Planning commission approves VASA Fitness conditional use at Gardens on Havana

At a July virtual meeting, the Aurora Planning and Zoning Commission approved the conditional use request from VASA Fitness to operate indoor recreation at the Gardens on Havana site in Ward 4.

Staff recommended approval, saying the proposal complies with the Gardens on Havana planned development, the Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) conditional-use criteria and that the building can rely on shared parking previously sized for large-format retail.

Ben Brabinek, presenting for staff, described the site at the southeast corner of South Ironton Street and East Arizona Place in the Gardens on Havana plaza. The building formerly housed Dick’s Sporting Goods and sits adjacent to a Sprouts grocery store; the applicant plans to use shared parking under an existing agreement. Brabinek said 3 adjacent property owners and 18 registered neighborhood organizations were notified; there was no neighborhood meeting and staff received one supportive comment from a nearby resident.

On operational details, staff said indoor recreation follows the same parking requirement as large-scale retail and that the nearby multifamily buildings are located behind the building, away from the entrance and parking. Staff reported hours of operation of 5 a.m. to midnight and said that arrangement would not negatively impact the surrounding area given building orientation and parking location. Staff recommendation language cited compliance with the conditional use criteria in the UDO and consistency with the city corridor place type.

Michelle Dodd, general counsel and senior vice president of development for VASA Fitness, answered commission questions about the applicant’s local footprint. “All of our locations are corporately owned. We have 61 in total. We’re based in Denver,” Dodd said, and added, “There are 0 plans to close any other ones.” Dodd also stated she does not live in Aurora.

Commissioners expressed support for filling a large vacant commercial space and for increased foot traffic in the Gardens on Havana area. Commissioner comments included a note that revitalizing large vacant buildings is positive for commercial corridors and that this proposal repurposes an existing large-format tenant space.

The motion to approve the conditional use was made by Commissioner Banker and seconded by Commissioner Hogan. The roll call vote recorded Commissioners Jechek, Bush, Geyser, Riley, Banka and Hogan voting to approve; Commissioner Walls abstained. The tally reported in the meeting was six votes to approve with one abstention; the conditional use was approved.

Staff noted there are no use-specific standards for indoor recreation in the UDO or the planned development document and that the application complies with applicable UDO standards and infrastructure capacity. The recommendation advances the conditional-use approval as a permit-level action to allow VASA Fitness to occupy the space and operate subject to any standard permitting and site requirements.