Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Let me start this segment by reading just a couple
of sentences for you, and you could you're gonna learn
more about this issue if you go to Saveold Littleton
dot Com. I'll just tell you that upfront, and I'll
tell you again Saveoldlittleton dot Com. Littleton City Council shocked
homeowners over the holidays with plans that threaten the future
of the single family detached home designation in its zoning regulations.
(00:20):
The single family home zoning could soon be replaced with
new zoning aim to significantly increase neighborhood density with duplexus, triplexes,
and four plexes.
Speaker 2 (00:28):
Across the city.
Speaker 1 (00:29):
They quote a woman named Laura Gabriel, former chair of
Littleton Historic Preservation Board, who says if this has approved,
it will totally and forever change our city into something
no one will recognize in a few years. Joining us
to talk about it, Jane Brennan and Chip Blocked, two
of the founding members.
Speaker 2 (00:45):
There are others.
Speaker 1 (00:46):
Two of the founding members of Save Old Littleton.
Speaker 2 (00:49):
Jane and Chip, welcome to KOA.
Speaker 3 (00:51):
Thanks for joining us than I.
Speaker 1 (00:54):
A friend of mine who lives in Littleton sent me this,
and I used to live in Littleton.
Speaker 2 (00:57):
I know these areas that.
Speaker 1 (00:58):
You're talking about, and we don't have a times.
Speaker 2 (01:00):
So why don't we just jump right into whichever of you.
Speaker 1 (01:02):
Wants to start, just explain the issue and then I
want to get.
Speaker 2 (01:05):
Into some of the politics behind it.
Speaker 4 (01:06):
Thanks so much, I really appreciate you having us. First
of all, it was obviously not on our BINGO card
for twenty twenty five to be here today, but we
learned about this measure of three weeks ago.
Speaker 2 (01:16):
We've done a deep.
Speaker 4 (01:16):
Dive as a core group of about twelve volunteers trying
to understand exactly what's been going on behind the scenes
of the city of Littleton. So basically, the way I
phrased this is the city of Littleton is about to
drop a mass density bomb on the entire city and
change the zoning that's been established for decades from single
(01:37):
family housing to as you mentioned, duplex, triplex and multiplexes.
That will forever change the character of a city that
has been known for kind of the escape enclave to
get away from density in the city and County of
Denver and get to open space and wonderful trails and
(01:58):
just a really wonderful way of life.
Speaker 1 (02:00):
So so does this mean chip that in a neighborhood
that I'm used to seeing in Littleton.
Speaker 2 (02:05):
Let's say when I.
Speaker 1 (02:06):
Lived over there my kids, you know, neighborhood high school
would have been Heritag High School, so I know that
area a little bit lots of single family homes.
Speaker 2 (02:13):
Would this mean that somebody could knock.
Speaker 1 (02:16):
Down one of those single family homes and build a
triplex on that land?
Speaker 2 (02:21):
You're exactly right.
Speaker 3 (02:22):
Ross, Virtually every single single family home is at risk
as long as you're lot is a three thousand square
feet are above Welch, would you know? You're right away
up over a ninety ninety five percent of all the
single family homes. So yeah, it would forever change the
personality in the character of our city.
Speaker 1 (02:40):
So, as I mentioned to you before we started talking,
I have a lot of sympathy for property rights.
Speaker 2 (02:47):
So I would like you to.
Speaker 1 (02:48):
Convince me why why should the government not allow somebody
who owns that house to sell it and let a
duplex or triplex be there.
Speaker 3 (03:01):
Yeah, and I agree with you, home ownership property rights
should be pretty fast and far reaching, right up until
the point that you impede or you harm one of
your neighbors or surrounding areas. And this is probably the
best way of describing it is that, yes, it.
Speaker 2 (03:19):
Is hurting other homeowners.
Speaker 3 (03:22):
It is not in character with what has already going
on and what these people have really bought.
Speaker 2 (03:28):
Into that we bought into.
Speaker 3 (03:29):
We bought into single family neighborhoods that have nice yards
and things like that. And we believe that this is
attempting to be changed by some special interest groups or
a special interest group that has got a narrow minded
target for profitability.
