East Area Plan

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East Area Plan Frequently Asked Questions Updated 9/4/20

1. What is the East Area Plan?

The East Area Plan will be a long-term community vision for the Hale, Montclair, East Colfax, and South Park Hill neighborhoods that will help inform city decision-making in the area over the next twenty years. The plan will help guide change to benefit the community and ensure it reflects community priorities. The plan, which will be reviewed and voted on by City Council, will be the final product resulting from a multi-year public process driven by input from residents, local business and property owners, neighborhood groups and other stakeholders.

Because area plans are intended to supplement Denver’s Comprehensive Plan 2040, the East Area Plan will also guide how citywide goals and priorities are implemented at the neighborhood level.

Community input is essential to each step of the planning process. Since this plan process started in 2017, engagement has included: 

• 9 community-wide workshops and open houses 
• 17 focus group meetings with local subject matter experts on key issues, such as small business
• 26 online surveys and activities 
• 23 steering committee meetings
• 45 RNO meetings, community group meetings, and targeted engagement where we shared information on the plan and gathered feedback
• 9 office hours sessions 
• 11 field surveys with community members
• 34 CPD newsletters
• 3 Denver Planning Board meetings at which we presented informational updates
• Over 150 locations and pop-up events provided with flyers and other printed materials advertising how to get involved in the process
• An area-wide mailer to over 15,000 households and the additional distribution of flyers and posters to local schools, residences, and businesses by our community partners
• At least 17 stories by local media including the Denver Post, Denver’s 7, 9News and Fox31

We’ve used this community input to create the draft vision, and with your help, we refined that vision into a series of proposed recommendations. We received feedback on the draft recommendations throughout the summer and fall 2019. The draft recommendations were updated and incorporated into the first draft of the plan, which was shared for public review and input in March 2020. We received over a 1,100 comments on the draft plan, and additional updates have been made and shared in Public Review Draft #2. Next steps include the Steering Committee final meeting on the draft, followed by public hearings and consideration by Planning Board for approval and City Council for adoption.

2. What is the long-term vision for the East Area?

The vision for the East Area includes: 

• More support for local businesses
• Prevent displacement of existing residents
• More affordable housing to support a diverse community
• Slower vehicle traffic speeds
• More convenient and safer walking, rolling, biking and public transportation (“transit”)
• Strategically directing growth to locations near planned high-capacity transit hubs to better manage traffic and allow more residents to benefit from improved transit services
• Preserving valued buildings
• High-quality design of new buildings that is compatible with neighborhood character 
• Additional public open space, a larger and healthier tree canopy, and a green approach to stormwater management 

3. What is the East Area Plan Steering Committee?

In July 2017, Councilmember Chris Herndon and former Councilmember Mary Beth Susman convened 14 community members to serve as representatives of the diverse set of stakeholders within the planning area. The committee includes residents, local business owners and associations, property owners, and neighborhood organizations. All Steering Committee members live or work in the East Area. Steering Committee members volunteer their time to attend regular meetings, provide feedback on the public engagement process, help spread the word about the planning process, and help to develop plan content and ideas. They represent a larger group of stakeholders, with a focus on compromise, consensus building, and identifying shared priorities. The members will make a recommendation to City Council regarding plan adoption at the completion of the project.

4. Where can I find a summary of the changes made since the March 2020 draft plan?

A summary of community feedback and changes to the draft plan can be found on this page.

5. How will the East Area Plan change existing regulations, such as zoning, or make future budget commitments?

The East Area Plan is long-term policy document that will be used to inform City decision making, but the plan itself is not a set of regulations and does not have the City’s budget funds tied to it. The East Area Plan will not automatically rezone any properties when adopted. Rather, the East Area Plan will include land use recommendations that will inform future updates to zoning rules. Changes to zoning rules would include a follow-up community process and council approval. Similarly, any property owner who wanted to rezone their property following adoption of the plan would have to apply and participate in the City’s standard rezoning process, including opportunities for community feedback and additional Council approval. As the City adopts its yearly budget, the East Area Plan will help inform what projects and programs should be funded to help meet the plan’s vision.

6. How does the East Area Plan relate to the Colfax Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project? Why plan now when BRT may not occur for several years?

