Denver should have polished 20-year land use plan to perfection
Re: “City’s new 20-year plan will help mitigate Denver’s growing pains,” April 28 column
Mayor Michael Hancock’s rush to adopt Denver’s new 20-year land use plan, Denveright, two weeks before the election — over the objections of countless neighborhood groups — rings too familiar.
Ignoring constructive criticism at the expense of neighborhoods has characterized the last eight years of Hancock’s administration. Moving fast does not always mean moving correctly. As everyone admitted, there is nothing in Denveright that required it be approved immediately.
Delaying adoption until after the election would not have diminished the three years of hard work that has gone into developing the plan — laudable for its long overdue effort to incorporate mobility into land use.
Since watching the City Council meeting on April 22rd, I have had an opportunity to reflect on how a flawed process can lead to flawed results.
More time would have given potentially fresh eyes a chance to polish the plan and fill in where many acknowledge it falls short.
For instance, Terrance Ware, a member of the advisory board that oversaw the plan’s creation,
believes the plan fails to take into account the “interplay of economic impacts, patterns and trends.” In his recent appearance before City Council, he testified that the plan does not consider whether there is sufficient commercially zoned land to generate sales and property taxes that support city services. He correctly asks whether the mix of residential and commercial land use is a “drain or benefit” on Denver’s tax base. Clearly, an important consideration as Denver continues to develop and grow.
Representatives of Denver INC simply wanted overlooked neighborhood concerns to be acknowledged, respected and addressed rather than dismissed with the excuse that the process had taken too long in the minds of Hancock and some on council.
INC’s desire to have it done correctly is in the best interest of all of Denver. Further, the plan does not address the fundamental need to restructure and redesign the permitting and land use approval process to timely address neighborhood concerns and input.
Ware’s concerns should be addressed along with those of countless neighborhood organizations that asked for a delay until after the May 7th election.