Speaker 2 (03:49):
Geane, it occurs to me that conceptually.
Speaker 1 (03:54):
This kind of change could allow for more affordable housing
to be built in places where housing is currently expensive.
But our mutual friend told me that in practice what
happens is they take down single family homes and build
really expensive town homes that aren't actually creating more affordable housing.
Speaker 2 (04:12):
Is that what you would expect. That's exactly right, Ross.
Speaker 4 (04:16):
This is not about affordable housing, and the city Council
has on numerous occasions stressed that this is not about
affordable housing.
Speaker 2 (04:24):
We need affordable housing.
Speaker 4 (04:26):
What we don't need our builders and developers tearing down
five hundred thousand dollars homes and in actuality what they're
putting up. Our homes are two, three, four units that
start at a million dollars. That kind of supply chain
is not where we are lacking. The citizens of Littleton
have asked for more affordable housing, not multimillion dollar housing.
Speaker 1 (04:50):
One of the things I wonder about either one of
you can can respond to this. We've got two and
a half minutes left. Did this drop on you like
a big surprise? Do you think the city ca and
I want to ask you to be as honest as possible.
Here was the city council pretty transparent about this and
people just weren't paying attention.
Speaker 2 (05:08):
So you're so you're surprised by it?
Speaker 1 (05:10):
Or do you think the city council did this in
a way that they're trying to kind of get something
by you.
Speaker 2 (05:16):
I think you hit the nail on the head.
Speaker 3 (05:18):
If if we were to show up at a meeting
and maybe a handful of people don't know what's going on,
shame on us.
Speaker 2 (05:25):
Okay, maybe a dozen or two.
Speaker 3 (05:26):
But we have really heard back from thousands, literally thousands
of people that have said they knew nothing about it,
you know, and and this going on over the holidays.
For a January seventh, ultimate vote on this it really
really smells of something a little bit more sinister. We're
trying to get to the bottom of it, but if
(05:47):
you just connect these dots yet, it just doesn't pass
the sniff test.
Speaker 2 (05:51):
And one other thing.
Speaker 3 (05:53):
Is well, our city council has said they've checked every
quote box that made it available, the information of it
able to us. At the end of the day, not
one piece of literature or information went out uh to
the residents. Not one. Our city council members said, well,
it was a cost issue, but yeah, what's the cost
(06:14):
for a three by five card to least get more
community involvement with a with a decision that is so
wide blanketed across the entire city.
Speaker 1 (06:23):
Did they send an email blast about it?
Speaker 2 (06:25):
No, sir, nothing nothing.
Speaker 3 (06:27):
As a matter of fact, they manipulated the wording and
a lot of the meetings to not say up zoning,
to not say zoning in general. But they used some
clandestine terminology so that when we went back through the
a lot of the previous meetings and and things, it
just didn't it didn't cop up all.
Speaker 2 (06:46):
Right, So we have about a minute left.
Speaker 1 (06:47):
Jane, I would like to know what you would like
to tell residents of Littleton to do in order to
learn more and then and then if they decide that
they agree with you, uh, to try to do some
thing to pause and or stop this change.
Speaker 4 (07:03):
Well, we have until we have about twenty eight thirty
hours until the vote tomorrow night, and the door's open
at five o'clock at the City and County Building, the
City Building in Old Littleton, and we're inviting as many
opponents as possible who are willing to stand up and.
Speaker 2 (07:21):
Say their peace.
Speaker 4 (07:24):
And do I think that we're going to get the
block that we want on this vote. No, I think
this is already cooked, which is really disappointing. But this
group save Old Littleton is prepared for the long game,
and we are prepared to take this to a referendum
and take it where it should have gone to begin with,
and that is to a vote to our constituents so
(07:47):
that they can be heart Okay, so.
Speaker 1 (07:50):
It sounds like your expectation is the city Council has
made up their mind and you're going to have to
put this on this November's next Novembers.
Speaker 4 (08:00):
I understand it would probably be November twenty twenty five,
and it involves a great deal of expense, yeah, and
knocking on doors getting petitions, yeah.
Speaker 2 (08:10):
I mean, we don't want to go down that road road.