The East Area Plan is being closely coordinated with Colfax Bus Rapid Transit (BRT), but they are separate projects and at different stages of approval. The Colfax BRT was approved by voters and received $55 million in funding as part of 2017’s general obligation bond election. The City intends to leverage the $55M in funding, along with funds from other available sources, to secure additional grant funds to achieve the full vision for the East Colfax BRT. Large scale, federally-funded projects generally follow five major phases: preliminary project development/conceptual design, environmental evaluation and clearance, design, Right-of-Way acquisition, and construction. The East Colfax BRT is currently set to initiate the environmental evaluation and clearance phase. Based on typical timelines for large scale, federally-funded projects, we estimate it will take 5-8 years from the start of the environmental assessment until construction completion. Colfax Avenue has the highest bus ridership of any corridor in region. The 15/15L routes combined see seven million annual boardings — over 22,000 per weekday — and weekday ridership is projected to increase up to 50,000 by 2035. The East Area Plan provides an opportunity to plan for the long-term future of the area, ensuring that the community benefits both from its existing transit access and the improvements planned with BRT.

To learn more about Colfax BRT, please visit www.colfaxbrt.org.

7. What do we already know about how the East Area will evolve over the next 20 years?

Comprehensive Plan 2040 lays out a vision for an inclusive, connected and healthy city over the next 20 years, which guides us to plan well for challenges like additional population growth, climate change, and affordability. Blueprint Denver, the city’s land use and transportation plan, addressed these challenges by recommending adding density where it makes the most sense—like along rail stations and high-frequency transit corridors— and creating complete neighborhoods so residents can more easily and safely step out of their cars and take alternate modes of transportation to work and entertainment, reducing congestion and pollution.

The East Area currently has an estimated 14,661 households today (about 5% of Denver’s total households) and is anticipated to add about 4,200-4,800 households over the next 20 years (about 5% of Denver’s projected growth by 2040). In addition, there are an estimated 11,155 jobs in the East Area today (about 1.5% of Denver’s total jobs) and forecasts project an additional 3,000 jobs by 2040 (about 2% of Denver’s projected job growth). Understanding that growth will occur with or without a neighborhood plan, the East Area Plan will help guide new development in a way that helps achieve community-supported outcomes like affordable housing.

The East Area Plan breaks citywide goals down to specifics, helping to determine what the execution of these goals looks like in these neighborhoods and ensuring that it makes sense within the current context. The draft plan includes recommendations for height, housing options and the preservation of neighborhood character.

8. What are the priorities for implementation of the plan?

The priority recommendations are included in the executive summary on p. 9 of the draft plan. They include:

• Help current residents and small businesses stay in the community long-term by connecting them to resources and making more housing options available and affordable to families and individuals.
• Ensure the East area is an inclusive place in the future by increasing the amount of affordable housing using all available methods.
• Make Colfax Avenue a street that brings the East area’s diverse community together. 
• Celebrate the architectural history of East Area neighborhoods by encouraging the preservation of existing homes and requiring complementary design of new housing. 
• Preserve trees and landscaped areas. Create new parks and community-gathering spaces and use green approaches to storm-water management to make the East area safe from flooding, healthier, and more climate resilient. 
• Save lives and reduce pollution by making streets safer, slowing down traffic, adding protected bike lanes, completing the sidewalk network, and improving bus connections and reliability. 

9. Why does the East Area need affordable housing?

What we’ve heard from many members of the East community is a desire for their neighborhoods to offer a range of housing options in support of a diverse community, where residents have an opportunity to live in their neighborhoods long-term. Key issues include: 

• 4,763 households in East (about 1/3 of all East area households) are considered cost-burdened and spending more than 30% of their gross income on housing 
• East is currently short 1,400 units of housing for the area’s lowest-income households. This number is expected to increase as rents continue to rise throughout the city. 
• Renters who want to buy will have trouble finding a home until they earn more than $50,000. 
• Only about 800 of the 15,000 housing units in the East Area are guaranteed to be affordable to residents, meaning they have an income restriction in place. 

See Section 2.2 (p. 45) of the draft plan to review the housing recommendations.

10. How is the East Area Plan addressing displacement and helping existing residents and small businesses stay in the community?

