Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
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Right Zoning in Northwest Denver
Frequently Asked Questions:
1. What is the purpose of this right zoning change?
The zoning change will maintain the current ratio of single family homes to multiplex structures. It
is roughly 80/20 now and will stay that way.
2. Why is this ratio important?
It contains the population density of the neighborhood; it keeps the neighborhood from becoming
too crowded.
3. But aren’t all cities “crowded”?
Sure they are, relative to the countryside. But just as some cities are more or less crowded than
others, some city neighborhoods are more or less crowded than others. Capitol Hill is more
crowded; Sloan’s Lake is less crowded.
Having a variety of neighborhood choices is a strong attraction for Denver. If you want to live an
“edgy urban experience”, Denver has LoDo, Capitol Hill, West City Park, or the Golden triangle for
you.
If you want city lights, but at a distance, with lots of elbow room and lakes and peace and quiet,
Denver has West Highland or Sloan’s Lake for you.
Making these neighborhoods all the same is not a good idea. (Unless you’re a suburban
developer out for a quick buck….)
4. But if Denver’s population is growing, don’t we have to make every neighborhood more
densely populated?
Not at all. When the Denver City Council adopted Blue Print Denver in 2002 as the city’s land use
plan for the next 20 years, it was explicitly done to direct and guide new, dense housing
construction to designated Areas of Change that either already were served by mass transit
stations or would be served as the light rail build-out occurred.
Low density neighborhoods were to be stabilized as such and kept as housing choices for those
who wanted to live in those kinds of neighborhoods.
Variety of choice was a key idea.
5. But aren’t old houses terribly energy inefficient, outdated, and too small for contemporary
families?
Any house poorly maintained and never updated will develop problems. But the costs of new
construction are far greater than re-habbing existing houses.
Most energy efficiency issues in homes of brick construction are workable with blown insulation
and caulking. This isn’t true, of course, of newer “stick-and-stucco” buildings.
The data on the environmental sense of wise re-use versus new build are persuasive.
Sustainable living does not begin with the destruction of our existing housing stock and hauling it
off to the landfill! (See "Helpful Links" page for Rypkema)
Outdated? Renovate!
Too small? Ever heard of the “not so big house” books or the desire of increasing numbers of
"boomers" to downsize their housing in their older years?
The big house phenomenon is over; we are at a tipping point in the other direction. Our mayor and
his developer friends don’t know it and don’t want to see it. But it’s real.
6. Doesn’t “downzoning” lower the value of my home?
Not at all. Go to the Denver government website and compare the prices the homes in R1 are
getting vs what is being paid for the R2 homes, (or should we say “lots”: the developers only want
the lots, not the homes).
Homes in R1 typically sell for more, as homebuyers want to buy into a stable neighborhood where
they are assured a multiplex won’t be built next door. This is nothing new. Home buyers for
generations have looked to single family neighborhoods to settle down and raise children and
grow old.
7. I own a multiplex structure in this area. Won’t it become “non-conforming”, hard to insure,
difficult to sell, etc?
No. Current multiplexes will be “grandfathered in” as fully conforming structures under the
modification to the zoning code now underway. If a multiplex is accidentally destroyed, it could be
rebuilt at the same size and the same number of units. There are a number of multiplexes in R1
areas now, several hundred in fact. They enjoy the best of both worlds: the stability of a single-
family home neighborhood and the lack of competition from a glut of multiplexes.
8. What about my little basement apartment?
Homes with approved “mother-in-law” apartments will also be grandfathered.
9. And home-based businesses?
There is NO difference between R1 and R2 in allowable home-based businesses.
10. I live in one part of my existing multi-unit building. If the worst happens and it burns down,
can I rebuild it if the right zoning is approved?
Of course. In accordance with the "language amendment" mentioned above, your structure would
be conforming and subject to no penalties.
11. Can I convert my home to a rental if we right zone this area?
Of course. Any housing can be converted to a rental in any zone district.
12. Can I add on to or modify my home if this change is approved?
Of course; subject to the same parameters you would face today. No change.
13. Will my taxes go up if this change is made?
No. The change in zoning by itself will make no difference to your property taxes next year.
That said, property taxes are based on a percentage of assessed market valuation. This market
value is estimated by the assessor’s office every two years using standard property appraisal
methods.
For many reasons, all of our homes have increase in value over the past 20, 30, and 40 years and
the appraised value has gone up each time. This is a generally good thing, since in general,
prices of everything else have been going up as well, including the price of our labor (our wages
and salaries).
