AURORA | The city is examining best practices for informing nearby neighbors about proposed developments and could expand noticing requirements and allow more residents to appeal decisions.

The city currently has limited noticing for proposed developments, which has caused consternation with neighbors when they find out about certain projects. One recent example was the community backlash to a proposed gas station and liquor store near the Harmony neighborhood.

At the Aug. 10 study session, city council directed staff to explore changes to the unified development ordinance, which is the guiding code for all development in the city, to address community concerns with the development process.

Some of the changes the city is looking at include notifying property owners within a fixed distance, requiring signs at the site when an application is submitted and expanding who can appeal decisions. 

City officials are also considering reducing noticing requirements for developments that are approved administratively since they are not discretionary decisions. Some kinds of developments, like accessory dwelling units, don’t require a public hearing and are approved administratively, though adjacent property owners are still notified about applications.

City planner Sarah Wile said the goal is to engage residents on discretionary decisions, while not seeking feedback on developments “when it might not actually matter in the end decision because it meets code,” and therefore must be approved. 

The existing process starts when the city initially notifies adjacent property owners and community organizations within a mile of proposed developments after an application is submitted for approval. Then a neighborhood meeting is scheduled during the review process to address comments from neighbors. While all developments are required to have a neighborhood meeting, it can be waived if no comments are received in the initial review period.

After the application is reviewed by staff and the neighborhood meeting is held, proposals either go to a public hearing or are administratively approved. Developments that need a code adjustment or are allowed on conditional use go to public hearings. At a public hearing, the planning and zoning commission will approve, modify or deny a proposal. 

Developers have to notify adjacent property owners and community organizations within a mile of the development when a public hearing is scheduled. Signs must be posted on the development site 10 days prior to the public hearing, but signs are currently not required to be posted when a development application is submitted.

Appeals, including for administrative decisions, can be filed by adjacent property owners within 10 days of a decision and go to city council. City council can also appeal decisions made by the planning and zoning commission.

A handful of other Denver metro area cities send development notices to property owners within a larger radius. Denver mails notices for property owners up to 200 feet away, Boulder sends them to property owners within 300 to 600 feet and Colorado Springs notices owners within 1,000 feet.

For appeals, metro area cities have a range of approaches, with Denver and Boulder allowing anyone to appeal development decisions, while Colorado Springs limits it to applicants and participants in the review process.

Several council members, including Alison Coombs and Amy Wiles, voiced support for changing the code to inform more residents about potential projects in their area. Coombs also suggested including tenants and renters in noticing requirements, as well as property owners. 

“We have heard a lot from folks who are not adjacent property owners who feel like ‘Oh, this just got thrown down in my community and no one was going to tell me anything about it,’” Coombs said.

Councilmember Françoise Bergan said she would likely oppose changes to the development process, citing the potential increased cost of more mailed notifications and the chance for projects to be delayed by people who won’t necessarily be impacted by the development. One change she did not oppose was adding signage to a development site when an application is submitted.

“We have a lot of development going through every single year and it might give people a false sense of being able to change (a development) when it meets all code,” Bergan said. 

Following the study session discussion, city staff are working on drafting potential changes for review and approval. A timeline for the potential changes estimate they will be adopted later this year. 

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