Speaker 4 (08:13):
We would much rather be invited to have a seat
at the table, have some meaningful dialogue, and wrap this
thing up for the better of the community.
Speaker 2 (08:21):
I have to say, I find it a strange thing.
Speaker 1 (08:24):
I understand if you might hear some municipalities saying we're
going to change zoning so that we can build some
more stuff because we want to make some housing more affordable.
But when you have a plan that looks more like
knocking down a half a million dollar house to build three,
you know, three quarters of a million or million or
million and a quarter dollar town homes, you're certainly not
(08:45):
doing anything to make housing more affordable. You're just jamming
more rich people into a neighborhood, more traffic, more everything,
and changing the character of the neighborhood.
Speaker 2 (08:53):
So I understand your your objections.
Speaker 1 (08:56):
People, please go to Stable Littleton dot com and once
again where and when tomorrow for people who live in
Littleton and want to come raise their objections.
Speaker 4 (09:05):
Doors open at five o'clock. If you want to speak,
you need to get there early, get your name on
a list, and the meeting starts.
Speaker 2 (09:11):
At six thirty.
Speaker 1 (09:12):
And what's the address of the building or the name
of the building. Is it Littleton?
Speaker 3 (09:16):
Not city?
Speaker 2 (09:17):
Yeah? City, city, City, the city building there on Berry Street. Okay,
I'll see.
Speaker 1 (09:22):
I'll see if I can get the twenty two fifty
five West Burry Avenue.
Speaker 2 (09:28):
I think you are faster than I am.
Speaker 1 (09:30):
Twenty two to fifty five Westbury Avenue in Littleton, be
there at five pm tomorrow.
Speaker 2 (09:34):
If you live in Littleton and you have a problem
with this, on the.
Speaker 1 (09:38):
Surface, it sounds it sounds kind of corrupt, So we'll
see what happens.
Speaker 2 (09:43):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (09:44):
Thank you so much Jane and Chip for coming into
the studio and for taking on this effort.
Speaker 2 (09:48):
And we'll keep in touch. Thanks so much. Dress
Let me start this segment by reading just a couple
of sentences for you, and you could you're gonna learn
more about this issue if you go to Saveold Littleton
dot Com. I'll just tell you that upfront, and I'll
tell you again Saveoldlittleton dot Com. Littleton City Council shocked
homeowners over the holidays with plans that threaten the future
of the single family detached home designation in its zoning regulations.
(00:20):
The single family home zoning could soon be replaced with
new zoning aim to significantly increase neighborhood density with duplexus, triplexes,
and four plexes.
Speaker 2 (00:28):
Across the city.
Speaker 1 (00:29):
They quote a woman named Laura Gabriel, former chair of
Littleton Historic Preservation Board, who says if this has approved,
it will totally and forever change our city into something
no one will recognize in a few years. Joining us
to talk about it, Jane Brennan and Chip Blocked, two
of the founding members.
Speaker 2 (00:45):
There are others.
Speaker 1 (00:46):
Two of the founding members of Save Old Littleton.
Speaker 2 (00:49):
Jane and Chip, welcome to KOA.
Speaker 3 (00:51):
Thanks for joining us than I.
Speaker 1 (00:54):
A friend of mine who lives in Littleton sent me this,
and I used to live in Littleton.
Speaker 2 (00:57):
I know these areas that.
Speaker 1 (00:58):
You're talking about, and we don't have a times.
Speaker 2 (01:00):
So why don't we just jump right into whichever of you.
Speaker 1 (01:02):
Wants to start, just explain the issue and then I
want to get.
Speaker 2 (01:05):
Into some of the politics behind it.
Speaker 4 (01:06):
Thanks so much, I really appreciate you having us. First
of all, it was obviously not on our BINGO card
for twenty twenty five to be here today, but we
learned about this measure of three weeks ago.
Speaker 2 (01:16):
We've done a deep.
Speaker 4 (01:16):
Dive as a core group of about twelve volunteers trying
to understand exactly what's been going on behind the scenes
of the city of Littleton. So basically, the way I
phrased this is the city of Littleton is about to
drop a mass density bomb on the entire city and
change the zoning that's been established for decades from single
(01:37):
family housing to as you mentioned, duplex, triplex and multiplexes.