The vision for the East Area is a community that continues to be a welcoming, inclusive place where residents and small businesses have options to stay long-term. The plan prioritizes reducing involuntary displacement (p. 9), and the East Colfax section prioritizes stabilization strategies to be implemented in the short term (p. 165). The following recommendations address displacement and were bolstered by input from community members and close collaboration with East Area organizations such as East Colfax Community Collective:

• Policy E1, p. 52 - Stabilize residents at risk of involuntary displacement
• Policy E2, p. 52 – Permenantly preserve existing affordable housing 
• Policy E3, p. 53 and Policy L3, p. 31 - Build more affordable housing near transit stops on Colfax using zoning, tax credits, tax increment financing, partnerships and direct investment of city, state, and federal funds 
• Policy L6, p. 39 and Policy E4, p. 54 - Add more diverse housing options in residential neighborhoods in appropriate locations 
• Policies E9 and E10, p. 60-61 - Provide technical and financial assistance to existing small independent businesses to help them succeed and prevent involuntary displacement 
• Policies C-E4 and C-35, p. 235-236 - Support businesses before, during, and after BRT construction 
• Policy E11, p. 62; Policy C-E3, p. 234 – Create an International District, and support new initiatives and community-minded ownership models that have a goal of maintaining East’s variety of local and culturally-significant businesses 
• Policy EC-E8, p. 176 - Expand a system of supportive services and community partnerships to help address barriers specific to the immigrant and refugee community, including through a neighborhoodbased services hub 
• Policy EC-E7, p. 175 - Support neighborhood leadership organizing and community-building initiatives to promote continuous active participation in planning and policy making processes, decision-making, and implementation 
• Section 1.3, Planning for an Equitable East Denver, p. 11-18 – This section includes priority recommendations for reducing vulnerability to displacement, expanding housing and jobs diversity, and improving access to opportunity to address equity in the East Area 

11. How will allowing 2 stories of additional building height along Colfax benefit the community?

Colfax Avenue is currently zoned for 3 and 5 stories in most locations. The draft plan proposes allowing increased height in key areas as a strategy to achieve community priorities and in consideration of proximity to transit, depth of lots, presence of character buildings, and transitions to nearby residential neighborhoods. Height above 5 stories is only recommended in small, targeted areas along Colfax at major intersections and transit stops along the 15L bus lines and planned bus rapid transit at Yosemite, Krameria, and Colorado, and in some portions of the 9th & Colorado area. Additional height would only be allowed when community benefits are provided.

Current adopted policy in Blueprint Denver for provides general guidance that up to 5 stories is appropriate for properties along Colfax Avenue (and 8 stories at Colorado and Colfax). Blueprint Denver also states that exceeding these heights may be appropriate if community benefits are provided. The draft East Area Plan proposes to provide more specific height guidance in four ways: 1) Requiring community benefits with proposed height increase over existing zoning (not just for over 5 stories); 2) Providing clear guidance for maximum heights allowed; 3) Recommending many properties remain at their current height limits; and 4) Customizing community benefits to address priority issues in the East area, such as affordable housing, public open space and stormwater management.

See Policy L3 (p. 31) of the draft plan for the height recommendation. See also Policy L7 (p. 41), which recommends additional rules for sensitive transitions to adjacent to low residential areas. Updates were made from the May 2019 draft building heights map to address community feedback. Updates include:

• Recommending most of Colfax Avenue as a maximum of 3 and 5 stories based on criteria listed above 
  • Heights above 5 total stories are limited to Colorado (already allowed), Krameria, south of Colfax (up to 7 stories) and Yosemite, south of Colfax (up to 7 stories) 
  • Some additional, potential 5-story areas were added for larger sites if additional Bus Rapid Transit stops are added in the future. The recommendation to study additional Bus Rapid Stops is based on community feedback for increased access to BRT in areas where there are currently larger distances proposed between proposed stops (between Bellaire St. and Cherry St. and between Rosemary St. and Trenton St.). 
  • Increased setbacks from single unit areas – no height incentive areas over 5 stories are recommended adjacent to single unit zone districts 
• Added language that priority community benefit in the Mayfair Town Center is a public park, with a community gathering space and stormwater management as this is a key flooding area 
• Other than at Mayfair Town Center, removed public open space as a community benefit for height (other strategies for parks are in the quality-of-life section of the plan) 
• Added language recommending inclusive community engagement in regulatory process 

Additional updates from the March 2020 draft plan include:

• Clarifying that affordable housing must be provided on-site
• Recommending that additional tools be integrated into implementation of the height incentive
• Recommending an inclusive community process to implement the plan recommendations
• Updating map to remove 5 story height incentive area for areas at Colfax and Quince, Colfax and Valentia, and Colfax and Verbena due to shallow depth.
• Added improved transitional heights to adjacent houses 
• Clarified that no additional heights may be allowed without specific benefits requirements. 

