In 2011 the City of Grand Junction completed its corridor planning for North Avenue, a four-lane Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) highway (US-6) with a center median. The Plan established the need for an overlay zone district that would implement the corridor vision. That vision included buildings located near the street, front doors facing North Avenue that are inviting and readily accessible, business signage on buildings, safe pedestrian facilities, and an inviting streetscape creating an environment of vitality and livability. It will be a “Complete Street” that supports the Plan’s corridor cross section utilizing 8 ft. detached walks, on-street bike lanes on both sides of four traffic lanes, and retains the center median. Bus pull-outs and streetscape features that create a visually interesting corridor with safer pedestrian and transit experience will be created. The North Avenue Overlay Zone District was adopted by the Grand Junction City Council and applies to all properties abutting the four miles of North Avenue right-of-way. As a State highway, CDOT was involved in the planning process and is an important partner.

An advisory committee, made up of property and business owners along the corridor, are happy with the corridor vision established by the corridor plan. As zoning concepts were introduced, such as requiring new development to build their buildings close to the street, reducing access points, building new parking lots to the rear and side of buildings, and restricting signage, it was very clear that mandating such regulations were not acceptable to the Committee. The Committee’s response was that the City should provide incentives to property owners to provide these improvements. With that direction the North Avenue Overlay Zone District became incentive based.

In 2010, as part of the pilot year for the Federal Partnership for Sustainable Communities, the City and County of Denver received a joint Housing and Urban Development Community Challenge Grant ($1.8 million) and Department of Transportation TIGER Grant ($1.2 Million) to expand permanent affordable housing, improve access to jobs and create better multi-modal connectivity along Denver’s transit corridors. This funding helped shape the Denver Livability Partnership, designed to emulate the Federal effort at the local level.