The balance of power in the historic preservation process shifted slightly toward the preferences of property owners in Denver.
The Denver City Council recently approved a new law that provides property owners with recourse to oppose historic landmark designation.
Joe Rubino reports for the Denver Post: “The council voted unanimously Monday to grant property owners time to provide their own presentations explaining why they feel their property should not be a landmark if an application is filed against their will.”
The new law was crafted in response to the controversy surrounding a 2019 episode involving the location of Tom’s Diner at the corner of Colfax Avenue and Pearl Street in the city. The owners of the property opposed a landmark application filed for the property, and the City Council ended up stopping just short of the approval.
Previous to the new law, “applicants were given time to give a presentation stating their case for preservation but property owners had to sign up to speak as part of the broader public hearing, capping their time at three minutes,” according Rubino.
The new law will also change the process for creating historic districts in the city, according to Rubino. “Property owners in potential district boundaries can now cede their time to one speaker who can deliver a longer presentation.”
More on the controversies surrounding historic preservation in Denver is included in the source article, linked below.
FULL STORY: Citing Tom’s Diner saga, City Council tweaks Denver’s landmark ordinance
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