In December 2019, a proposed community of 85 relatively affordable homes was on the cusp of approval in the south Denver suburbs.
Two months earlier, the Littleton City Council had voted unanimously to adopt Envision Littleton, a long-term plan that called for more apartments and starter homes. Without more housing options, planners concluded, the city was becoming unaffordable for working class families.
So when a developer wanted to build narrow single-family homes on small lots, priced at around $450,000, the city planning staff recommended the project as a good use of an old industrial lot at the corner of West Powers Avenue and Delaware Street. The planning commission agreed, voting in the project’s favor…