DIA lawsuit ends with developer agreeing to avoid single-family homes on site

DIA airport

A plane takes off at Denver International Airport. (Courtesy Denver International Airport)

A settlement has been reached in Denver International Airport’s lawsuit seeking to halt a specific type of development close to a planned runway.

Andy Klein, founder of Glendale-based Westside Investment Partners, said the development firm has agreed not to build single-family detached homes within a portion of its High Point at DIA site.

Andy Klein

Andy Klein

The land is in Aurora. In December, that city’s council approved a framework development plan that allowed such development within 98 acres of the High Point site, according to the Aurora Sentinel.

The airport, concerned about future residents complaining about noise, sued Aurora city officials and Westside over the decision in January.

On Monday, Klein described the area as adjacent to the Gaylord Rockies Resort & Convention Center, and the northernmost portion of High Point that is zoned for residential development. High Point originally was established as an 1,800-acre site. Westside purchased about 1,200 acres in July 2017, and now owns 950 after selling land to other developers.

Klein said the site at the heart of the lawsuit was outside of the original “noise contours” established by the airport, essentially areas that are expected to be the loudest. But he said the firm agreed to bypass single-family detached development “to be a good neighbor.”

“Denver International Airport is grateful to Westside Investment Partners for working collaboratively to ensure its High Point development protects the future of the airport and respects the quality of life of future residents by eliminating the construction of single-family homes roughly half a mile from a planned runway,” DIA spokeswoman Alex Rentaria said in an email.

Klein said the firm still is evaluating what will be built in the area, but noted that residential development is still allowed, as long as it’s not in the form of single-family detached homes. Additionally, single-family homes are still allowed in other parts of High Point.

High Point

The land is part of High Point, a master-planned development straddling Denver and Aurora. (Google Maps)

“There’s a significant portion of High Point that will never be residential,” because of proximity to the airport, Klein said. “This was a unique piece that was able to be zoned residential because it was outside the noise contours.”

Earlier this month, a judge ruled that DIA must pay Adams County $33.5 million in a dispute over how the airport was monitoring noise levels.

Westside Investment Partners also owns the former Colorado Heights University campus in southwest Denver, as well as the Park Hill Golf Club course.

DIA airport

A plane takes off at Denver International Airport. (Courtesy Denver International Airport)

A settlement has been reached in Denver International Airport’s lawsuit seeking to halt a specific type of development close to a planned runway.

Andy Klein, founder of Glendale-based Westside Investment Partners, said the development firm has agreed not to build single-family detached homes within a portion of its High Point at DIA site.

Andy Klein

Andy Klein

The land is in Aurora. In December, that city’s council approved a framework development plan that allowed such development within 98 acres of the High Point site, according to the Aurora Sentinel.

The airport, concerned about future residents complaining about noise, sued Aurora city officials and Westside over the decision in January.

On Monday, Klein described the area as adjacent to the Gaylord Rockies Resort & Convention Center, and the northernmost portion of High Point that is zoned for residential development. High Point originally was established as an 1,800-acre site. Westside purchased about 1,200 acres in July 2017, and now owns 950 after selling land to other developers.

Klein said the site at the heart of the lawsuit was outside of the original “noise contours” established by the airport, essentially areas that are expected to be the loudest. But he said the firm agreed to bypass single-family detached development “to be a good neighbor.”

“Denver International Airport is grateful to Westside Investment Partners for working collaboratively to ensure its High Point development protects the future of the airport and respects the quality of life of future residents by eliminating the construction of single-family homes roughly half a mile from a planned runway,” DIA spokeswoman Alex Rentaria said in an email.

Klein said the firm still is evaluating what will be built in the area, but noted that residential development is still allowed, as long as it’s not in the form of single-family detached homes. Additionally, single-family homes are still allowed in other parts of High Point.

High Point

The land is part of High Point, a master-planned development straddling Denver and Aurora. (Google Maps)

“There’s a significant portion of High Point that will never be residential,” because of proximity to the airport, Klein said. “This was a unique piece that was able to be zoned residential because it was outside the noise contours.”

Earlier this month, a judge ruled that DIA must pay Adams County $33.5 million in a dispute over how the airport was monitoring noise levels.

Westside Investment Partners also owns the former Colorado Heights University campus in southwest Denver, as well as the Park Hill Golf Club course.

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One response to “DIA lawsuit ends with developer agreeing to avoid single-family homes on site”

  1. “[E]liminating the construction of single-family homes roughly half a mile from a planned runway”??? My goodness, I live about 20 miles south of DIA and I still hear plane noise… I can only imagine what it’ll be like for those folks in High Point. I guess the noise issues from Stapleton 30-years ago have all but been forgotten.

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