Despite requests to amend the Near Southeast Area Plan, the Denver City Council unanimously approved it after a lengthy public hearing Monday evening. 

The near southeast area includes five neighborhoods: Washington Virginia Vale, Virginia Village, Indian Creek, Goldsmith and University Hills North. The newly approved plan will be a key part of the city’s Comprehensive Plan 2040, which is anchored by six main elements. 

Those include creating a city that is equitable, affordable and inclusive and one that is economically diverse and vibrant. More details on the plan may be found online at denvergov.org including a copy of the full plan. As for the five neighborhoods in the near southeast area plan, city staff identified multiple avenues of improvement including to park and trail access, incorporating mixed-use designs and enhancements to bike and pedestrian safety, among many others. 

Colorado fentanyl overdose deaths level off in 2022 with 920 dead

Several properties appear to be in the crosshairs of the area plan, and those people working or living in and around 4660 and 4770 E. Iliff Ave. called for amendments to the plan.

“Although I generally support the Near Southeast Area Plan, certain properties have been targeted for changes to future place and future contexts in a more recent drafts of the original plan,” Amy Brimah, a real estate attorney and resident of Denver, said. “The changes appear specifically targeted against a medical and healthcare campus that serves the general population, immigrants and refugees.”

Denver gets tough on unlicensed landlords, but signups lag behind

Brimah asked councilmembers to consider an amendment to the plan, though none came. She was not alone in her protest either, as several other residents who work in or near the medical campus asked for the same changes to be made. 

Others were excited about what the plan could bring to the area. One resident, Falene Young, lives near the Colorado Station RTD Park and Ride at the intersection of Evans Avenue and Colorado Boulevard.

She lives in new “missing middle” housing – small buildings with multiple units in walkable neighborhoods – in the area, but laments the lack of usable sidewalks. 

“For the amount of concrete that’s in the area, it’s surprising how little sidewalk usability there is,” she said. “The Near Southeast Area Plan really takes a look at these areas… Missing middle housing is a necessary piece that the Near Southeast Area Plan considers, so I am in enthusiastic support of it.”

The council did not consider an amendment to the plan and passed it 13-0 after some discussion and questions among themselves and the Department of Community Planning and Development. 

Aurora City Council voices support for council-manager system