A year-old Denver moratorium on some “slot homes” that use the garden-court form was extended through mid-2018 on Monday night by the City Council.
The unanimously approved 10-month extension of the restrictions, until June 4, will give city planners more time to propose wider zoning code changes that are under consideration for all slot homes. The presence of modern, blocky slot homes — typically attached townhomes or condos built perpendicular to the street — has roiled longtime residents in Cherry Creek North, Jefferson Park and other redeveloping neighborhoods.
Often they replace one or two single-family homes with a dozen or more units.
Last August, the council cracked down on the garden court type that councilmen Wayne New and Rafael Espinoza contended were exploiting the parameters in the zoning code. They pointed to existing and planned developments in which the “garden court” between buildings was narrow, often with just a walkway and little vegetation.
The moratorium still allows city permitting of proposed row home developments that use the garden court form as long as the court is at least as wide as the height of the buildings and the units are side by side, not stacked.
