. Madam Secretary, please, because voting announced the results.
Speaker 1: 12 as.
Speaker 0: Well as Council Bill 1364 has passed. Congratulations. See no other business before this body. This meeting is adjourned.
A bill for an ordinance designating 4431 East 26th Avenue as a structure for preservation.
Approves an individual Denver landmark designation for property located at 4431 E 26th Avenue in Council District 8. The Committee approved filing this item at its meeting on 1-7-20.