The city has hired Denver-based consulting firm Clarion Partners to conduct an assessment of the ordinance and present three alternatives for making improvements. The process kicked off this past Tuesday night with a pair of public meetings, during which the consulting team heard an earful from developers, zoning attorneys and neighborhood representatives about what works and (mostly) doesn’t work in the current code. REBIC was on hand for both meetings, and here are some of the key points that were made:
Development Industry Concerns:
Neighborhood Concerns:
Both groups also voiced their concerns with the lack of opportunity for public input into the assessment process. Tuesday’s meetings, which allowed for only 2 – 3 collective hours of feedback, are the only ones planned during the nine-month-long assessment process. REBIC has encouraged the planning department to conduct a series of one-on-one interviews with developers, engineers and experienced community stakeholders, but so far, there are no plans to do so. Instead, the consultants will be obtaining feedback through an online survey conducted until October 18.
We strongly encourage all our members to complete this survey and provide specific feedback on what you would change in the zoning process and ordinance. The survey asks specific questions about your experience with the ordinance, but also leaves ample room for open-ended comments. When making these comments, we encourage you to incorporate some of the above points that were made by the development industry in the public meetings, as well as any other ideas you can offer to improve the process and the code.
REBIC will be working closely with the Planning Department and their consultants throughout the review process to ensure the best outcome for our industry and for our city’s economic growth. We fully anticipate this assessment will be followed by a process in which at least parts of the ordinance are re-written — an effort that will likely take several years. The initial assessment is expected to be complete by next summer, and you can learn more about the process and take the survey HERE.
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