PCD Committee Meeting Minutes
March 14, 2023

Discussion of second draft section of Near Northwest Planning
Initiative.
The Draft Neighborhood Plan is being reviewed by the NNWPI
Steering Committee, with different sections being issued each month for
review and discussion. Between October and December 2022, city
planners and the NNWPI Steering Committee members have been talking
with community members virtually and in person, using these
conversations to collect feedback to inform preliminary draft
recommendations and different policy alternatives for Near Northwest Area
neighborhoods. Topics have included development along corridors,
adding housing and preserving affordability, food access, supporting
wealth building and more. If you have missed these events, additional
opportunities for Community Engagement will be available once the public
draft plan is issued, beginning around June 2023. The planners provided
an Engagement Summary and you can see it here.

Fun fact: did you know that 90% of the businesses in the Near Northwest
Area are locally owned and independent? Home Grown!

The next virtual meeting:

Steering Community
 Tuesday, March 28
6-8 PM
participate by clicking here
(HUNI calendar will have this link in it)

Sign up to receive e-mails about future events and developments with the Planning Initiative by clicking here.

Hirshorn Park
Between the planning for the Central Street Promenade Project and
the Recreation planning that’s part of the Near Northwest Area Planning Initiative, there has been no planning yet on the part of Denver Parks and Recreation for the future of Hirshorn Park. It’s currently a de facto dog park and any potential use as a baseball facility is being diminished by the wear and tear of dog park use. The PCD Committee agreed to add comments to the draft NNWPI requesting that this study begin sooner rather than later.

ADUs
A draft Strategy Report has been completed in the ongoing process
of reviewing and updating the city’s ADU rules. After a year of work with an Advisory Committee, focus groups, and the public through surveys and open houses, this document presents a proposed Denver Zoning Code text amendment to address project recommendations. The proposed zoning code text amendment will be posted for community review and revised prior
to starting a formal zoning adoption process that includes public hearings with the Denver City Council and Planning Board. The City Council must approve adoption of any proposed zoning code amendment.

You can read the 47 page Strategy Report or a 2 page Executive Summary here.

This project does not rezone any properties. It looks at how ADUs are
designed, how they fit in with different types of neighborhoods and block patterns, and how updates to the zoning code may reduce barriers to creating ADUs. The adoption process will start soon; in the meantime, you can still comment on the planned changes at the city’s ADU site at the link above through March 27th. Here are the highlights of what could change in
Highland:

• Allows ADUs on any size lot. This increases opportunities for smaller ADUs in more locations.
• Allows full 2 stories rather than 1.5 stories. This eliminates the crazy “wedding cake” structures that force larger garages under smaller units.
• Allows dormers to encroach through the bulk planes.
• Allows exemption for lot coverage for ADUs at least 15 feet away from the main house.
• Also would expand locations where ADUs can be constructed from only single family lots to duplex and multifamily parcels as well.

Bring VALUE to the community YOU VALUE
Join the HUNI Board of Directors

HUNI is looking for members of our community - whether a resident or a business owner, to become part of our Board. As a volunteer, we ask that you commit up to 10 hours a month.

Here are some questions to ask yourself:

• Am I interested in meeting new people from a variety of backgrounds?

• Am I willing to contribute a small amount of time that gives back to my community for the next decade?

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