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Staff: City council upheld DRB decision on 1 Vela; master plan update and code revisions to proceed concurrently
Summary
Urban planning manager Ryan Tiefertiller told the Downtown Review Board on May 6 that City Council on April 7 upheld the board’s approval of the 1 Vela 27‑story mixed‑use project by a 6‑1 vote and that public outreach and concurrent updates to the downtown master plan and form‑based code will proceed this year.
Ryan Tiefertiller, urban planning manager, updated the Downtown Review Board on May 6, 2025, saying City Council on April 7 upheld the board’s approval of the 1 Vela project — a 27‑story apartment mixed‑use building at Costilla and Sawatch — by a 6‑1 vote. Tiefertiller said Councilman Donaldson was the sole dissenting vote and that Council members Risley and Hengem were absent from that hearing.
Tiefertiller also outlined public outreach for the downtown master plan update: a “coffee and chat” on the Pioneers Museum south lawn (7:30–9:30 a.m.) and an evening “walk and talk” leaving from the UCCS downtown space (5–7 p.m.) on Thursday, May 8. He said public events will feed into consultant work, formal consultant presentations to the Downtown Review Board are expected in the fall, and staff anticipates the board and city decision makers could consider adoption of the updated master plan in early 2026, possibly February if the schedule holds.
On the relationship between the master plan and the city’s Form Based Zone regulations, Tiefertiller said staff intends to advance revisions to the form‑based code concurrently with the master plan process. He said the plan‑period approach is to reinvigorate the form‑based code updates toward the end of summer into fall so the proposed code changes can be aligned with consultant recommendations and considered by the Downtown Review Board, Planning Commission and City Council in coordinated hearings.
Tiefertiller notified the board that two DRB member terms expire in August and urged members to consider reappointment or allow staff to begin recruitment. Board members asked clarifying questions about neighborhood seat representation under current code and about the process for filling vacancies for seats tied to specific neighborhood entities; Tiefertiller said the city reaches out to the two associated organizations for nominations and that city council representatives interview when multiple nominations exist.
Tiefertiller closed by reminding the board that formal consultant presentations will come later in the fall and that staff will keep the board informed of public events and opportunities to weigh in on the master plan update.