12. How will community benefits be determined?

The draft East Area Plan requires community benefits be provided for any property owner that requests to exceed its currently allowed maximum height and sets a limit on the maximum allowed height indicated on the map on page 32 of the plan. The priority community benefits are described in Policy L3 (p. 31), but the details, including things such as the specific number of affordable housing units, are not specified. Specific details like these are determined through regulatory processes that occur after a plan recommendation has been adopted. Regulatory processes, such as rezonings or zoning text amendments, conduct additional, more detailed analyses and provide opportunities for community input and require a decision by City Council for changes to take effect.

13. What new housing options are being proposed in East’s residential neighborhoods? Where will accessory dwelling units (ADU) and missing middle housing (duplex, triplex, 4-unit) be allowed?

Two priorities community members have expressed during the planning process include: 1) the desire to provide more diverse and affordable housing options; and 2) discouraging scrapes of older homes that reflect the historic character of neighborhoods and are often more affordable options than newer builds. In response to these priorities, and guidance from Blueprint Denver that all Denver neighborhoods should be inclusive places with a variety of housing, Policy L6 (p. 39) recommends thoughtfully integrating compatibly-designed missing middle housing and accessory dwelling units (ADUs) in appropriate locations. Allowing more affordably-priced homes (e.g. “missing middle” and ADUs), such as duplexes, triplexes, and townhomes, is very important to many residents who struggle to afford the high costs of housing in Denver. The plan supports allowing ADUs on all residential lots in the East Area. Further, the plan supports an integration of additional missing middle housing (2-4 units) throughout the East Area, interspersed within single and two unit areas in a way that keeps single unit areas primarily single unit in the future.

The policy recommendation was updated based on community feedback received, and it strikes a balance between allowing for additional housing while preserving the built form that East area residents love. Key updates from the May 2019 recommendation include:

• Broadened the location of the recommendation to include the whole East area and treat every neighborhood equally 
• Recommending that zoning changes occur citywide, not just in the East area and not from individual property owner rezonings 
• Added clarifying language for missing middle (duplexes, triplexes, and townhomes) recommendation that single unit areas should remain primarily single unit. ADUs are still appropriate everywhere, as recommended in Blueprint Denver.
• Added language to create new design rules to ensure new housing fits in better with neighborhoods 
• Added language to ensure East area-specific guidance is addressed during the citywide regulatory process to add missing middle housing, including: 
  • Affordability 
  • Preserving older homes with valued architecture 
  • Addressing street parking 
  • Stormwater management 
  • Encouraging homeownership 
  • Discouraging short term rentals 
  • Helping existing homeowners take advantage of missing middle housing rather than just developers 

Additional updates from the March 2020 draft plan include:

• Clarified that ADUs are appropriate on all lots 
• Clarified that many existing missing middle housing forms exist in the East Area today and are encouraged to remain 
• Clarified that neighborhood-wide ADU rezonings can be considered before citywide implementation Additional affordable houisng recommendations can be found in Section 2.2 (p. 45) of the draft plan.

14. How is the East Area Plan proposing to preserve residential character?

The draft plan includes several recommendations focused on character preservation in residential areas, and the recommendation regarding additional housing options in neighborhoods was substantially updated to incorporate the community feedback received in the summer and fall 2019. Recommendations include: 

• Policy L4, p. 37 – Encourage maintaining, rather than demolishing, existing older homes by revising design requirements to encourage renovations and additions 
• Policy L5, p. 38 - Work with neighborhoods to modify zoning standards for new construction to be more consistent with neighborhood character in residential areas 
• Policy L6, p. 39 - Ensure East area neighborhoods are inclusive places by thoughtfully integrating compatibly-designed missing middle housing and accessory dwelling units (ADUs) in appropriate locations 
• Policy L8, p. 43 - Preserve historic buildings in residential areas 

