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Council approves rezoning for 890 North Grove Street with voluntary affordable-housing commitment
Summary
Denver City Council approved Council Bill 14 45 to rezone a vacant corner lot at 890 N. Grove St. (Villa Park) from ESUD to ERX3. The applicant signed a voluntary affordable housing plan committing the greater of one unit or 20% of units at 110% AMI (the plan will restrict one 3-bedroom unit).
Denver City Council voted to approve a rezoning for 890 North Grove Street in the Villa Park neighborhood after a required public hearing and a staff presentation explaining the zoning request and a voluntary affordable-housing plan.
Will Prince of Community Planning and Development told the council the 6,250-square-foot site is a vacant corner lot and that the applicant proposes an ERX3 designation to allow a townhouse-style, five-unit development. Because the site is within the West Area Plan rezoning memo area, the applicant submitted a voluntary affordable housing plan accompanying the rezoning. The plan requires the greater of 20% of units or one unit to be affordable at 110% of area median income; in practice, the project will provide one income-restricted unit with at least three bedrooms.
During the public hearing, Jesse Paris, representing several neighborhood groups, opposed the rezoning and called the affordability commitment inadequate, warning rezoning could contribute to displacement and that the West Area Plan memo should limit rezonings without stronger mandatory tools.
Host and applicant representatives described the project as a single five-unit building with two units facing Grove and three units facing 9th Avenue, a four-car detached garage accessed by an alley, and a maximum building height of about 27 feet. The project team is working through site-development permits and has no construction timeline yet.
Council debate focused on the West Area Plan guidance that encourages stabilized approaches to prevent displacement while allowing small infill projects that include affordable-housing commitments. Councilmember Torres and others said the housing agreement and the applicant's prior projects demonstrated the kind of small-scale development and affordability the memo seeks to steer to West Denver. After discussion the council took a roll-call vote and the rezoning passed with 10 ayes.
What happens next: The developer will proceed through site development review and permitting to implement the five-unit townhouse project. The recorded housing plan requires one income-restricted unit (three bedrooms) at 110% AMI; council and staff signaled ongoing monitoring of West Area Plan outcomes and continued policy work to address displacement risks.
