Queen City Co-op Paves The Way For New Zoning Codes

Some laws are so neatly tucked inside their deep, legislative pool, you wouldn’t even know when or if you were breaking them. Queen City Co-op are a Denver-based housing cooperative working to update the city’s zoning code. The goal is to change the current definition for how many non-related adults are allowed to live in one household; the proposal is an increase from two adults to eight. The cooperative has been pushing to get their measure heard and voted on for two years, and this June, it will finally go in front of City Council.

The biggest issue that Queen City Cooperative is trying to tackle is the city’s strict requirement that a house and its occupants must be related to one another by either blood, marriage, or adoption to live under the same roof. There have been several instances where this law has incited discriminatory harassment simply because someone’s lifestyle is deemed “unconventional” by outdated standards.

Erin Cole, a PhD historian, wrote her dissertation on the ways in which neighborhoods and zoning administrators manipulated the law to enforce white power and pursue prejudice against race and sexuality. Cole is currently an exhibit developer at the Minnesota Historical Society in St. Paul, Minnesota, but at the time she wrote her thesis, she was an exhibit researcher and the assistant state historian at History Colorado in Denver.

According to Cole’s research, zoning codes were established during a post-World War II era in an effort to protect property values. However, there was an underlying motif to segregate minorities from up-and-coming neighborhoods as well as draw theoretical boundaries between the upper class and the poor. History has shown that this kind of exclusionary development has led to redlining, thus creating a stagnant inequality that remains to this day.

“White Denverites in older, upper-class neighborhoods liked R-0 zoning because they interpreted it as racial zoning by proxy. It could be used to keep Hispanic and African-American Denverites out of their neighborhoods, using family status as a stand-in for race,” Cole described in her thesis thesis.

R-0 zoning is the most restrictive form of the four-part code that was introduced in Denver in 1955, prohibiting any part of the property from being rented out. R-1 codes refer to single-family zoning, although cities across the country establish how many people are allowed to live in a single unit. Rigid codes have made it increasingly difficult for many who simply want to consolidate their living conditions and offset recent exponential rent hikes. Suburbs such as Lakewood, Arvada, and Parker have laxed zoning regulations and allow five or fewer unrelated adults to live together, which has driven many community-oriented households to relocate and lower their cost of living.

Paul Bindel, member of Queen City Co-op, has been working alongside Denver’s Community and Planning Department, or CPD, to pinpoint the issues integrated within the city’s code and find realistic ways to improve them. Councilwoman Candi CdeBaca has also been a long-time advocate for CPD’s efforts. In fact, displacement and other issues spurred by Denver zoning laws were her main drivers when she decided to run for city council. CdeBaca and Bindel’s main role has been to gain public support and rationalize how increasing the number of unrelated household members to eight adults will have lasting benefits to those in need or to those seeking out alternative lifestyles.

There have been many public meetings over the past two years to get members of the community involved, spread awareness, and hear their opinions. Bindel has been active at a majority of these meetings and illustrated how neighborhoods have been very reactive to the potential zoning changes. Many community members are worried that the increase in group living code will lead to homes full of ex-cons, people living with addictions, and even “frat-style” situations that may cause disturbances or excessive noise.

However, Bindel counters this argument by explaining that fear cannot be the only motivating factor when voting on this issue once it is on the ballot. Many of the demographics aforementioned are some of the most at-risk and in-need who deserve a chance to get back on their feet and maintain a support system. The new zoning code measure may provide greater potential for ex-cons and addicts to have a safer way to integrate themselves back into society. As it stands, those communities are exiled to outskirt neighborhoods because they aren’t provided with adequate resources or housing options.

Bindel, along with his household members from Queen City Cooperative, have tried to be an example to those wary of changing the law. He believes that as his house and its members represent themselves as pillars of the community, they will effectively show how beneficial their lifestyle can be. Bindel’s house has taken bold steps that many of their own friends and neighbors living in group-style homes are afraid to because they are vulnerable to repercussions by city officials.

“We are in violation of the group living zoning code, and we have come forward publicly from the beginning of this process because we want to be part of a solution in expanding the number of unrelated adults who can live together,” said Bindel.

Even in the wake of COVID-19, Bindel believes that he is extremely lucky to be surrounded by a supportive community while so many are isolated and alone through this crisis. He is confident that their household does not take the pandemic lightly, and they make conscious decisions daily to reduce exposure. They have frequent meetings to plan who leaves the house and whether it is truly necessary or not. Their heavy precautions allow them to live amongst supportive individuals in a safe environment without living in fear of the virus.

After the proposal goes in front of Denver’s city council, they will decide whether to support it or not. Advocates for the amendment hope that the council will take it into serious consideration before casting their vote, as it will affect the wide scale population.