DENVER — Before the Colorado Rockies became the darling of this sports-mad town by winning the National League Championship Series and their first trip to the World Series, one of the side pleasures of going to a baseball game was looking at the mountains beyond the outfield.
Fans could ignore the lousy play on the field (the Rockies have had only five winning seasons in 15 years of play) and gaze at the snowcapped peaks. Whatever the team's fortunes in World Series play against the Boston Red Sox, Rockies' executives want to preserve that view by limiting the height of buildings west of the park.
For The Record
Los Angeles Times Thursday, November 01, 2007 Home Edition Main News Part A Page 2 National Desk 2 inches; 62 words Type of Material: Correction
Denver building heights: An article in Sunday's Section A about limiting building heights to preserve Rocky Mountain views from inside the Colorado Rockies' Coors Field quoted Brad Buchanan and identified him as an architect whose clients oppose restrictions. The story should have added that Buchanan is a member of the Denver Planning Commission and has recused himself from discussions on the issue.
"We believe the Rocky Mountains are the single most important attraction for both Denver and the state, and we believe Denver simply cannot afford to lose this backdrop," said Gina London, a spokeswoman for the Denver Metropolitan Major League Baseball Stadium District, an agency formed by the state to administer Coors Field.
But the proposal to limit surrounding building height has owners of nearby properties crying foul. The measure was triggered when Bill and Paula Leake attempted to sell the land on which their light-bulb distribution business is located, just behind the park's left-field fence. The city's zoning law allowed the single-story building to be replaced by one as tall as 140 feet.
The Leakes said reports of the Rockies' push for height restrictions scared off two buyers.
"Why does Goliath want to squash a little mom-and-pop business?" said Bill Leake, 65. "This has an incredibly large impact on our ability to retire."
The Leakes acknowledged that their land would not have its current value were it not for the Rockies.
They bought their business in 1975, and, in 1979, moved it to a 26,000-square-foot lot on the industrial fringes of Denver's then-faded downtown.
"It was pretty much weeds, warehouses and winos," Bill Leake said.
When Denver was awarded an expansion team in 1991, seven counties chipped in to help build Coors Field just east of the Leakes' property. The stadium helped propel a revitalization of the western edge of downtown, now crammed with restaurants, boutiques and bars.
The Leakes' current neighbors aren't other warehouses but sleek apartment complexes.
The couple plan to move their business, which has more than doubled in size since they bought their original building, to an industrial area in northeast Denver.