It mostly hurts when you retire and are faced with 20 years of fixed income. Those 20 years of life,
with increasing prices and taxes, can be painful.
There are legislative solutions for this. The Homestead Exemption Amendment passed by
Colorado citizens in November 2000 is an example. It provides a partial easing of the difficulty
some older neighbors have in keeping their family homes during those last 20 years or so.
14. Will this change stop scrape-offs?
Legally, no. A single family home can be scraped off and replaced with another single family home
and an existing multi-unit structure can be scraped off and replaced with another one. But a single
family home could not be scraped off and replaced with a multi-unit structure. This means that
many of the scrape-offs in our neighborhoods would stop.
15. But this will do nothing to stop ugly, cheap designs that do not fit in our neighborhood, right?
Right; the only fix for that is a good implementation of the Blue Print Denver ideas on “designs that
fit the streetscape”.
This is the charter of the task force assigned to update the zoning code. Unfortunately, Mayor Hick
does not appear to support this and the effort is 3 years behind schedule and the task force is
made up overwhelmingly of real estate industry personnel.
Write the mayor and your councilman if you want to see a change. (See "How To Help")
16. This whole thing sounds like a further restriction of my property rights; why should I
support that?
Each of us has rights to the use of our real property (different from our personal property).
We have the right to enjoy the use of that property without interference and the right to build on that
property what we want and the right to sell that property to the highest bidder.
But we do not have the right to do any of that if it reduces the rights and privileges of adjacent
property owners, who have those same rights. If you do something with your property that
decreases the value of my property, like obstructing a view I have had for 20 years or creating
shadows where sun shone before or putting a window overlooking a once private escape, you
have stepped over the line.
You may have a legal right to do this according to some city ordinance, but no way do you have a
moral or ethical right to do this.
Many of these “rights in conflict” are worked out in the city zoning codes. I can’t have a few chickens
for my fresh eggs, because adjacent chickens tend to reduce property values of neighbors. For
now I’ll live with that, because the code as a whole seems to work.
But with these steroidal new-builds blocking sun and sky, the code is failing to work. It must be
fixed, and soon!
My property rights are being taken, not by government action, but by government inaction and
developer action. If you are a homeowner like me, this change to R1 will increase your total
property rights, not restrict them!
Frequently Asked Questions:
1. What is the purpose of this right zoning change?
The zoning change will maintain the current ratio of single family homes to multiplex structures. It
is roughly 80/20 now and will stay that way.
2. Why is this ratio important?
It contains the population density of the neighborhood; it keeps the neighborhood from becoming
too crowded.
3. But aren’t all cities “crowded”?
Sure they are, relative to the countryside. But just as some cities are more or less crowded than
others, some city neighborhoods are more or less crowded than others. Capitol Hill is more
crowded; Sloan’s Lake is less crowded.
Having a variety of neighborhood choices is a strong attraction for Denver. If you want to live an
“edgy urban experience”, Denver has LoDo, Capitol Hill, West City Park, or the Golden triangle for
you.
If you want city lights, but at a distance, with lots of elbow room and lakes and peace and quiet,
Denver has West Highland or Sloan’s Lake for you.
Making these neighborhoods all the same is not a good idea. (Unless you’re a suburban
developer out for a quick buck….)
4. But if Denver’s population is growing, don’t we have to make every neighborhood more
densely populated?
Not at all. When the Denver City Council adopted Blue Print Denver in 2002 as the city’s land use
plan for the next 20 years, it was explicitly done to direct and guide new, dense housing
construction to designated Areas of Change that either already were served by mass transit
stations or would be served as the light rail build-out occurred.
Low density neighborhoods were to be stabilized as such and kept as housing choices for those
who wanted to live in those kinds of neighborhoods.
Variety of choice was a key idea.
5. But aren’t old houses terribly energy inefficient, outdated, and too small for contemporary
families?
Any house poorly maintained and never updated will develop problems. But the costs of new
construction are far greater than re-habbing existing houses.
Most energy efficiency issues in homes of brick construction are workable with blown insulation
and caulking. This isn’t true, of course, of newer “stick-and-stucco” buildings.
The data on the environmental sense of wise re-use versus new build are persuasive.
Sustainable living does not begin with the destruction of our existing housing stock and hauling it
off to the landfill! (See "Helpful Links" page for Rypkema)
Outdated? Renovate!
Too small? Ever heard of the “not so big house” books or the desire of increasing numbers of
"boomers" to downsize their housing in their older years?
