Hardly anyone reads the Denver Zoning Code for pleasure. But, recently, what looked to be another ho-hum amendment to Small Lot Parking Zone Exemptions (10.4.5) has become, in the words of City Councilwoman Mary Beth Susman (District 5), “a vigorous discussion,” not only of parking, but of long range transportation planning in Denver.

Here’s the problem: The current zoning code exempts buildings on small lots—6,250 square feet or smaller, or 50 feet by 125 feet—from having to provide parking. The intent of the exemption is preservation: to “encourage the preservation of pre-existing Small Zone Lots through exempted vehicle parking requirements to facilitate the reuse of existing buildings and/or the redevelopment of Small Zone Lots” along Main Street commercial districts like Colfax Avenue.

But in 2010, the Zoning Code revisions applied the exemption to the whole city, creating a loophole allowing developers to build “micro-unit” apartment buildings on small lots—with no off-street parking for the residents. For instance, at 16th Street and Humboldt Avenue, a developer plans to build 108 micro-unit apartments in two complexes on two adjacent small zone lots, with no parking facilities.

So, last August, City Council closed the loophole with a seven-month moratorium on the small lot parking exemption. That moratorium is due to expire March 31. Council President Albus Brooks (District 9) and Paul Kashmann (District 6) convened a stakeholders’ Task Force to study the problem and propose amendments to the small lot zoning code. The Task Force’s proposal ties parking exemptions for new buildings to how close they are to light rail stations and bus lines. Those close to transit would receive an exemption for the first three stories; those farther away would receive exemptions for two stories. These provisions are the source of the “vigorous discussion.”

Several Council members, including Kashmann, Rafael Espinoza (District 1), and Jolon Clark (District 7), oppose the Task Force proposal for several reasons. At the Feb. 14 Land Use, Transportation and Infrastructure (LUTI) Committee meeting, Kashmann explained the amendment doesn’t do what his district needs it to do. As the Task Force met, he says, “It became more a discussion of affordable housing and dis-incentivising the use of the automobile than providing relief for the neighborhoods from excess parking on their streets.”

Also at the Feb. 14 meeting, Espinoza contended his district contains one third of the small lots in the city but had no representation on the Task Force. He calls the Task Force proposal a “missed opportunity.” In a phone conversation, he was more frank, suggesting the Task Force was weighted away from neighborhood interests.

“I think that’s just ridiculous,” Council President Brooks said in a phone interview, arguing that out of 13 Task Force members, Historic Denver was represented, as was only one developer. “This is just a hard, hard lot to develop in the first place, [and] there’s not really an advocacy group for developers.”

Espinoza counters that public comment from registered neighborhood organizations (RNOs) and Inter-Neighborhood Cooperation (INC) opposed the Task Force proposal by a large margin. “This is what you get with a compliant City Council in a strong Mayor system,” he said.

Councilman Jolon Clark opposes the Task Force proposal because he believes it will not prevent the development of parking-free micro-units, but would exacerbate the problem in much of his district where older, two- and three-story buildings on small lots close to transit are common. “I can’t go back to the people I represent and say, ‘Sorry guys—nothing changes,’” he says. Espinoza and Kashmann have similar objections.

Nor, said Clark in an interview, is there any evidence that not providing parking encourages people to use other forms of transportation instead of their cars. “This is the wrong tool,” he says, “like changing a lightbulb with a screwdriver.” He proposes incorporating Transit Demand Management (TDM) tools into the zoning code, such as requiring tenants to pay for parking or providing RTD EcoPasses and bike facilities, rather than using the neighborhoods’ public space along the roadways to reduce developers’ construction costs. A June 2, 2015 online report by Reinventing Parking (reinventingparking.org) estimates that in Denver, providing parking adds about $17,000 per spot to developers’ construction costs.

Espinoza and Clark are also proposing four to six amendments to the Task Force proposal that would require developers to publish their rationale for parking exemptions, reduce the number of stories eligible for exemptions, and provide for neighborhood notification and comment, which would go before the zoning administrator.

“I am 100 percent in favor of [Clark’s] TDM proposal,” says Brooks. However, he will not support Clark’s amendments for two reasons. One is that “there is no substantiated evidence that these small lots are an issue in Denver today. The most egregious cases of development have substantially decreased. The market is taking care of this.” His second reason is that even if Clark’s amendments pass City Council, the Planning Department will reject them.

Several Council members thought the Task Force’s process was too rushed, and the materials provided by the Community Planning and Development staff were difficult to understand. The Planning Board sent the approved Task Force proposal to LUTI on Jan. 30. Councilman Paul López (District 3) requested an extension to the moratorium to allow further consideration.

Brooks insists that the Task Force process was long, diligent and inclusive. He chided Espinoza, saying District 1 had every opportunity to be represented and that city staff and the Task Force were confident that this proposal represented the best compromise “between concerned neighbors and those advocating to revitalize some of our stalled smaller lots.”

However, at City Council’s Feb. 21 meeting, Brooks proposed, and the Council agreed, to hold the bill in committee for one more week in order to file a 60-day extension to the moratorium to allow for further analysis. The second reading and public hearing for the Brooks proposal is now scheduled for April 17, and the probable new expiration date for the moratorium is May 26. The proposed zoning code amendments are available at denver.legistar.com. Search “small lot zone parking.”