15. Is the East Area Plan proposing additional open space?

The draft plan recommends creating additional parks and open space through both public investment and partnerships with developers and community institutions, such as schools and hospitals. Open space recommendations include:

• Policy MC-Q3, p. 209 Create a new neighborhood park in the Mayfair Town Center 
• Policy Q1, p. 131 - Leverage the historic parkways to connect existing open space, parks and recreational assets 
• Policy Q2, p. 132 - Develop new Contemporary Parkways that connect the community to open space, parks, and recreational assets, as well as serve multiple community functions 
• Policy Q3, p. 133 - Create new community open space, parks and recreation facilities 
• Policy Q4, p. 134 - Enhance existing community open space, parks and recreation facilities 
• Policy Q13, p. 148 - Expand healthy meal options available in the East area. Support food growing and production included in community amenities. Strategy A recommends community gardens. 
• Policy L1, p. 29 - Ensure compatible development on institutional sites within neighborhoods. Strategy B recommends new open space 
• Policy L2, p. 29 - Encourage shared use and activation of institutional and quasi-public facilities during off-peak times 
• Policy H-L1, p. 187 - Ensure development on the hospital campuses promotes the success of the health care industry while ensuring compatibility with the surrounding neighborhood. Strategy B recommends new open space 
• Policy C-Q1, p. 243 - Colfax-specific open space recommendation 

Based on community feedback, the following updates were made from the March 2020 draft plan:

• Parks, Open Space Connections, and Street Activation Opportunities map (p. 135) was updated to better illustrate the recommendations, including priority areas for new parks from Game Plan and open space opportunities on large campuses. 
• A new recommendation for the Johnson & Wales campus was added (See Policy PH-L2, p. 215). If the campus transitions from an educational use in the future, public open space is one of the plan priorities that should be considered for the site. 

16. How will traffic and parking be addressed?

The East Area Plan presents an opportunity to address traffic and other challenges associated with development in a way that provides strategies for increased safety and improved mobility options for residents. The plan’s draft recommendations are informed by both extensive community input and transportation analysis, including an origin/destination analysis, crash analysis, and parking studies. The plan also incorporates findings from recent transportation studies completed as part of Denver Moves Transit and Denver Moves Pedestrian and Trails. See the Briefing Book and Section 2.3 of the draft plan (p. 69) for more information on existing conditions analysis).

The draft plan recommends public investment in over 110 transportation safety, parking and traffic management projects. Recommended improvements include making 13th, 14th, and 17th lower speed and safer for pedestrians; neighborhood traffic calming improvements (e.g., crosswalks, sidewalks, safer intersections) around schools, parks, health facilities, and other community destinations; new dedicated bikeways; and incorporating transportation demand management strategies (e.g., bike parking, transit passes for tenants, Uber/Lyft parking, car/bike share memberships for tenants) into new development to provide residents and visitors viable alternatives to using a car. The draft plan specifically addresses parking challenges in the following ways: 

• Creating neighborhood parking strategies (Curbside Area Management Plans) to address neighborhood street parking challenges (Policy M10, p. 121). 
• Addressing street parking impacts when implementing new housing options in neighborhoods (Policy L6, p. 39). 
• Encouraging shared parking arrangements, such as parking garages, in commercial areas (Policy M11, p. 121). 
• Reducing barriers to adaptive reuse and small-scale development on small lots by evaluating parking requirements for these types of projects (Policy C-L1, p. 229). 

The draft plan includes detailed recommendations for mobility improvements that have been prioritized based on data and community input and are intended to address both existing needs and anticipated future development. These recommendations indicate which improvements should move forward in the near term (5 years or less) and long term. As a policy document, the plan will be used to inform future budgeting decisions and the engineering and design of infrastructure projects. Plans are not capital improvement budgets, but they can provide clear priorities. Recommendations include:

• p. 67-124 – Area wide Mobility Recommendations 
• p. 165 – East Colfax Key Opportunities 
• p. 177-180 – East Colfax Mobility Recommendations 
• p. 183 – Hale Key Opportunities 
• p. 191-194 – Hale Mobility Recommendations 
• p. 197 – Montclair Key Opportunities 
• p. 205-208 – Montclair Mobility Recommendations 
• p. 211 – South Park Hill Key Opportunities 
• p. 217-220 – South Park Hill Mobility Recommendations 
• p.238-242 – Colfax Corridor Mobility Recommendations 
• p. 246 – Implementation Priorities 

17. How is the East Area Plan addressing the impacts of COVID-19?

Our residents and businesses are facing significant challenges due the COVID-19 pandemic, which is still only months old. We are still learning about the virus, how it spreads and how it affects individuals and communities. The City is addressing these challenges and providing updates and resources at denvergov.org/covid-19.

