Planning Head Brad Buchanan Destroying Denver’s Neighborhoods

by Mark Smiley | Oct 24, 2014 | Editorials

An old proverb declares that “It’s a foolish bird that fouls its own nest.” Brad Buchanan, the beefy, bloated, ethically challenged, new executive director of Denver’s Department of Community Planning and Development is no one’s fool. Prior to taking on the top job in planning Denver’s future growth he moved out of the city, over an hour away to a 1,500 acre ranch on the Eastern Plains beside Kiowa Creek so he would not have to personally suffer from what he and the city government are doing to Denver’s neighborhoods one at a time.

Larry Ambrose, president of the Inter-Neighborhood Cooperation which is the umbrella group for all of Denver’s neighborhood associations, summed the situation up well when he told The Denver Post, “It’s very easy for Brad to come into the city and shove this density down our throats and then drive back home to his ranch.”

Considered by some an uninspiring and somewhat hackneyed architect he eventually became highly politically connected. He was the chairman of the Downtown Denver Partnership but hit real pay dirt when he was appointed to the Denver Planning Commission by then Mayor Hickenlooper. He eventually was made chairman of that entity. The 11 member board advises the mayor and Denver City Council on land use matters including making recommendations on rezoning requests.

There was no direct remuneration for the positions he held but he made the appointments highly profitable for himself. He became the man developers hired when they had a questionable project that had to get past the Planning Board. He was hired for the highly controversial Red Peak development at the Denver Highlands that many in the neighborhood considered the buildings too high and the density excessive for the historic area. The citizens unsuccessfully sued to stop the project.

He was also hired for the redevelopment at the St. Anthony’s Hospital site on West Colfax where his design included downtown density and heights in a single-family residential area. Ethical questions were raised by his actions including a formal complaint filed by former Denver City Council President Cathy Donahue who objected to his making presentations to the Planning Commission shortly after leaving as chairman, but to no avail. In Denver, ethics appears to offer little or no constraints to politically connected individuals like Brad Buchanan.

Mayor Michael Hancock declared that Buchanan was his “dream pick” which is very bad news for Denver’s neighborhoods. Buchanan has preached the need for ever more density in the form of high rise apartments and condos in every neighborhood across Denver. At the same time he opposes open space requirements that exist in the present code and intends to bring forward controversial amendments which will drastically limit open space requirements in large developments despite vociferous objections by neighborhood groups.

Upon being appointed executive director in March, Buchanan threw a bone to the neighborhood associations saying they will be notified of a rezoning application after it has been submitted a second time as opposed to after it has been formally vetted and approved. But neighborhood groups understand that the concession was one without any real meaning as they will have no possibility of any real input unless they are notified when the Planning Department first receives a request to rezone.

Neighborhood groups moreover realize the deck is stacked against them no matter when they are notified. As it stands the Denver Planning Department is little more than a minor speed bump today for well connected developers. The Planning Board is packed with pro-developer advocates appointed by Mayor Hancock who learned his lesson when a majority of the Denver Parks Board stood up to him over the Hentzell Park giveaway. He made sure anyone who opposed him was replaced by individuals who will do what they are told.

At one time being appointed to a volunteer board in Denver government was a mark of true honor and distinction. Under Hancock it has become something of a badge of shame as appointees are viewed for the most part as pliable hacks that will do the Mayor’s bidding without question or independent judgment.

Buchanan has expressed his admiration for cities that have incorporated “incredible density” such as Singapore. He has also repeatedly toted “walkability” by which he means citizens in new developments with minimal required parking will be forced to walk in the shadows of towering apartment and office buildings. The walking will be in an urban setting devoid of trees or grass or anything else that once served as open space. Under Buchanan paved streets are in some cases argued to be what serves as open space in the new Denver.

He has personally helped in the design of some of the worst projects and ugliest developments in Denver from the Highlands to Sloan’s Lake. His appointment means no neighborhood is safe from a high density makeover as the denizens of Cherry Creek, Observatory Park and the Country Club areas have discovered, to their chagrin.

Buchanan wants to place the majority of the residents of Denver into dense vertical structures with families living in 1,000 square feet or less of living space while he and his wife and two children enjoy the luxury of 1,500 acres of land in Strasburg, at his Flying B Bar Ranch. As the pig Napoleon declared in George Orwell’s Animal Farm: “All animals are equal; but some are more equal than others.”

Brad Buchanan most definitely sees himself as being one of the “more equal” animals. His appointment was a disgrace — what he is doing to the formerly livable neighborhoods should be a crime. Instead, it is deemed “progress” in Michael Hancock’s Denver.

— Editorial Board