Summary: The Denver City Council came to agreement September 28 on a schedule for implementing a new zoning code for the city that includes form-based provisions intended to codify a contextual range for neighborhoods extending from the downtown out to the city’s suburbs. For its part, AIA Denver has been active in reviewing the code drafts, testing the provisions through schematic case studies, and working with the Denver Community Planning and Development Department as it finalizes a code for city council deliberation, which the council schedule has set for February 22, 2010.

Denver, which currently has a zoning code dating to 1956, is the first large city in the country to undertake a complete rewrite of its zoning code and associated zoning map under a “form-based” and “context-based” approach. Because it will affect so many stakeholders, the AIA Denver Board of Directors and two AIA Denver committees have been following its development closely.

Of the intense four-year process of writing the code, putting it out for review, and revising, Brad Buchanan, FAIA, who sits on the Denver Zoning Code Task Force says: “We must be sure that the new code does not adversely affect the economic development potential in our city. In fact, this zoning code has the potential to increase economic viability while protecting the character both downtown and in our neighborhoods, which are the original economic engines for our city.”

From the city’s perspective, the new code is intended to support a growing economy, a sustainable environment, a diverse mix of housing, strong neighborhoods, and a high quality of life.

From the AIA Denver Board’s perspective, this is a healthy move on the part of the city to rewrite the zoning code after more than 50 years, says AIA Denver President Steven Carr, AIA. “But it will not be without pain,” he says of the transition to new zoning regulations.

The Denver AIA Board and committees have been working diligently to study what is possible under the new code as compared to the existing one, using active design projects in Denver. “We’ve been getting some great case studies, especially with residential projects,” Carr says, noting that with commercial projects it takes quite a bit longer to work up those kinds of comparisons. “And we will continue to have meetings with city officials to work out things such as a transitional period,” Carr says.

When the Community Planning and Development Department circulated the first draft of the zoning code rewrite, time was at a premium, Carr says, and the AIA worked closely with other involved organizations, such as the Urban Land Institute and the Downtown Denver Partnership, to establish a consensus and a unified voice. “The second draft came out recently,” he says, “and we’re seeing that it’s very good from the perspective of making the code more workable. The language and intent of the zoning is clearer, which means there is less speculation on what is or is not allowable and more flexibility in what is possible without always needing a special review when you get up to the desk with your construction documents.”

Having architects on the Zoning Code Task Force was very helpful in communicating the AIA’s intent most effectively to city officials, Carr says of Buchanan’s work.

“There have been architects involved to some extent throughout the process,” Buchanan says. “There are two of us on the Zoning Code Task Force. That said, it has been just recently that the draft code has been available to really test the new code and the proposed forms. And, to a great extent, it is still a moving target. The support of the architectural community is critical to successfully adopting the code.”