Resident generated news about Lakewood, Colorado
Resident generated news about Lakewood, Colorado
City leaders are expressing surprise over the zoning election results and showing how completely out of touch they are with their constituents. Instead of acknowledging this fact, or even stepping down in favor of someone who is more grounded, leaders renewed their commitment to zoning changes. Meanwhile, several trends are emerging as residents acknowledge they will have to find better leaders:
by Somebody Should Do Something Having lost the special election on the 7th of April, by an almost 2 to 1 margin (despite having enormous financial backing from the real estate interests – more on that elsewhere), Lakewood’s Eye of Sauron now turns to economic development. Not that Lakewood has been doing anything of the sort. In case you missed the memo, “In Colorado, an annual salary for a single adult needs to be at least $105,955, using the 50/30/20 budgeting rule. For a family of four, $273,728 is needed annually to live comfortably in Colorado.” Of course, if you look at the economic statistics for Lakewood – not even close an average resident is.
By Bob Adams. The Lakewood special election is now over with an overwhelming mandate to reject the new zoning and return to the previous ordinance. This warning is that all the politicians, activists and money defending the new zoning, are still in place. Are they just going to give up? In their own words, No. One way or another, they’ll keep trying to push higher density through…. Whether Lakewood likes it or not! The battle has just begun.
No one asked Lakewood residents if they wanted city-wide rezoning for urbanized high-density until April 7, 2026. On that day, Lakewood residents answered this question with a resounding “No.” The discussion lasted for years and culminated in an ongoing disconnect between residents and their elected representatives.
Holy Shepherd Lutheran Church says they did not ask the Ward 1 meeting to relocate on Saturday, April 4. Despite the holiday weekend, the room reserved for the city was open. The meeting remained on the church’s calendar. In fact, church staff reportedly did not even know about the change until the following day, when they discovered a note left on the door. Ward 1 City Councilors say they remember the church not being available in 2025 and offer apologies for the mix-up.
“Colorado is losing businesses and jobs at an alarming rate.” Bold strategy, Cotton—let’s see if it pays off. But honestly, what did anyone expect? It’s not just a “tough” regulatory environment chasing companies away. It is a systemic preference for extraction over production. As in – how much rent, metro district fees and real estate fees can be extracted from the residents? For nearly two decades (or longer), Colorado’s leadership—a revolving door of real-estate-industry lackeys, municipal bureaucrats, and the “useful idiots” yapping about “affordable housing” and virtue signaling - has bent over backward to prioritize real estate developer margins at the expense of actual economic development.
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