The Denver City Council voted unanimously Monday to approve a legislative zoning reclassification of multiple properties in five Denver neighborhoods that make up the “near southeast area.”

The reclassification has two primary goals, according to city officials. The first is to improve design standards in centers and corridors such as Colorado Boulevard, Evans Avenue and Leetsdale Drive. The second is to rezone properties out of the former Chapter 59 and into the city’s new zoning code.

Adopted by the city in May of 2023, the Near Southeast Area Plan outlines a vision for the neighborhoods of Goldsmith, Indian Creek, University Hills North, Virginia Village and Washington, Virginia Vale. In this area, the plan covers a portion of southeast Denver, roughly between Alameda Avenue and Yale Avenue, and between Colorado Boulevard and Quebec Street.

The idea is to allow for future development in the centers and corridors that is more welcoming and pedestrian-friendly by requiring buildings to be closer to the street with parking in the rear and drive-throughs when allowed to be located behind buildings, explained Principal City Planner Fran Penafiel.

“The rezoning, in most cases, will not prohibit drive-thrus or gas station uses, but it would require the building design to be more inviting and safer for pedestrians,” Penafiel said.

The rezoning does not change existing uses or buildings on a property; it sets rules in place should a property owner choose to make changes to their property in the future.

City officials said extreme care had been taken to ensure residents and businesses were in step with the proposed plan, citing more than two years of public outreach before the plan’s adoption in 2023.

“This was 18 months’ worth of a lot of detail work, but it was worth it, and it’s really, really exciting that we’re here tonight,” District 5 Councilmember Amanda Sawyer said.

“I was trying to explain it to a new staff member, and the best example I could give is as you’re driving down Monaco, as you’re driving down Evans, as you’re driving down Leetsdale, all of the buildings are set back, and all of the parking lots are in the front, and it’s car-centered, and it’s ugly, and it’s not welcoming to pedestrians, and it is not place-making, and it is not any of these things — and in rezoning the properties in the way that we have, what you will see in 20 years as these properties start to redevelop is the properties close to the street and the parking lot in the back, welcoming for pedestrians, welcoming for community, welcoming for small businesses.”