Denver City Council voted on Aug. 4 to deny a rezoning request for 2501 East 48th Avenue (the FocusPoints site) after an extensive public hearing and council debate. The roll call recorded 12 nays and the ordinance failed. The request sought to change a former Chapter 59 zone to a Campus Education‑Institution District (EI‑2) with a waiver limiting height to 75 feet; the applicant said the rezoning was sought in order to bring the property into the current code and to enable future community‑serving uses including a potential affordable housing project and a community land trust.

Background and staff recommendation: CPD staff presented the case and recommended approval subject to an affordable‑housing plan signed with the Department of Housing Stability (Host) that included a commitment of 18 percent of units at an effective average of 70 percent AMI (or a 12%/60% AMI alternative) if residential development occurs. Staff noted the parcel’s unique context adjacent to industrial uses and open space and said the campus EI‑2 district could be compatible if the site limited heights and preserved open space. Planning Board had recommended approval.

Public comment and controversy: The hearing drew divided public testimony. Supporters cited community programming, urban‑agriculture and the organization’s role in neighborhood services. Opponents — most prominently GES Coalition and several former FocusPoints program participants — raised serious concerns, including multiple active wage‑theft complaints filed with the Denver Auditor and Civil Wage Theft unit and allegations of mismanagement, unpaid or late compensation and program conditions that participants described as exploitative. GES Coalition and other neighbors said the organization had failed to meet community expectations and asked council to deny the rezoning until community safeguards were in place. Several speakers asked the city to withhold rezoning authority until labor investigations were resolved.

Applicant position: FocusPoints’ leadership and board told council the organization planned to comply with investigators and that it would pursue a community land trust partnership to protect community‑serving uses on the parcel; the organization also provided a voluntary affordable housing agreement with Host. FocusPoints said the project team had worked with neighborhood stakeholders and that the rezoning was necessary to clear a code transition issue and enable future program improvements.

Council debate and vote: Council discussion focused on three issues: (1) consistency with the Elyria‑Swansea neighborhood plan, which generally identifies the site for single‑ and two‑unit uses and recommends low heights; (2) the absence of a concrete development proposal (no site plan, no developer under contract and no finalized financing package); and (3) active labor investigations against the applicant’s prior social‑enterprise programs and whether those outstanding investigations warranted denial or delay. Several councilmembers asked CPD and Host questions about what the affordable‑housing agreement would guarantee in the absence of a specific project. After deliberation, the council voted to deny the rezoning by recorded vote (12 nays), with members citing plan inconsistency and unresolved accountability issues.

Why it matters: The vote preserves the neighborhood plan’s adopted guidance in that location and illustrates city council’s willingness to withhold rezoning when significant community objections and third‑party investigations are unresolved. The outcome leaves the site under its existing zoning and means the applicant will need to address outstanding concerns and possibly revise its approach before a future rezoning application could be successful.

Next steps: The applicant may choose to withdraw, revise and resubmit a rezoning application or pursue other code steps. Council members asked staff to confirm the status of ongoing investigations and to report back on any material findings that should inform future land‑use decisions.