Agenda - Planning Commission - 06/06/1995

Home

Denver Acrs on Group Homes Shelters and group homes have become the focus of attention in Denver in recent months, and the fate of at least one shelter in the Denargo Market area hinges on a decision from the zoning board of appeals later this month. Meanwhile, the city has reached agreement with a neighborhood association concerning another shelter elsewhere in the city. In the background, an informal memo issued by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) last summer indicated that it deems the Denver zoning ordinance a violation of the Fair Housing Act Amendments, although HUD seems in no hurry to take legal action against the city. The key issue is a zoning provision that allows no more than three shelters within a 4,000-foot radius. Last summer, the Salvation Army was forced to relocate its Blake Street Emergency Shelter because of complaints from neighboring businesses about heal{h and building code violations. The shelter, which houses homeless men, moved last November to the Denargo Market area, where three shelters--the Denver Rescue Mission, Samari- tan House, and Sacred Heart House--already existed within a 4,000-foot radius. By moving 150 feet too close to these facili- ties, the new shelter posed a potential violation of the zoning ordinance unless the Salvation Army could win a variance, something the zoning board was considered likely to reject. The city resolved this new conflict by reclassifying Sacred Heart House as a rooming and boarding house. It was able to do this because the women's shelter houses up to six families or 10 single'women without providing services. Sacred Heart limits its residents' stay to 30 days. However, Denargo Market neighborhood groups have appealed this reclassification to the zoning board, which is expected to act by the end of this month. A favorable decision on the appeal will again place the Salvation Army men's shelter in legal jeopardy. The spacing requirements themselves were the subject of the HUD legal analysis that early last year questioned the zoning ordinance's validity under the federal law, which prohibits discrimination against the disabled. Although the homeless are not similarly protected by federal law, the zoning ordinance covers all residential care uses and thus may be uniformly jeopardized by any federal challenge. However, HUD has not yet shown any indication that it regards this issue as a' priority, notes city attorney Karen Avalos. Even if it decides to act, she says, HUD would have to file a formal complaint, allowing 100 days for the city to comply before taking its complaint to the Zoning News is a monthly newsletter published by the American Planning Association. Subscription* are available for $45 (U.S.) and $54. (foreign). Michael B. Barker, Executive Director; Frank S. So, Deputy Executive Director; William R. Klein, Director of Research. Zoning News is produced at APA. Jim Schwab, Editor; Michael Barrette, Dan Biver, Sarah Bohlen, Fay Dolnick, Michelle Gregory, Sanjay Jeer, Beth McGuire, MaD'a Morris, David Smith, Reporters; Cynthia Cheski, Assistant Editor; Lisa Barton, Design and Production, Copyright ©1995 by American Planning Association, 1313 E. 60th St., Chicago, IL 60637. The American Planning Association has headquarters offices at 1776 Massachusetts Ave., N.W., Washington. DC 20036. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or hy an}' information s~oragc and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the American Planning Association. Printed on recycled paper, including 50-70% recycled fiber and 10% postconsumer waste. ~ U.S. Justice Department, which would then sue. The whole process could take up to two years. In the South Sherman Street neighborhood, however, the city has so far shown an ability to negotiate a workable agreement with neighbors concerning a new home for chronically mentally ill people with drug and alcohol problems. That dispute, which began last August, led to discussions with neighbors, whose concerns resulted in agreement on a facility for women only, with strict screening for violent persons, especially child abusers, and strict supervision and adequate staffing. There are now 10 women in residence. Jim Schwab and ]ay Dolnick Call for Information What's the impact of impact analysis? A future issue of Zoning News will examine the use of formal impact analysis procedures by local planning agencies. If your organization has instituted impact analysis as part of its development processes, let us know. We are interested in ordinances, procedural and technical manuals, internal memoranda, and actual examples of staff impact analysis reports. Send material to: Stuart Meck, APA, 1313 E. 60th St., Chicago IL 60637. For further information, contact Stuart Meck at 312-955-9100. '-zo 1 G ports Knox County Greenways Plan Knox Counl7 Greenways Committee, Metropolitan Plan,ing Commission, Ci~y-Coun(y Building, Suite 403, 400 Main St., Knoxville, TN37902. 1994. 52 pp. $10. ' The Knoxville metropolitan area has been growing fast and gobbling land for development in the process. In 1992, the county appointed the Greenways Committee to develop a plan fo~ enhancing the area's parkland and protecting its natural resources. Open space plans generally involve a number of land- use planning techniques to achieve their goals, including both land acquisition and zoning, the latter largely through parkland - dedication in new developments. This plan lays out a metropolitan vision that employs each'of those tools judiciously. Development Impact: Assessment Handbook Robert W. Burchell, et al. Urban Land Institute. Available ~om Planners Bookstore, APA, 1313 E. 60th St., Chicago IL 60637, 1994. 326pp., includes 5 ~' diskette. $I24.95. Written by some of the planners most knowledgeable on the subject of impact analysis, this volume is probably close to a necessity in any planning library. Covering eight different areas of analysis, the handbook details methods for measuring physical, social, and economic impacts of proposed development. The diskette contains a computerized model for testing hypothetical proposals to determine their impacts in advance.