– Denver City Beat –

The Denver neighborhood of Westwood, separated from most of the city by the South Platte River, is set to have its first neighborhood plan approved by the city in 30 years. The hope of both residents and leaders is the plan will address issues facing an underserved part of the city and be the starting point for rejuvenating a unique neighborhood.

Westwood sits in the southwest part of Denver with Sheridan Boulevard on the west, Federal Boulevard on the east, Alameda Avenue on the north and Mississippi Avenue on the south. And it has issues ranging from a lack of good open spaces and trail and bike connectivity to lack of access to grocery stores and a clear vision for the neighborhood as it’s developed since the last plan.

District 3 Councilman Paul López, who grew up next to the Westwood neighborhood as a child and still lives in the area, said it was important for the city to work with residents to create a vision for the neighborhood that would help renovate the area but not lose its unique cultural heritage.

“My neighborhood, our neighborhood has always been an afterthought for Denver and that’s simply not right. We’re taxpayers as well as Denver residents. Just because we’re west of the river doesn’t mean we’re invisible. … We’re a vibrant neighborhood that’s been in Denver for a long time, 80 percent of Westwood is Mexican American, a lot of them have been here a long a time. They’re fourth, fifth generation residents,” López said. “At the end of the day we want to work on this now. We’re setting these wheels into motion now, we’re not waiting for the neighborhood to become gentrified. Too often development happens only after it becomes gentrified. We believe the opposite needs to happen with the original residents now.”

The process to develop a new vision for Westwood started in 2015 with an extensive outreach to residents, business owners and nonprofits working in the area. The extensive new plan, approved by the city council’s Neighborhood and Planning Committee on June 22, addresses everything from creating new pocket parks and a recreation center (Westwood is one of the most underserved areas in Denver for a rec. center), to increasing the walkable areas and the allowable density along Morrison Road, which cuts across the neighborhood diagonally.

Steven Chester, the lead city planner from Denver on the project, said the new plan contains both a long term vision of transforming Westwood into a vibrant neighborhood but also short term and achievable goals that can show residents change is happening.

“Westwood has been a little under the radar. But that change in other neighborhoods around Denver is coming to Westwood. This plan will guide that future change while making sure current residents and business owners can thrive,” Chester said. “They want Westwood to stay Westwood. Westwood is a very unique neighborhood, it’s unique in terms of the people that live there, it’s 80 percent Latino with lots of first generation immigrants and families that have been there for generations. They fully welcome and understand change is coming but they want to make sure their neighborhood doesn’t change and lose that cultural identity.”

One change the area will see soon is a change in zoning to allow auxiliary dwelling units in residential zoned areas. Westwood has some of the highest density in terms of number of residents living in single homes, in part because of a plethora of multigenerational families living under the same roof. López said that change will allow for families to stay together and seniors to be able to age in place.

Another significant change along with creating more bikeable and walkable areas to connect to existing features, like schools and parks, will be to turn Morrison Road into a more walkable street in order to encourage more business in the area. The allowable density along Morrison Road will also be increased to allow for more affordable housing along one of the main transit routes in the area.

“We’ve had this vision for a long time and it’s been a lot of work to formalize that vision,” López said. “If we can do this is Westwood, we can do it all over Denver in areas that are underserved and lack that vision and a plan. We need to protect the soul of our Denver neighborhoods.”

– ramsey@coloradostatesman.com