Englewood planning commission weighs converting industrial parcels to housing in northwest area

The Englewood City Planning & Zoning Commission on Jan. 22 continued a study-session review of the proposed comprehensive-plan update, focusing on “area assessments” for the city’s northwest sector — especially Baker Park, Cushing Park and parcels along the South Platte River — and debating whether some industrial parcels should remain areas of stability or be reimagined for housing.

Planning staff presented the update and a new mapping approach that would replace the plan’s previous 13 neighborhood maps with six larger “area” maps and noted the team’s intent to carry forward the plan’s existing goals (live, work, shop, play) while re-evaluating policies that may now be outdated. “So tonight, we are moving into the neighborhood assessments, and we’re gonna start calling them area assessments,” Planning staff member John Fogel said. Fogel explained the team remapped older neighborhood-level policies to the new area boundaries and flagged policies as green (keep), yellow (questionable) or red (remove).

Commissioners focused first on the Baker Park portion of the northwest area, where small industrial employers such as Redbird Farms and American Bottling sit adjacent to residential blocks. Commissioners debated whether to keep a policy to “preserve and enhance key employment parcels” for that part of the map. “I don’t think there’s a reason to preserve and enhance industrial space just in that area,” Commissioner Bridal said, supporting the staff suggestion that some industrial parcels could be candidates for future residential use. Other commissioners urged caution and noted proximity to transit and the need for infrastructure work before large-scale residential change would be realistic.

Discussion also covered multimodal connections and parks. Commissioners and staff described existing trail and bikeway improvements — Mary Carter Greenway, Harvard Gulch and portions of the Dartmouth bikeway — while identifying gaps such as an east–west trail connection along Wesley Avenue and a long‑term pedestrian/pedal bridge over Santa Fe as aspirational projects that would require coordination with RTD, CDOT and the railroad. Commissioners emphasized that improved bike and pedestrian links are central to making a northwest-area residential expansion feasible.

Several commissioners and staff raised housing-affordability concerns tied to mobile-home communities and older rental stock along the South Platte River and northwest corridors. Planning staff noted those mobile-home areas provide existing affordability and that redevelopment there would raise displacement risks; staff and commissioners discussed tools such as community land trusts and the need for affordable-housing policies before any major redevelopment is encouraged. Fogel cited recent Affordable Housing Task Force work and noted a recommendation discussed by that task force for a possible 25% affordable-housing target for new development, which commissioners said will shape future policy work.

Commissioners asked staff to tighten policy wording, keep site‑level granularity where it matters (for example, calling out specific streets and blocks inside the larger northwest map), and present future packets grouped by priority (keep / question / remove) so the commission can review more efficiently. Staff said maps and the open‑house feedback will be posted on the city’s engagement site and that another draft will follow covering remaining areas.

The study-session discussion was explicit that the comprehensive plan update is guidance, not a zoning change: staff and commissioners repeatedly said the plan indicates long‑term desired outcomes (20–30 years) and that any zoning changes, infrastructure investments, Brownfield remediation or affordable‑housing acquisitions would be separate, subsequent steps.

The commission also asked staff to pursue targeted neighborhood outreach in Baker Park and to summarize and share sticky‑note feedback from recent open‑house events before the next meeting.

The commission did not adopt new policy language at this meeting; the session was a staff‑led review and commissioners made direction and clarifying requests to shape the next draft.