An unintended consequence of the zoning regulations approved in Denver 2010 zoning code has been the proliferation of "slot homes": like rowhouses but without the street-facing entryways and engagement with the public realm.
"City planners proposed a set of new zoning rules Monday after grappling for more than a year with how to address complaints surrounding the influx of slot homes in fast-redeveloping neighborhoods including Jefferson Park, Five Points and Cherry Creek North," reports Jon Murray.
The primary complaint against slot homes is the lack of street-facing entryways, according to Murray—a design quirk that is not exclusive to Denver.
"Slot homes have drawn the most complaints when developers buy up one or two lots in a residential neighborhood and use zoning allowing rowhouses," according to Murray. "These aren’t traditional rowhomes: The buildings, to some, resemble shoe boxes, with all units built in a structure that’s perpendicular to the street, and often with a drive aisle and garages beneath."
The new zoning rules would amend Denver's 2010 zoning code with "more stringent" regulations on building orientation, setbacks, and height, among other metrics.
FULL STORY: Denver zoning amendment proposal would rein in “slot” homes in older neighborhoods
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Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
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Eagle County Government
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
Nashville Planning Department
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
Journal of the American Planning Association