Joel,
Thank you for coming to the neighborhood and by your article presenting this issue to a wide Denver audience. It is an issue of city-wide importance because other neighborhoods are also looking at R2 to R1 downzoning actions.
You accurately noted that downzoning will not regulate size, bulk or style. What we are calling for in the neighborhood is to set aside this involuntary and exclusive downzoning in favor of a collaboratively developed Neighborhood Plan. A collaborative neighborhood process would encourage responsible development and remodeling, encourage dialogue and address fears and concerns. These two private and hostile downzoning applications facilitated by the City Planning Department Manager, Peter Park, and the Department's waiver of the $41,500.00 application have pitted neighbor vs. neighbor. That's bad for character no matter what the buildings look like. I have lived in Sloan's Lake for seven years. I love Denver and want to work with and not against my neighbors.

Shortly after Community Planning and Development waived the $41,000 in fees for the small group who are trying to down zone everyone hundreds of others property, City Council enacted an ordinance which requires that owners of 51% of the property to be rezoned must sign off before an application will even be considered. Under current public policy, this application would not see the light of day, let alone be ushered through the application process. The City should be promoting a cooperative neighborhood planning process not pitting neighbors against each other. Approval by City Council will leave permanent scars, whereas, implementing a neighborhood planning process will bring people back together.

The whole down zoning has been gone about the wrong way. What right does RAY DEFA have to tell me what I can do with my property. No one should have the right to rezone another person's property without the owners permission or consent. That is why so many neighbors are against the down zoning applications. Of course it doesn't hurt that Ray Defa's wife Pat works for Councilman Rick Garcia, that Ray and his proponets have been getting preferential treatment from the City Planning and Development Office. Namely a $41000 fee waiver on the zoning applications.

Despite whatever the down-zoners say, scrape-offs will not stop even if rezoned to R1. Old 1950 homes will be replaced by huge single units. Ray Defa would prefer that we have more urban sprawl, building homes further and further out and away, over open space and land, which is even more un-recoverable than building on exsiting old lots, of old homes. We're not talking about Victorian or Craftsman homes being replaced. It's old chunky homes from the 50's like ours. If we wished to develop our land with two units, to either sell or rent, that should be our right as an R2 lot. Not Ray Defa's nor his cabal meddlers of Shirley Schley, Jude Aiello or Stve Kite.

I am building a duplex to live in, not a megaplex in the west Highlands area that is not any larger than the single family residence in your article. I imagine that a 100 years ago someone complained about the size of that home. Developers are not scraping the beautiful historic homes, they are scraping old out of date homes that have crumbling foundations, out of code wiring and plumbing that are full of asbestos and lead based paint. There are just some people that can't accept change. We are in the 21st century and changing whether we like it or not.We use e-mail and cell phones. I raised a home with a bad foundation,faulty wiring and full of asbestos. We need energy efficient homes that are safe for future generations. We must all remember that a duplex is nothing more than a single family attached home that provides exactly the same safety, ambience and quality of life that is provided by a single family home. Changing R2 to R1 does nothing to reduce the mass of a structure. It might decrease density by a very little. What it does do is decrease property values. VOTE NO TO DOWNZONING

Sadly, a downzone will not stop developers from coming into the area, however taking away individuals' property rights is ultimately the wrong approach. In fact, it'll likely create even more pressure on the old houses to be torn down. All you have to do is to look a places like boulder, where governmental limits have caused housing prices to triple when the city decided to limit growth.

The zoning code was changed in the 50s just as the US was heded into suburbia mode, and older neighborhoods like this became unattractive to white folks. This was of course until the prices became so low, which caused a younger set of people to start moving back and yes, the dreaded gentrification began. Once these people got their hands on a cheap piece of real estate, and with values since the mid 90s have skyrocketed from $60k for a small bungalow to more than $400k in 2008. It's easy to see the pattern here, whites come in, 'get their piece of the pie,' and then when others want to come, and build on the success, or god forbid, build something new which alters what they claim is the "character" of the neighborhood, then they quickly become NIMBYs and take what ever steps necessary to stop any change that doesn't suit their liking.

This whole downzone sadly has pitted neighbor against neighbor - an outcome that didn't have to be. What could have been a civil discourse, has become a soap box for perservationists and developers alike to be called communists, or greedy or just plain stupid... this could have been avoided, but because a few people decided that their "vision" for the neighborhood was better than anyone elses, and instead of going to the city and saying 'hey can we put a neighborhood plan together,' they instead filed applications to legislatively take property owners' property rights away and to enforce their version of a vision... Ultimately, it has created little more than animosity, when something like a neighborhood plan, could have brought people together, the Steve Kite's of the world have successfully created little more than anger, cynicism and hatred of every developer (uh developers built the houses that you live in today, and likely made money doing it). While there are some greedy developers, their are also some greedy property owners who think their vision of the world is the ONLY RIGHT WAY... and they shout down anyone that doesn't agree with them, that's called fascism not greed.