That will forever change the character of a city that
has been known for kind of the escape enclave to
get away from density in the city and County of
Denver and get to open space and wonderful trails and
(01:58):
just a really wonderful way of life.
Speaker 1 (02:00):
So so does this mean chip that in a neighborhood
that I'm used to seeing in Littleton.
Speaker 2 (02:05):
Let's say when I.
Speaker 1 (02:06):
Lived over there my kids, you know, neighborhood high school
would have been Heritag High School, so I know that
area a little bit lots of single family homes.
Speaker 2 (02:13):
Would this mean that somebody could knock.
Speaker 1 (02:16):
Down one of those single family homes and build a
triplex on that land?
Speaker 2 (02:21):
You're exactly right.
Speaker 3 (02:22):
Ross, Virtually every single single family home is at risk
as long as you're lot is a three thousand square
feet are above Welch, would you know? You're right away
up over a ninety ninety five percent of all the
single family homes. So yeah, it would forever change the
personality in the character of our city.
Speaker 1 (02:40):
So, as I mentioned to you before we started talking,
I have a lot of sympathy for property rights.
Speaker 2 (02:47):
So I would like you to.
Speaker 1 (02:48):
Convince me why why should the government not allow somebody
who owns that house to sell it and let a
duplex or triplex be there.
Speaker 3 (03:01):
Yeah, and I agree with you, home ownership property rights
should be pretty fast and far reaching, right up until
the point that you impede or you harm one of
your neighbors or surrounding areas. And this is probably the
best way of describing it is that, yes, it.
Speaker 2 (03:19):
Is hurting other homeowners.
Speaker 3 (03:22):
It is not in character with what has already going
on and what these people have really bought.
Speaker 2 (03:28):
Into that we bought into.
Speaker 3 (03:29):
We bought into single family neighborhoods that have nice yards
and things like that. And we believe that this is
attempting to be changed by some special interest groups or
a special interest group that has got a narrow minded
target for profitability.
Speaker 2 (03:49):
Geane, it occurs to me that conceptually.
Speaker 1 (03:54):
This kind of change could allow for more affordable housing
to be built in places where housing is currently expensive.
But our mutual friend told me that in practice what
happens is they take down single family homes and build
really expensive town homes that aren't actually creating more affordable housing.
Speaker 2 (04:12):
Is that what you would expect. That's exactly right, Ross.
Speaker 4 (04:16):
This is not about affordable housing, and the city Council
has on numerous occasions stressed that this is not about
affordable housing.
Speaker 2 (04:24):
We need affordable housing.
Speaker 4 (04:26):
What we don't need our builders and developers tearing down
five hundred thousand dollars homes and in actuality what they're
putting up. Our homes are two, three, four units that
start at a million dollars. That kind of supply chain
is not where we are lacking. The citizens of Littleton
have asked for more affordable housing, not multimillion dollar housing.
Speaker 1 (04:50):
One of the things I wonder about either one of
you can can respond to this. We've got two and
a half minutes left. Did this drop on you like
a big surprise? Do you think the city ca and
I want to ask you to be as honest as possible.
Here was the city council pretty transparent about this and
people just weren't paying attention.
Speaker 2 (05:08):
So you're so you're surprised by it?
Speaker 1 (05:10):
Or do you think the city council did this in
a way that they're trying to kind of get something
by you.
Speaker 2 (05:16):
I think you hit the nail on the head.
Speaker 3 (05:18):
If if we were to show up at a meeting
and maybe a handful of people don't know what's going on,
shame on us.
Speaker 2 (05:25):
Okay, maybe a dozen or two.
Speaker 3 (05:26):
But we have really heard back from thousands, literally thousands
of people that have said they knew nothing about it,
you know, and and this going on over the holidays.
For a January seventh, ultimate vote on this it really
really smells of something a little bit more sinister. We're
trying to get to the bottom of it, but if
(05:47):
you just connect these dots yet, it just doesn't pass
the sniff test.
Speaker 2 (05:51):
And one other thing.
