A small, fledgling, informal group of Denver residents wants to “bring the voice of yes” to the city as it considers how to address growth-related issues like affordable housing, transportation and parking, according to the group’s “unofficial leader.”

Part of a small but growing nationwide movement called Yes In My Backyard, YIMBY Denver formed after a Boulder gathering last summer, said Ian Harwick, a Denver resident since 2000 who has lived in Colorado since he was six months old.

“Some of my cohorts came back all jazzed up and we decided it was the right time to bring the voice of yes to Denver,” he told The Colorado Statesman in an interview. “We felt it was time to move the conversation forward.”

The YIMBY 2016 conference, coordinated by the advocacy group Better Boulder, featured movement supporters from across the lower 48 states, Alaska and Canada. An article on the Next City website described the gathering as “a pep rally, brainstorming session and call to arms, all with the goal of making cities more affordable, equitable and even greener.”

“The YIMBY movement seeks to turn the public outreach process on its head,” the article continued. “Whereas homeowners’ groups and other vested interests often dominate comments at public hearings, YIMBYs seek to testify on behalf of what they consider the silent majority that will benefit from more development and, particularly, more housing in urban areas.”

So far, around 14 people have been involved in regular YIMBY Denver meetings, although the group has not yet decided if or how to formally organize as a nonprofit or political committee, Harwick said. Between 50 to 60 people attended YIMBY Denver’s first formal gathering about a month ago, he added.

The group’s goal is to counter the NIMBY, or Not in My Backyard, attitude seen in parts of the city where housing projects that would affect street parking or locating a shelter for the homeless were met by opposition from nearby residents.

Recently, the group was involved in Denver City Council’s consideration of changes to the city’s small lot parking exemption in the zoning code, Harwick noted.

“We didn’t want to see any changes to the code,” he said. “We want to see more housing, not more parking.”

Not for runaway growth

While the acronym might seem to say the group wants all-out development in Denver, Harwick said they do not favor a “build, build, build” approach.

“People are moving here at an insane rate already, so we need to give them a place to live and be safe and that means including things like mobility and alternative transportation,” he said. “If people are moving here anyway, we need to make sure they can do so affordably.”

The Next City article also noted YIMBYism doesn’t necessarily mean supporters favor indiscriminate building.

“Many sessions in Boulder explored nuances of social justice, environmental responsibility, property rights, coalition building, and the delicate challenge of advocating for development without coming off as shills for for-profit developers,” the article stated.

Since YIMBY Denver is a small group, operating costs are funded out-of-pocket by involved members, Harwick said, and social media is the main communication method to generate support and involvement. Around 100 people have “liked” the group’s Facebook page and an already-established Denver Urbanist Meet Up group has another 350 people YIMBY Denver keeps informed about activities and issues.

Harwick said each YIMBY group operates autonomously. A web site that promotes the movement lists YIMBY groups in 13 other cities across the U.S, Canada and Australia.

“When we were coming up with our motto or mission statement, we looked at what other YIMBY groups were doing, but every city is built differently, they also have different environments, with different mayors and city councils, so we took that into account in defining our approach,” he said.

The YIMBY Denver web site describes some of the group’s stances and goals to try to steer Denver’s growth and services: Residential development of all sizes and character; prioritizing pedestrians, bicyclists, and transit riders over cars to help create safe and functional streets; encourage new homes and businesses to locate in all of Denver’s core neighborhoods; reform land use policies that make it more expensive or burdensome to build new, compact housing in existing neighborhoods.

“Growth within Denver’s established neighborhoods allows our existing infrastructure (e.g. transportation, water and educational and municipal services) to be shared more efficiently,” the site stated. “… Densifying existing Denver neighborhoods is the only way that the city can grow sustainably in the future.”

The group also supports mixed-use development (homes, businesses and community services); mixed-income, diverse neighborhoods; and non-traditional housing arrangements, such as co-ops and community land trusts.

“So when there’s a City Council or neighborhood meeting where these issues are discussed, we want to be there to say we want the best for Denver now, but also for 5, 10, or 15 years down the line,” Harwick said.

In the near future, YIMBY Denver planned to keep an eye on how the city’s next general obligation bond program comes together ahead of this fall’s municipal election. Denver voters are expected to be asked to approve a range of projects in that bond issue that could total more than $500 million.

“The city talks a lot about things like mobility options, but until we see something happen, we’re going to keep pushing,” Harwick added.