On Monday, the Denver City Council unanimously rejected a request from the nonprofit Focus Points Family Resource Center to rezone its campus in North Denver.
The decision came as the nonprofit faced allegations of wage theft, and council members said flaws in the development plan left it “unsalvageable.”
Nonprofit leaders said they wanted to rezone the property to pave the way for a potential future development project, which could include affordable housing, child care and educational facilities.
“We want to secure the right designation before we could begin that [planning] process,” Jules Kelty, executive director of Focus Points, wrote via email. “Rezoning is the first step that allows us to plan thoughtfully for the future. Right now, our focus is on making sure our programs can continue to operate at their full potential.”
But that plan ran into intense questioning and criticism on Monday night.
The problems came on two fronts — there was controversy over workers’ complaints about Comal Heritage Food Incubator, which was operated by Focus Points before closing early this year. And council members also had problems with the process and details of the rezoning proposal.
Focus Points offers free and low-cost services for families, including early childhood education and English classes for adults.
The rezoning proposal lost some community support in recent days as former workers aired complaints about Comal, which was meant to help immigrants get established in the culinary industry.
But six former participants said they were wrongfully denied overtime and tips and misclassified as independent contractors as they worked in the Comal kitchen, as Westword reported on Monday.
Former workers like Noemi Saldivar Estrada said Focus Points exploited and tokenized immigrant workers.
“They used our stories since immigrant stories invoke more empathy to raise funds,” Saldivar Estrada said at the public hearing. “They even told us we couldn’t wear our chef uniforms in a fundraising event because it would decrease sympathy.”
Kelty responded to the wage theft allegations: “We are working with the [local government] and we're complying with everything that they're asking ... If there's any findings, we'll comply, but that's all I'll say on that topic right now.”
The application had previously won support from the Globeville-Elyria Swansea Coalition (GES Coalition), a nonprofit representing local residents. The groups reached an agreement earlier this year, with Focus Point promising not to sell the property to a private for-profit developer.
But on Monday, executive director Nola Miguel withdrew the GES Coalition’s support, saying her group was not aware of the wage theft allegations when they signed the memorandum of understanding.
“We want to say to you all and to the GES community, we are not an aligned partner with Focus Points on this project,” Miguel said. “It is really important that there’s post-zoning requirements… to make sure that a campus rezoning like this is stewarded in perpetuity.”
While the allegations about Comal captured more attention, the main reason for the application’s rejection appeared to be a lack of detail for the proposed affordable housing project.
Councilmember Sarah Parady called it “perplexing.” Focus Points could not say how many units it was hoping to build.
Parady also said Focus Points had stated they had met with her previously, but she had no recollection of that. Councilmember Serena Gonzales-Gutierrez voiced similar complaints, saying the organization claimed they met with her before submitting their application but her records showed otherwise.
The Focus Points Community Center is located on East 48th Avenue in the heart of Elyria Swansea. The property spans 2.5 acres and is surrounded by houses, a railroad, Swansea Park, the Swansea Recreation Center and a church.
The building is currently under an R1 residential code with a waiver. Focus Points was seeking a rezoning to change their R1 residential status to a CMP-EI2 or a campus educational zone. The CMP designation is usually used for educational facilities like schools, colleges and universities. However, the addition of the EI2 code allows for smaller-scale institutions when these are surrounded by residential areas.
Focus Points has signed an agreement with Denver’s Department of Housing Stability (HOST), promising to try to build a low-income housing project that would be fully affordable and have a 99-year covenant. But if that was not possible, then the nonprofit would be allowed to make only 18 percent of the units income-restricted.
Focus Points previously received 30 public comment letters in support and one in opposition. The letter in opposition pointed to seven ongoing investigations with the Denver Auditor’s Office “regarding labor violations and systemic mismanagement,” according to Edson Ibanez, senior city planner.
The council discussed delaying its decision, but Councilmember Amanda Sawyer said the application was not “salvageable” and that Focus Points would need to file a new application if it wanted to proceed. Instead, the council unanimously voted against the rezoning.
"While we’re disappointed by the outcome of tonight’s vote, we respect the Council’s decision and the process that led to it,” Kelty wrote in an email to Denverite. “For more than 30 years, Focus Points has been dedicated to strengthening families and building better communities in the GES neighborhoods. That commitment will not change.”