Speaker 3 (05:53):
Is well, our city council has said they've checked every
quote box that made it available, the information of it
able to us. At the end of the day, not
one piece of literature or information went out uh to
the residents. Not one. Our city council members said, well,
it was a cost issue, but yeah, what's the cost
(06:14):
for a three by five card to least get more
community involvement with a with a decision that is so
wide blanketed across the entire city.
Speaker 1 (06:23):
Did they send an email blast about it?
Speaker 2 (06:25):
No, sir, nothing nothing.
Speaker 3 (06:27):
As a matter of fact, they manipulated the wording and
a lot of the meetings to not say up zoning,
to not say zoning in general. But they used some
clandestine terminology so that when we went back through the
a lot of the previous meetings and and things, it
just didn't it didn't cop up all.
Speaker 2 (06:46):
Right, So we have about a minute left.
Speaker 1 (06:47):
Jane, I would like to know what you would like
to tell residents of Littleton to do in order to
learn more and then and then if they decide that
they agree with you, uh, to try to do some
thing to pause and or stop this change.
Speaker 4 (07:03):
Well, we have until we have about twenty eight thirty
hours until the vote tomorrow night, and the door's open
at five o'clock at the City and County Building, the
City Building in Old Littleton, and we're inviting as many
opponents as possible who are willing to stand up and.
Speaker 2 (07:21):
Say their peace.
Speaker 4 (07:24):
And do I think that we're going to get the
block that we want on this vote. No, I think
this is already cooked, which is really disappointing. But this
group save Old Littleton is prepared for the long game,
and we are prepared to take this to a referendum
and take it where it should have gone to begin with,
and that is to a vote to our constituents so
(07:47):
that they can be heart Okay, so.
Speaker 1 (07:50):
It sounds like your expectation is the city Council has
made up their mind and you're going to have to
put this on this November's next Novembers.
Speaker 4 (08:00):
I understand it would probably be November twenty twenty five,
and it involves a great deal of expense, yeah, and
knocking on doors getting petitions, yeah.
Speaker 2 (08:10):
I mean, we don't want to go down that road road.
Speaker 4 (08:13):
We would much rather be invited to have a seat
at the table, have some meaningful dialogue, and wrap this
thing up for the better of the community.
Speaker 2 (08:21):
I have to say, I find it a strange thing.
Speaker 1 (08:24):
I understand if you might hear some municipalities saying we're
going to change zoning so that we can build some
more stuff because we want to make some housing more affordable.
But when you have a plan that looks more like
knocking down a half a million dollar house to build three,
you know, three quarters of a million or million or
million and a quarter dollar town homes, you're certainly not
(08:45):
doing anything to make housing more affordable. You're just jamming
more rich people into a neighborhood, more traffic, more everything,
and changing the character of the neighborhood.
Speaker 2 (08:53):
So I understand your your objections.
Speaker 1 (08:56):
People, please go to Stable Littleton dot com and once
again where and when tomorrow for people who live in
Littleton and want to come raise their objections.
Speaker 4 (09:05):
Doors open at five o'clock. If you want to speak,
you need to get there early, get your name on
a list, and the meeting starts.
Speaker 2 (09:11):
At six thirty.
Speaker 1 (09:12):
And what's the address of the building or the name
of the building. Is it Littleton?
Speaker 3 (09:16):
Not city?
Speaker 2 (09:17):
Yeah? City, city, City, the city building there on Berry Street. Okay,
I'll see.
Speaker 1 (09:22):
I'll see if I can get the twenty two fifty
five West Burry Avenue.
Speaker 2 (09:28):
I think you are faster than I am.
Speaker 1 (09:30):
Twenty two to fifty five Westbury Avenue in Littleton, be
there at five pm tomorrow.
Speaker 2 (09:34):
If you live in Littleton and you have a problem
with this, on the.
Speaker 1 (09:38):
Surface, it sounds it sounds kind of corrupt, So we'll
see what happens.
Speaker 2 (09:43):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (09:44):
Thank you so much Jane and Chip for coming into
the studio and for taking on this effort.
Speaker 2 (09:48):
And we'll keep in touch. Thanks so much. Dress
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