18. Why isn’t the City pausing the process during the COVID-19 pandemic?

Given the effects of the pandemic and the city’s efforts to slow the spread of the virus on residents and businesses, the planning team intends to remain flexible and responsive so community members can continue to participate within current health guidelines. That said, the pandemic has emphasized the inequities faced by East Area residents and businesses, and a long-term plan that emphasizes the importance of affordable housing, stabilization strategies, access to services and amenities, and support for community leadership and solutions is more important than ever for guiding City decisions in the years to come. If you know of someone or an organization who needs help accessing the plan or other City resources, please reach out to Associate City Planner Israel Cruz at (720) 865-2801 or israel.cruz@denvergov.org. 

19. Do the plan recommendations need to change because of COVID-19?

The East Area Plan is a long-term (20-year) vision covering a variety of topics. The recommendations are flexible to accommodate changes in the city over that timeframe, and the recommendations remain applicable:

• Quality-of-life amenities and housing options for all people 
• Complete sidewalks, street crossings, trails, and transportation networks
• Parks or open space within a 10-minute walk of each neighborhood 
• Community-serving small businesses thriving in commercial corridors 
• More access to opportunity, from schools to healthcare to healthy food choices to recreation centers, parks, and libraries that offer innovative programming and great facilities that promote participation and better health outcomes – particularly in underserved neighborhoods 

20. Will the street closures because of COVID-19 be made permanent?

The Department of Transportation and Infrastructure is using this time to evaluate these changes to the street network, which will help inform how the plan recommendations are implemented. Decisions have not been made on how long the current closures will remain in place.

21. Will COVID-19 impact the implementation of the plan?

Some aspects of implementing the plan rely on the city’s budget, which may continue to see impacts from COVID-19. However, over the 20-year life of the plan, current budget issues will have less impact on the implementation of the plan. In addition, many plan recommendations can be accomplished through partnerships or existing or alternative funding sources.

22. Will a new school be needed if we add housing options to the East Area?

Denver Public Schools (DPS) coordinates closely with the City and County of Denver to monitor new development and factor it into 5-year enrollment forecasts. All schools in the East Area have capacity to serve forecasted students living within their enrollment boundaries, and they also continue to have excess capacity to accommodate students who live outside their enrollment boundaries. As DPS monitors development and population trends and their effect on school districts throughout the city and a future capacity shortage is expected of any school in Denver, DPS begins the process of school expansion and/or adding new schools.

23. Why don’t the area plan and neighborhood boundaries align with my neighborhood organization?

Neighborhood organizations set their own boundaries and do not always align with the city’s statistical neighborhoods, which were created in the 1970s to follow census tracts for data purposes.

24. How were the boundaries of the East Area Plan decided?

With the launch of the Neighborhood Planning Initiative in 2016/2017, neighborhoods were analyzed and then grouped together based on numerous factors that included planning need, character, context, and input from elected leaders. In the case of the East Area, one major factor was the desire to plan both sides of East Colfax Avenue, given its prominence, which was previously included in planning areas as a boundary rather than a central corridor. The four neighborhoods included – South Park Hill, Hale, Montclair, and East Colfax – are based on neighborhood statistical areas.

25. Will the East Area Plan define new neighborhood boundaries or Council districts?

No, the plan will not establish new neighborhood or Council District boundaries. 

26. Why is the East Area Plan only focused on these four neighborhoods? Why not propose growth and new housing options in all Denver neighborhoods?

