South Platte River Committee forwards rezoning for 361363 West Evans Avenue to full City Council

The South Platte River Committee of the Denver City Council voted April 22 to forward a rezoning application for the property listed in the record as 361363 West Evans Avenue to the full City Council for consideration, with a tentative council hearing set for June 1.

City planning staff presented the request to change the site’s zoning from IAU02 to CMX8 and recommended the committee move the application forward. Abner Ramos Otero of Community Planning and Development told the committee the roughly 60,000‑square‑foot parcel (about 1.385 acres) currently holds single‑unit buildings and surface parking and is located in Council District 7 near Evans Station. "CPD recommends that the committee move this application forward for consideration by the full city council based on finding all of your criteria have been met," Ramos Otero said during the presentation.

Staff said the request aligns with Denver’s Comprehensive Plan 2040 and Blueprint Denver guidance to increase housing near transit and accommodate mixed‑use development in Urban Center areas; staff also cited the recently adopted Southwest Area Plan. Planning staff added that the planning board held a hearing on April 15 and voted unanimously to support advancing the application.

The property owner, Steve Gisam, spoke at the meeting and said, "My plan for the property is to get it rezoned and sell it outright." Gisam also referenced prior rezoning activity a decade earlier, when guidance allowed a taller envelope (the presentation referenced a view plan allowance up to 141 feet), while the requested CMX8 district has a lower formal maximum height (noted in the record as 110 feet).

Council members asked staff whether the site had direct access to transit. Ramos Otero said there is access along Delaware Street that passes under Evans and provides direct access to Evans Station. Committee members also asked about the alignment of the proposed Jewel Bridge; staff said the bridge alignment is roughly two blocks to the north of the site.

Several council members praised the applicant’s neighborhood outreach. One member said they appreciated that the applicant had walked the neighborhood to speak with residents, noting mailed notices can be missed.

With no public comments in the committee record and no one else in the speaking queue, the chair called for a motion. The record shows a motion and a second and the committee declined a roll call; the item will be considered by the full City Council on the meeting calendar. The committee then adjourned.

Notes on the record: the transcript lists the property and several participant names exactly as spoken during the meeting. The record also contains inconsistent name renderings for the District 7 representative (the presenter referred to "councilwoman Alvidrez, who is present" while a separate segment transcribes a District 7 speaker name as "Nora Liedres"); that inconsistency appears in the meeting transcript and is noted here rather than reconstructed from outside sources.