Denver City Council on Monday night approved designating as a historic district a small south Denver property pioneered by Denver landscape architect S.R. DeBoer.

It took wailing and gnashing of teeth and a four-hour hearing in which 39 citizens signed up to speak, but the council agreed on a compromise that had been worked out before the meeting even began.

In the end, an 8-to-2 vote approved the inevitable designation, which made the property owners - heirs to the DeBoer estate - accept a deal they felt they could not refuse.

"We could have lost the whole property" if the family had held out for what they considered justice, said Elizabeth Potts, DeBoer's granddaughter.

Her brother, Thomas Wright, was also licking his wounds after the long meeting.

"We're going to lose a lot of money," he predicted.

But the family agreed to the compromise after neighbors owning property in the area had joined together to try to derail a possible 17-unit development, which they said could harm the historic nature of DeBoer's property.

The compromise gives the family a chance of attracting a new buyer, family members said.

DeBoer was responsible for designing many of Denver's historic boulevards and the Botanic Gardens.

Neighbors said preserving the urban character of his land would be just what the famed architect would have wanted.

But others said DeBoer would have wanted even more for his heirs to benefit from his property, which some said was actually rural when he bought it and was at one time used to raise chickens.

Council conservative Jeanne Faatz said the whole process had been "government run amok."

Councilman Charlie Brown joined Faatz in opposition, likening the process to "legalized claim jumping."

The compromise reduces the footprint of the historic district, said family attorney Larry Berkowitz.

Among others, the building at 515 E. Iliff Ave, which DeBoer used as an office, will be preserved.

kilzerl@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-2644