Below is a copy of the speech. If there is anyone out their who would like to reuse it for their own city in the future please feel free!  Although I did change “the highway act of 1956” to “the invention of the automobile” as councilman Flynn seemed to think it happened earlier.

Pro Middle Development

We have been addicted to single family houses and low density, spread out, white picket fence development for over 60 years since the invention of the automobile.  This spread out low-density suburban development has deep roots in economic, environmental, and social injustices and the consequences are becoming more and more apparent everyday.  We have car clogged roads and freeways burning our valuable time day in and day out, we have an ever increasing number of typically young, poor, and non-white people struggling to find affordable rent let alone their American dream, and we have increasing unfunded infrastructure liabilities from the miles of sewer pumps, water lines and roads needed to service these areas patched over with municipal bonds and bad debt. And when we are developing, we are promoting monstrous beige tower blocks that are notoriously bad for standing the test of time.  This is opposed to middle development that has the proven flexibility to be reused for generations (think Cap Hill and most of Europe). Additionally, Middle development often is built with character and heart by long term residents who have a vested interest in this city, and they are also who have provided us with some of the best historical buildings Denver has to date. Perhaps most importantly with our addiction to low density suburban building aesthetics, we are promoting heating and cooling 5000 sq. ft. single family homes for 2, and car dependent lifestyles, that have zero objections from the zoning code.  These zoning policies may not affect you today, but the cost of your sprawling manicured lawn, and white picket fence keeping the “right neighbors” the “right distance away”, and copious carbon dioxide will have devastating environmental costs that will haunt my generation and many generations to come.

Today you will hear from people who will maintain that this proposed variance is not in line with the neighborhood that they thought they moved into.  I would suggest that these neighbors go build a time machine and go back to their decade of preference, as the challenges that Denver and America face today and the challenges that will consume future generations is largely the product of the zoning “wisdom” and built environment of previous (your) generation(s).  

As for this approval process, requiring such high barriers to entry for middle class developers will continue to prove to be a disaster economically, socially, and environmentally for Denver.  While the rigorous approval process and gaggles of architects, engineers, and lawyers that are required for such a project is a complete non starter for most middle class denverites, when someone has the creativity and drive to follow through despite these considerable obstacles, we create absolute spectacles like this one, involve all of Denver, and make our neighbors go on trial and feel like bad guys for simply trying to make where we live a better place with some slightly taller housing.  Given the economic, social, and environmental consequences of our current built environment , i think we can afford this variance and have a moral obligation to allow situations like it, by right, in the future.