Page 15 - Denver, CO Adaptive Reuse Program

If the property is located in a designated incentive area, only a
building permit is required. If the property is not in an incentive
area, the Zoning Administrator conducts a “Discretionary Re-
view” and environmental clearance.

i. Flexibility Offered in LA
• No limit on density or FAR
• No additional parking requirement
• Nonconforming conditions, including setbacks, height and
floor area are grandfathered; no variances are required
• Exempt from site plan review

ii. Application of the Program
The initial ARO was adopted in 1999 and applied only to down-
town LA; however, in 2003, it was amended to include five other
mixed-use areas of the City. Another 2003 amendment permitted
adaptive reuse projects in commercial and high-density residen-
tial zones throughout the City, with the Zoning Administrator’s
approval.

iii. Staffing
The LA program is housed in the Department of Building and
Safety.

iv. Learning from the LA Adaptive Reuse Program
As the City of Denver works to create an adaptive reuse program,
key components from the Los Angeles program, which has been in
place for over 20 years, should be considered:
• Start small and expand when appropriate: When adopted,
the LA adaptive reuse program applied only to downtown.
As the program progressed and City staff learned about the
successes, an expanded geographical area was then viable, as
were expanded zone districts.
• Provide flexibility to adaptive reuse applicants: Key to the LA
program is the flexibilities that are offered to make adaptive
reuse viable. While the same flexibilities need not be adopt-
ed in Denver to create a successful program, the takeaway
is that flexibility is needed as current regulations are often The Los Angeles Adaptive Reuse Or-
geared towards new development. dinance was updated from its original
• Work with historic buildings: Historic buildings in LA have 1999 version to include more areas
been a key contributor to the expanded housing that is part the program applied to. The map
on the top illustrates the new areas,
of the adaptive reuse program. Working with the existing his- and two of those are enlarged in the
toric preservation regulations and review processes is import- following images.
ant in moving forward with adaptively reusing buildings.

Adaptive Reuse Strategy Paper 11