Tuesday's mail-in vote by residents of Greenwood Village to overwhelmingly reject a city-council approved plan to allow mixed-use development at a light rail station is a major setback for smart growth proponents.

Residents of Greenwood Village, pop. 15,000, in Arapahoe County outside Denvery rejected by over 75 percent a general plan amendment approved by the Planning and Zoning Commission and City Council to allow mixed-used development at Orchard Station.
"A 'no' vote — no to the idea of amending the city’s comprehensive [or general] plan to encourage taller buildings and multifamily housing at the site — would have Greenwood Village bucking the trend of the last decade of embracing transit oriented developments," reports John Aguilar for The Denver Post on Monday, June 5.
Trail to the ballot box
"At issue is the draft Orchard Station Subarea [pdf] plan, an amendment to the city's comprehensive plan that would enable $1.4 billion in development on 44 acres near the Orchard Station on the RTD's E and F [and R] light rail lines," states a post in February by Planetizen editor James Brasuell on the controversial development.
"An updated version of the Orchard Station Subarea Plan was approved by the Council on a 5-3 vote on March 20, moments before council members unanimously decided to let voters make the final decision this summer on whether to adopt the plan," reported Joe Rubino in April for The Denver Post. Earlier, Mayor Ron Rakowsky had "vowed to veto the controversial land-use measure if the City Council adopted it."
On June 6, Rubino reports on the results. Did fear of urbanization motivate voters?
“It’s a clear mandate. There is no doubt about that,” Jerry Presley, a former City Councilman and one of the leaders of the opposition campaign, said Tuesday night. “I think we won this election for several reasons... It’s because we love our city and we don’t want it to be urbanized.”
Councilwoman Freda Miklin voted for the plan in March and defended it as a means to help alleviate the city’s traffic woes by making better use of light rail.
The developer, Greenwood Village-based Alberta Development Partners, took the defeat in stride. "Founding principal Don Provost applauded the level of civic engagement on both sides of the Orchard Station debate and made it clear his firm will continue to look at opportunities in the area."
Hat tip to Stephen Miller, Streetsblog USA.
FULL STORY: Greenwood Village Orchard Station plan defeated soundly

Florida Considers Legalizing ADUs
Current state law allows — but doesn’t require — cities to permit accessory dwelling units in single-family residential neighborhoods.

Manufactured Crisis: Losing the Nation’s Largest Source of Unsubsidized Affordable Housing
Manufactured housing communities have long been an affordable housing option for millions of people living in the U.S., but that affordability is disappearing rapidly. How did we get here?

Americans May Be Stuck — But Why?
Americans are moving a lot less than they once did, and that is a problem. While Yoni Applebaum, in his highly-publicized article Stuck, gets the reasons badly wrong, it's still important to ask: why are we moving so much less than before?

EV Chargers Now Outnumber Gas Pumps by Nearly 50% in California
Fast chargers still lag behind amidst rapid growth.

Affordable Housing Renovations Halt Mid-Air Amidst DOGE Clawbacks
HUD may rescind over a billion dollars earmarked for green building upgrades.

Has Anyone at USDOT Read Donald Shoup?
USDOT employees, who are required to go back to the office, will receive free parking at the agency’s D.C. offices — flying in the face of a growing research body that calls for pricing parking at its real value.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
City of Moreno Valley
Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
City of Grandview
Harvard GSD Executive Education
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service
City of Cambridge, Maryland
Newport County Development Council: Connect Greater Newport