The Urban Dweller: A Publication by Capitol Hill United Neighborhoods Inc.

              The Urban Dweller is a monthly publication of Capitol Hill United Neighborhoods
(CHUN), 1290 Williams; 388-2716.
THE URBAN DWELLED FEB. 'si
aM-M-__-__M___H__-----HH
Height Variance Victories
Grant St. Project Redrawn
The Denver Housing Authority (DHA) has
announced it will not seek a variance from
the City Park Mountain View ordinance for
its housing project at 17th & Grant.
Originally designed as a 34-story tower,
DHA's plans had been modified to provide
for "only" a 28-story stepped tower.  The
view ordinance restricts the height of
buildings in this area to 15 stories.
After CHUN and other neighborhood
groups expressed their strong opposition
to any height variance—especially by a
public benefit corporation—DHA went back
to the drawing board.  The result was two
15-story buildings and an eight story
structure, with no height variance needed.
Mike Sears, assistant executive
director of DHA, readily admitted that
CHUN "played a good part in DHA changing
its perceptions and taking a second look
at its plans."
DHA and Sears are to be congratulated
for their willingness to work with the
neighborhood.  More housing is needed in
North Capitol Hill and downtown, and CHUN
looks forward to continued cooperation
with the Housing Authority.
HEy You! ItsTiMeToRenew
Remember to renew your CHUN membership.  Use the handy form on the last
page of this newsletter.  There's not
a better deal in the neighborhood!
Civic Center Ordinance
Will Not Be Violated
The Larken Development Group, a
Canadian organization, has withdrawn its
request for a variance from the Civic
Center height control ordinance.  Larken
has sought a variance as part of its
development of the Centre Theater property
on 16th Street.
A variance was issued by the Board of
Plan Enforcement Review and Variation
(Review Board) in October, 1980, contingent upon Larken Development's obtaining
a bulk structure variance from the Board
of Adjustment.  After failing to get this
bulk structure variance, Larken redesigned
its building so that it would no longer
need such a variance, but would still
require the height variance.  A second
variance request was then filed with the
Review Board.
CHUN objected strenuously to the first
variance granted by the Review Board, and
filed a lawsuit against the Board in
November, 1980.  The suit alleged the
Board had acted arbitrarily in granting
the variance because the developer had
presented insufficient evidence to
support a variance.
The City of Denver attempted to have
CHUN's lawsuit dismissed because CHUN did
not appear at the hearing to consider
Larken's variance request.  CHUN was prepared to argue that it had no duty to
attend because the Review Board had given
inadequate notice of its meeting.     M
Continued on page 4