Zone Districts:

People often need to know in which "zone district" a property is located. Zone districts are the part of the City of Denver code that defines allowable uses, where buildings may be situated on a property, how tall they may be, etc. This article is intended to provide a starting point for Baker residents to find out what they need to know about zone districts. These thoughts are not necessarily definitive or complete ... additions and clarifications welcome.

What zone district are you in?

To find your zone district, look up your property using the city zone district map.  Most, but not all of residential Baker is in zone district R-2-A. There are also homes in R-3, B-1, B-4, B-8, I-0 and I-1 zone districts. As a rule of thumb, the initial letter of the zone district indicates the type of use; R = Residential, B = Business, I = Industrial, etc., however uses aren't necessarily exclusive. The number is relative to the density. The -A in R-2-A indicates a higher density variant of R-2.

To get precise definitions of each zone district and links to the actual ordinances, use the zone district list on the city website.

R-2-A is defined briefly as:

R-2-A Multi-Unit Dwellings, Medium Density: 2,000 square feet of land required for each dwelling unit unless site plan is submitted under the Planned Building Group (PBG) provisions, in which case 1,500 square feet of land is required for each unit. Home occupations are allowed by permit. Density = 21.8 dwelling units/acre (29 unit/acre under PBG, depending on open-space requirements).

Setbacks & Bulk Plane:

Questions about setbacks and bulk plane are common. Many houses, built years before the current rules were imposed, violate the setback and bulk plane severely. Existing "violations" aren't an issue until a modification, such as a dormer or addition, is made.

The setback is how close to the property line you may build; for example in R-2-A the side setback is 5 feet, except for lots of 30 feet width or less, where the side setback is 3 feet. Obviously many older homes are closer than that. There are exceptions, for example in most cases a garage in the rear 1/3 of a lot may be built to the property line.

The bulk plane is an imaginary three-dimensional outline of how tall a building may be on various parts of the property. On the side of an R-2-A lot, the bulk plane starts 10 feet above the property line and continues toward the center of the lot at an angle of 45 degrees. In other words, you can build taller in the middle than at the edges of a lot.

Open Space:

With Baker's small lots, another common hiccup is that new construction, such as a garage, may consume too much of your lot to satisfy the open space requirement. Basically a certain percentage of your property must be reserved for lawn, walks, etc. For a single unit dwelling in the R-2-A zone, the unobstructed open space requirement is "three thousand (3,000) square feet unless the zone lot contains less than six thousand (6,000) square feet, in which event an area equal to at least one-half the area of the zone lot"

There are lots of fine points to these rules, and other zone districts have different rules, so when you actually plan to build, it's important to study the code or hire someone who knows it well. Another way to find out if you have a bulk plane, setback or open space problem is to simply submit your plans for a building permit. The City will deny your permit and state what the problem is. Your options will be to redraw the plans to eliminate the violation, or to seek a variance.

Constructing or Modifying a Building in Baker

This topic originated from an inquiry about building a new house on a lot in Baker, but all the information is relevant to making any kinds of major changes to any building in the neighborhood boundaries. These thoughts were merged from informal messages exchanged by members of the BHNA Zoning Committee, and are not necessarily definitive or complete ... additions and clarifications welcome.

Are you in the Landmark District?

First, determine whether the lot is within Baker's Historic Landmark District. Within the historic district, building a new structure, or any exterior work requiring a permit, entails review by the Landmark Preservation Commission. (Location within this district does not certify a structure as "historic" -- some structures are considered "non-contributing". There are also many buildings outside the district that have historic value, some of which have received separate designation, such as the Mayan Theatre.)

The basic idea is to submit your plans to scrutiny as to whether the construction will be consistent with the form and materials of historic homes in the neighborhood. The Commission's decisions are fairly subjective, so the first step would be to learn about the process and then to see if you can get an informal review of your preliminary plans, so you know you're going in the right direction before spending a lot of time on the design.

It may also help to engage an architect or builder who has worked with Denver's Historic Landmark ordinance, or similar.

Do you need a variance? Rezoning?

Some projects may also require a zoning variance if some aspect of the zoning code can't be met exactly, but the builder feels the project should still be allowed. A common reason is the difficulty meeting the city's rules for bulk plane and setbacks among Baker's closely spaced houses.

Variances, rezonings, special requests (such as for an overheight fence) and liquor licenses are the types of things in which BHNA will be formally involved. The stages of getting a zoning variance are:

1. apply at the Building Department for a permit;
2. a permit is denied since the plans don't meet zoning code;
3. file an appeal to the Board of Adjustment;
4. BHNA will be notified of the appea;
5. the BHNA Zoning Committee will consider the circumstances and recommend a position;
6. BHNA board or general membership will vote on a position and notify the city of the association's position;
7. Board of Adjustment hearing occurs with a result of either approve or deny plans, or a continuance for the applicant to revise plans or work out other issues.

As noted above, BHNA will be asked to submit a position to the Board of Adjustment, so it's good to plan to present your project to the BHNA Zoning Committee or the general membership. 

Whether or not the property is in the Landmark District, a potential builder should note that the Baker Neighborhood Plan has some fairly simple design guidelines for each part of the neighborhood that reflect what the city and Baker residents would hope to see. In certain areas, conformance with these guidelines could help get approval for a change in zoning. The plan is available as a large PDF download from the city website and also in the Ross-Broadway branch of the Denver Public Library (at Bayaud & Lincoln), and in the central library, as well.