As stated above, Comprehensive Plan 2040 lays out a vision for an inclusive, connected and healthy city over the next 20 years, which guides us to plan well for challenges like additional population growth, climate change, and affordability. Blueprint Denver, the city’s land use and transportation plan, addressed these challenges by recommending adding density where it makes the most sense—like along rail stations and high-frequency transit corridors—and creating complete neighborhoods so residents can more easily and safely step out of their cars and take alternate modes of transportation to work and entertainment, reducing congestion and pollution. Blueprint Denver recommends integrating more housing options throughout all Denver neighborhoods. The neighborhood plan provides the opportunity to provide more detail about how those recommendations can be implemented at the local scale. All neighborhoods will be included in the Neighborhood Planning Initiative (NPI).

More information is available here: www.denvergov.org/neighborhoodplanning.

27. My neighborhood already has an adopted area plan. How will the East Area Plan relate to this plan?

An important part of the planning process includes reviewing the previous plans to confirm and carry forward those parts of the vision that still apply while ensuring we have current recommendations and strategies. In the 1990s and early 2000s, many community members invested significant time and effort in neighborhood plans for East Colfax, Park Hill, and portions of Hale. The updated guidance in the new East Area Plan will replace older small area plans within the study area. Previously adopted plans will still apply outside of the East Area boundary until a future phase of NPI considers these recommendations and provides updated guidance for those areas.

28. How is the East Area Plan coordinating with the Quebec Street Multimodal Improvement Project?

In September 2019, Denver Public Works officially halted a project that had been assessing the impacts of widening Quebec to four lanes from 13th to 26th Avenues, as it was determined there was the potential for significant impacts to adjacent properties and preliminary cost estimates were well beyond available funding. The project team will be re-engaging residents who live in neighborhoods along Quebec Street as they launch a new effort to implement pedestrian and transit improvements along the corridor. The project team has also been engaging residents through the East Area Plan process. Updates will be posted to the DOTI website as they become available.

29. How does the plan address climate change?

Climate resiliency is a key goal in both the City’s Comprehensive Plan and the community’s vision for the East Area. Many of the plan recommendations support these goals, including:

• Providing more opportunities for people to live close to transit, jobs, and services and in places where infrastructure already exists is the most sustainable way to manage the city’s growth. Without these opportunities, carbon pollution will increase as growth is pushed further to the periphery of the Denver metro area resulting in more frequent driving, longer commutes, and more emissions. 
• Making it easier for people to walk, ride a bike, and use transit so they don’t need to rely on their cars as much 
• Encouraging the reuse of buildings 
• Protecting neighborhoods from flooding 
• Integrating green infrastructure and new parks • Reducing impervious area and encouraging green building design in new buildings 

30. How does the East Area Plan relate to the Group Living Rules Update?

The Group Living Rules Update is a separate project from the East Area Plan. The Group Living Project is a citywide effort to update rules on residential uses in the Denver Zoning Code so that they better reflect the community’s need for flexible and affordable housing options as well as the vision in Denver’s Comprehensive Plan for a more inclusive, connected and healthy City.

Current regulations exclude some communities from residential neighborhoods and define “households” in ways that make it harder for residents to reduce housing costs by living with roommates. The Group Living project is an important piece of the City’s multi-layered approach to address Denver’s housing challenges.

The East Area Plan will be a policy document that informs future public and private decisions over the next 20 years. The draft plan recommendations include policies aimed at increasing housing opportunities for a range of households throughout East. No zoning changes will automatically be made with plan adoption, and any zoning changes that are recommended by the plan would include a follow-up community process and City Council approval.

To learn more about the Group Living Rules Update, including information on potential impacts from the proposed changes, please review visit www.denvergov.org/groupliving.

31. Will Bus Rapid Transit cause more traffic on side streets parallel to Colfax Avenue?  

A traffic study was completed with the BRT project and concluded that traffic congestion and diversion to adjacent streets occurs today and will increase with or without the Colfax BRT project. Minor additional diversion to adjacent streets is projected due to BRT on Colfax and traffic impacts are expected to be limited to a few intersections. For additional information and specifics about technical studies related to Colfax BRT, please go to http://www.colfaxbrt.org or email ColfaxBRT@denvergov.org.

The draft East Area Plan includes several recommendations to slow traffic and improve safety on 13th, 14th, and 17th Avenue. See the Mobility Recommendations in Section 2.3, beginning on page 67 of the draft plan.