B-3 building height

A Midtown residential property owner since 1998, he asked the board to recommend cutting the B-3 height cap to 60 feet and requiring zone edge transitions on all streets and alleys regardless of width, arguing 90-foot by-right buildings don't fit the city's strategic or community plans.

A Northside/Midtown resident argued 90-foot B-3 buildings would unfairly burden neighboring residential owners through shadows and would weaken affordable housing incentives; he asked the board to recommend cutting the cap to 60 or 70 feet, opposed allowing land strips to dodge transition requirements, and urged a 100-foot right-of-way transition standard.

The Baxter developer urged the board NOT to raise the height limit, saying developers always build to whatever allowance they're given, warned 90 feet plus bonus density could mean 110-foot buildings, and cited successful downtowns like Charleston and Boulder with 50-foot limits.

A Bogert Park resident criticized the process that raised the cap from 70 to 90 feet, noting the 2019 downtown plan recommended 10-foot stepbacks for buildings over four stories that never made it into the final code, and said newcomers dislike the canyon-like feel of tall walls.