Seems to me that the benefits to everyone of having a growing, evolving and thriving city is key , and bringing all hands to the table, from all persuasions - and come up with a plan together.

It should be noted that Ray Defa is married to Pat Defa a well placed paid staff member of Denver City Councilman Rick Garcia. That being the case, it doesn't hurt to be married to a paid city employee using her influence to get the $41000 fee waiver which the Defa's and their cohorts received on the Down Zoning applications. Something is rotten is Rick Garcia's office.

Apologies if this a repeat post to Westword..but my comments were posted online earlier today, and suddenly disappeared. Guess someone is afraid from the truth.

The Planning Board actually voted 8-1 in opposition to the proposed new zoning.

While I agree with all of your comments about the ugly houses in your pictures, the fundamental issue is design, not density. Allowing 1 unit per zoned lot instead of 2 does not solve our problem. It is Planning Board's job to understand this basic concept. City Council, in contrast, is a political (elected) body and they, and local activists like Ray Defa, do not like to point out this obvious fact.

Fred Corn
Vice Chair, Denver Planning Board
& West Highland Resident

The Planning Board actually voted 8-1 in opposition to the proposed new zoning. While I agree with all of your comments about the ugly houses in your pictures, the fundamental issue is design, not density. Allowing 1 unit per zoned lot instead of 2 does not solve our problem. It is Planning Board's job to understand this basic concept. City Council, in contrast, is a political (elected) body and they, and local activists like Ray Defa, do not like to point out this obvious fact. Fred Corn Vice Chair, Denver Planning Board & West Highland Resident

Check you facts! The Planning Board voted 8-1 to DENY these applications. That means that they are not in favor of this, and CPD doesn't really care what they (or the majority of the citizens) think.

I live across from this duplex. It is the third property within 3 years that has been scraped on my block. I am tired of construction noise for 3 years in a row - even on Saturday morning at 7:00 am nailguns were firing! When will it end? Plus, why the heck didn't they put brick on the 'Denver square look-a-like'? I have never seen a Denver square with siding - how hideous. I wish developers would have a brain instead of an empty head filled with greediness.

VOTE YES TO DOWNZONING. The "greenest" house is the house that is already built.

Carrie- I suppose your "green" house is the one laced with all the asbestos? "Green"??? maybe all that green money you pocketed in the fee waivers...at the expense of the taxpayers. Why should I pay for you to take away my property rights? What gives you the right to come after our home? What did we ever do to you?

Thanks to Joel for doing a piece that the dailies haven't touched. The Rocky did a terrible kiss-up piece a few weeks ago on some architect who built one of these concrete shoeboxes on a scrape-off lot on 32nd just east of Zuni. The writer didn't even speak to the neighbors, just took the word of the architect's wife that one neighbor liked it and the other hated it. And the writer didn't even talk to the architect to get his design rationale for erecting a beige bunker in a neighborhood of bungalows, Queen Annes and brownstone row houses. Basically this guy gave the neighborhood the middle finger.

As a West Highlands resident it's clear to me that what's needed are DESIGN guidelines and restrictions, because as is pointed out numerous times in this story a downzoning will not limit the size or hideous design of new structures. Maybe once downzoning goes down under the weight of developer-fueled opposition, we can start again and try to push through some much-needed and reasonable design restrictions that will halt the spread of the hideous in Highlands.

Michael Kadovitz, you do not even live in the rezoning area, chill out and mind your own buiness. Your home is safe, you live in R-2 and your property will stay R-2.

note to Comment by Kerry Allen

You make a very good point in that my home is not involved to stay out of it. Think about this... the house next door or across the street is NOT YOUR HOME. Thus you should mind your own business to. Why is it skin off your nose that someone else chooses to design their home to look different than yours.

I live within the 200' rule and have just as much right to say what i wish as those within the application. I am aginast this becuase it is fundementally wrong on a number of reasons:

1) NO ONE or TWO or FEW people as in Ray Defa, Shirley Schley, Jude Aiello or Steve Kite (4 people) who were the orginators of this theivery, should have the right to take away ANYONE's property rights as they did. If they can do it, what's to stop them from doing it to our home?