The big house phenomenon is over; we are at a tipping point in the other direction. Our mayor and
his developer friends don’t know it and don’t want to see it. But it’s real.
6. Doesn’t “downzoning” lower the value of my home?
Not at all. Go to the Denver government website and compare the prices the homes in R1 are
getting vs what is being paid for the R2 homes, (or should we say “lots”: the developers only want
the lots, not the homes).
Homes in R1 typically sell for more, as homebuyers want to buy into a stable neighborhood where
they are assured a multiplex won’t be built next door. This is nothing new. Home buyers for
generations have looked to single family neighborhoods to settle down and raise children and
grow old.
7. I own a multiplex structure in this area. Won’t it become “non-conforming”, hard to insure,
difficult to sell, etc?
No. Current multiplexes will be “grandfathered in” as fully conforming structures under the
modification to the zoning code now underway. If a multiplex is accidentally destroyed, it could be
rebuilt at the same size and the same number of units. There are a number of multiplexes in R1
areas now, several hundred in fact. They enjoy the best of both worlds: the stability of a single-
family home neighborhood and the lack of competition from a glut of multiplexes.
8. What about my little basement apartment?
Homes with approved “mother-in-law” apartments will also be grandfathered.
9. And home-based businesses?
There is NO difference between R1 and R2 in allowable home-based businesses.
10. I live in one part of my existing multi-unit building. If the worst happens and it burns down,
can I rebuild it if the right zoning is approved?
Of course. In accordance with the "language amendment" mentioned above, your structure would
be conforming and subject to no penalties.
11. Can I convert my home to a rental if we right zone this area?
Of course. Any housing can be converted to a rental in any zone district.
12. Can I add on to or modify my home if this change is approved?
Of course; subject to the same parameters you would face today. No change.
13. Will my taxes go up if this change is made?
No. The change in zoning by itself will make no difference to your property taxes next year.
That said, property taxes are based on a percentage of assessed market valuation. This market
value is estimated by the assessor’s office every two years using standard property appraisal
methods.
For many reasons, all of our homes have increase in value over the past 20, 30, and 40 years and
the appraised value has gone up each time. This is a generally good thing, since in general,
prices of everything else have been going up as well, including the price of our labor (our wages
and salaries).
It mostly hurts when you retire and are faced with 20 years of fixed income. Those 20 years of life,
with increasing prices and taxes, can be painful.
There are legislative solutions for this. The Homestead Exemption Amendment passed by
Colorado citizens in November 2000 is an example. It provides a partial easing of the difficulty
some older neighbors have in keeping their family homes during those last 20 years or so.
14. Will this change stop scrape-offs?
Legally, no. A single family home can be scraped off and replaced with another single family home
and an existing multi-unit structure can be scraped off and replaced with another one. But a single
family home could not be scraped off and replaced with a multi-unit structure. This means that
many of the scrape-offs in our neighborhoods would stop.
15. But this will do nothing to stop ugly, cheap designs that do not fit in our neighborhood, right?
Right; the only fix for that is a good implementation of the Blue Print Denver ideas on “designs that
fit the streetscape”.
This is the charter of the task force assigned to update the zoning code. Unfortunately, Mayor Hick
does not appear to support this and the effort is 3 years behind schedule and the task force is
made up overwhelmingly of real estate industry personnel.
Write the mayor and your councilman if you want to see a change. (See "How To Help")
16. This whole thing sounds like a further restriction of my property rights; why should I
support that?
Each of us has rights to the use of our real property (different from our personal property).
We have the right to enjoy the use of that property without interference and the right to build on that
property what we want and the right to sell that property to the highest bidder.
But we do not have the right to do any of that if it reduces the rights and privileges of adjacent
property owners, who have those same rights. If you do something with your property that
decreases the value of my property, like obstructing a view I have had for 20 years or creating
shadows where sun shone before or putting a window overlooking a once private escape, you
have stepped over the line.
You may have a legal right to do this according to some city ordinance, but no way do you have a
moral or ethical right to do this.
Many of these “rights in conflict” are worked out in the city zoning codes. I can’t have a few chickens
for my fresh eggs, because adjacent chickens tend to reduce property values of neighbors. For
now I’ll live with that, because the code as a whole seems to work.
But with these steroidal new-builds blocking sun and sky, the code is failing to work. It must be
fixed, and soon!
My property rights are being taken, not by government action, but by government inaction and
developer action. If you are a homeowner like me, this change to R1 will increase your total
property rights, not restrict them!
Remember: The greenest house is the one already built!