The Denver City Council on Monday night approved a zoning change for a 31-acre plot in the city’s historic Clayton neighborhood, allowing its owner to build a housing project for older LGBQT individuals.
Under the change, the land, located on the York Street Yards area at 3821-3897 N. Steele St and 3800-3840 N. York St., will fall under a planned urban development (PUD).
Two councilmembers, Shontel Lewis and Amanda Sandoval, opposed the change, citing the size of the rezoned area. The council moved forward with the change by a 9-2 vote.
Councilmember Darrell Watson, who represents the Clayton neighborhood and is a gay man, spoke in favor of the rezoning. Watson said he’s been working on the issue and engaging with the neighborhood for about a year.
“This is an amazing neighborhood,” he said. “You don’t get 105 people supporting anything that comes usually before the council and this community has come together.”
Councilmember Serena Gonzales-Gutierrez remained wary of the proposal, though she ultimately voted for it. She keyed in on the size of the plot. Specifically, she questioned the wisdom of rezoning all 31 acres for a construction of a mixed-use, five-story building.
The proposed housing for older LGBTQ individuals will take only up a small corner on the east side of the overall plot, leaving the majority of the land untouched, according to city staff.
When the final vote came, Gonzales-Gutierrez hesitated for several seconds before voting in favor of the development.
Explaining her opposition, Sandoval noted the staff report finding that redevelopment and rezoning do not meet several criteria in “Blueprint Denver,” the city’s land use and infrastructure plan.
“I am a proponent of affordable housing and I also live in a neighborhood that has been 100% gentrified. I have a 20-year-old and a 22-year-old who live at home because they cannot afford Denver,” she said. “Development will not stop. There has to be safeguards within the development.”
She added: “As much as I want to support this, I sat here tonight looking at the application and kept going back to the slide deck we got in (Land Use, Transportation and Infrastructure Committee) on June 4 (and) it does not meet our adopted plans.”
