DU local/neighborhood activists: a little advice, please.

[smoogatz]

Our neighborhood association is in the early stages of what will doubtless become a battle royale over a development proposal by a bunch of shady, out-of-town real estate creeps. Here's the skinny: we live in a nice/historic residential neighborhood (the Third Ward) in a college town (about 12,000 students). Our property taxes are shockingly high, and building/development codes are strict: it's illegal, for instance, to build an apartment over a detached garage, because the zoning board wants to limit population density for a variety of reasons. The Third Ward is a twenty-or-so-block enclave which is walking-distance to the main university campus. It's mixed residential—some student housing closer to the U, but mostly single family and a few older duplexes. We're an economic mix, too—lots of university types (professors and staff), but lots of working-class people, too. Our next-door neighbor runs a janitorial service, for instance. Enter shady developers: they've bought up three contiguous properties on a busy street bordering the Third Ward, very near the U. Two of these properties are large, historic (late 19th century) homes in good condition; the third is in poor condition but of the same era. These properties are in a mixed residential area, surrounded by mostly single family homes, but with a big, old houses converted to apartments nearby. What the shady developers are proposing: replacing two of the three homes with a 3-story supervised apartment building with some retail included. It would be 53 units, with a potential 153 residents, and 67 underground parking stalls. The third home would be converted to an entry/office structure, apparently. Obviously, it's a disaster for the neighborhood on its face: the 86-stall parking shortfall alone is a nightmare in the making, not to mention the additional traffic, noise, strain on the infrastructure, disastrous effect on the property values of neighboring homes, months of construction noise/chaos and general disruption of the neighborhood dynamic. At a neighborhood meeting last night, residents voted unanimously against the new development. The developers (present at the time) plan to seek the necessary zoning variances anyway. So my question is, what do we do next? Contact the zoning board? Go to city council or the town manager? Circulate petitions? All of the above?

[pinto]

1. A suggestion:

Follow your local process up the chain, Historic Preservation Board, Zoning Board, City Council. All should hold public comment meetings for input. Circulate a petition to get signed local support, then go en mass and speak up with your neighborhood group's opposition points. The more specific you can be (parking/traffic, etc.) the more compelling your argument. Good luck!

[TreasonousBastard]

2. All of the above. I've never been drectly involved in any...

of these battles, but I've seen a lot of them. One's happening in the next town over right now.

From what I've seen, first you get around the neighborhood to find out who's opposed to the plan and who's willing to fight, including possibly tossing some money in a pot for expenses, some of which could be legal. Developers almost always have lawyers arguing proposals, and so should you. You might even get some pro-bono help, or at least a discount.

Any organizations already existing who could be persuaded to publicly oppose the project should be contaced and worked with-- preservationists, conservationists, historical societies, churches... Even the Chamber of Commerce if this could somehow screw up bidness. Local business owners are usually listened to, so should be recruited if they oppose it. Has the college taken a position?

You have to find who your gummint allies are-- some on the zoniong board, town council, etc, will love the idea, some will hate it, and some won't give a shit one way or the other. Your goal is getting a majority to hate it.

Put your opposition into writing and hit every board and bureau that could haver an effect, and don't EVER miss a hearing. Again, having a good lawyer or experienced advocate on your side helps to avoid piptfalls and wasted time in you oppositiion arguments and hearing counterproposals.

You might not be able kill the plan entirely, so have suggested alternate plans thought out. Developers and zoning boards are often persuaded to do a smaller scale development.

And don't go into this fight half-assedly. Devlopers have gobs of money behind them, and they are fighting for their lives-- they don't make money if they don't build. They may fight dirty, or they may not, but they will fight hard. Expect lots of bad news along the way, but don't give up.