Committee forwards 801 Fifteenth Street rezoning to full council to allow Denver Theater District signage

The Land Use, Transportation and Infrastructure Committee voted July 8 to forward a rezoning application for 801 Fifteenth Street to the full Denver City Council, creating the opportunity for large-format and digital signage regulated by the Denver Theater District sign plan.

City planner Matthew Bosler told the committee the applicant requests a change from DC UO1 (Downtown Core with the UO1 overlay) to DTD UO1 (Downtown Theater District with the same overlay). "The purpose of the rezoning," Bosler said, "is to allow digital signage with off-site advertising in a manner that serves as a gateway to the Theater District." Bosler said the existing building is a Home2 Suites hotel and that the Theater District sign plan adds supplemental standards for sign placement, design, mitigation of impacts to neighboring uses and a revenue-sharing program to fund public art.

Planning staff reported that the city Planning Board voted unanimously to recommend approval after a June 4 hearing in which nine speakers testified in favor. Bosler said the city received two written public comments from residents of the Spire condominiums to the west — one opposed citing concerns about light and sleep disruption, and one requesting more information. Support letters came from the Denver Theater District (the nonprofit), the Colorado Convention Center, the Downtown Denver Partnership and the Upper Downtown Neighborhood Association. A City Council public hearing on the rezoning is tentatively scheduled for Aug. 18.

Committee members asked technical questions about "off-site" advertising, sign types and limits. Bosler explained that "off-site" refers to the content of the advertisement (promoting a business or event not physically located on the property) while the physical sign remains on the applicant's site. He said the Theater District allowance can cover static and digital displays and that most Theater District signs are permitted above the second story on building facades. Bosler said the district sign plan and zoning code include both hard area limits and discretionary urban-design review to avoid signs that would dominate nearby areas.

David Ehrlich, executive director of the Denver Theater District, told the committee that every media company that installs signage in the district signs a services agreement with the district. "If the light is too bright, they have to turn it down within a certain period of time," Ehrlich said, and the agreement creates an enforceable complaints process. He said the sign-plan revenue-share is 15% of off-site-advertising revenue; if a sign is used only for on-site promotion the district arranges a valuation to calculate an equivalent allocation.

Committee members also sought clarity about sign attachment and longevity. Staff and Ehrlich said nearly all Theater District signs are attached to buildings (not freestanding) so if a building is demolished the sign would be removed rather than remain as a freestanding relic.

Councilmember (transcript: Heinz) moved to send the rezoning to the full council; Councilmember Jimmy Torres seconded, and the committee agreed by voice/thumbs-up to move the item to the floor for the scheduled public hearing.

Next steps: the matter will be heard at a City Council public hearing (tentatively Aug. 18). Planning staff said subsequent sign permit applications would be reviewed against the DTD sign plan and code requirements, and the Theater District nonprofit will provide supplemental review and enforcement per its services agreements.