2) Ray Defa's wife who works for Rick Garcia should have been placed on Admin Leave during this affair, or should have remained nuetral by NOT SIGNING for the fee waiver.

3) Rick garcia should have recused himself, because of the close employed proximity of Mrs. Defa's relationship to the issue.

But I see that you are just like Jude Aiello who said the same thing as you in the N. Denver Trib about keeping quiet if your home was not on the application. You try to silence people who don't agree with you. Your ideas are better served in dictatorship regimes but not in this country. Shame on you... you are all bunch of theives!

"You can't legislate taste..."

Actually, you can, to a certain degree. I participated in a 30-unit development in New York, and to avoid the travesties that have blighted Sloan's Lake/Highlands, we implemented a strict architectural standard. We mandated such items as no garages facing the front of the house, no non-structural stone siding, no wrapping of chimneys with siding (only specific sidings allowed at all), minimum roof overhangs, restrictions on the roof profile relative to the elevation (plan), trimmed windows... and a stringent landscaping requirement. Builders HATED these standards; we argued for months with prospective builders about how "that's not what buyers want", over these items which really should be basic residential architectural code. The only reason people hadn't bought new homes with these elements is that the builders weren't building them -- to save the last 2%. In the end, the builders who embraced the standards and built attractive houses that differed from the endless sea of suburban beige sprawl sold their houses. The town loves the development and has implemented parts of our standard into the town's zoning/approval process.

So, it is time to start legislating taste. Start by requiring new construction in established neighborhoods to look like the established architecture. Have architects design homes instead of builders. And, the egomaniacal architects who want to make a statement can go do that within the sea of beige, among to people who have demonstrated that they don't care about aesthetics.

I sincerely hope you are joking, Joel Warner. Denver *should* "regulate taste!?" Because the Building Department is doing such a great job of regulating structural integrity. Or perhaps there's some other bureaucratic nightmare that should be tacked on to an already protracted approval process. I empathize with Highland residents who love their neighborhood but in this case I have to side with the land owners and developers.

Are you sure Markofsky meant to say "For me it’s all about the principal" and not "principle"? Very funny and very telling--

Are you sure Markofsky meant to say "For me it’s all about the principal" and not "principle"? Very funny and very telling--

Terrible what is happening to our neighborhood. I grew up in North Denver, now known as Highlands. We are distroying our historic neighborhood with building these contemporary homes that do not match the historic homes. Plus it is so expensive to even rent or own now I am forced to move out of the neighborhood I love and want to raise my children in. Maybe I would feel different if the price of these multiplex's was resonable and not 300k just for one side. The older homes have beautiful history and yards big enough for children to play in, big enough for family gatherings. These new complexes are just taking up space. Forcing the people that have lived there for years and years to move out.

To learn more about rightzoning visit:

WWW.RIGHTZONINGNORTHWESTDENVER.COM

Markofsky needs to get out of his cave and "if he can get financing and or a permit" build his TRIPLEX CAVE and move into it, with almost a Lake View. As for Hoops, he has never come out of his cave and never will, what principal is he talking about. He never had said?

This image (4 of 12) is the house they built mere houses away from mine. Interestingly, the owner wanted to put in a daycare and when the neighbors opposed that, they scraped the cute little house and built this atrocity that looks like it belongs in Highlands Ranch more than the historic Highlands neighborhood.

I don't mind change, but I'd much rather see unique and quirky modern designs or creative plays on historic architecture instead of this garbage that clearly had no thought at all given to its fit with the neighborhood. They even painted it boring suburban colors. I paid considerably more to live in the city in part because I didn't want to live in a neighborhood full of cookie-cutter houses that look like this. If you do, there are plenty of suburbs to choose from.

Ray is a disgrace to the North Denver community. Mind your own beewax and go enjoy living in your disguistingly large house you silly goose. Let others do as they may, to make a living and enjoy life in whatever house they want to place on THEIR land. You, sir, are a boob. Does your wife know about your trips to the Diamond Cab? Frrrrunkis.

Defa is a boob. Why should he be on the soapbox telling us what to build?

Hire an architect and then maybe you'll get some thoughtful design in that neighborhood....developers are the devil.

Defa, you're wrong. Do you realize the rezoning that you avocated for will be the undoing of your neighborhood? So will your trips to Diamond Cab. Frrrrunkis!

I say take down the old, outdated and architecturally irrelvant piece of crap on the left and let the new modern house breathe. Americans are so facinated with nostaliga, it's sickening. Europe is so much more progressive, it's sickening.