Resident Resolution Denied in Belmar Park Development

Lakewood residents urged City Council to uphold City rules that developments must fit in with the existing neighborhood. Citing the City’s own Municipal Code, residents helped write a resolution that would enforce both Lakewood’s long-term planning and zoning and the spirit of the Comprehensive Plan. The majority of City Council rejected the resolution, citing legal interpretations, while acknowledging the efforts of residents.

The meeting started in an unusual fashion, with public comment being moved until after a long budget session. The mayor warned repeatedly that he would enforce decorum and he had police officers standing by if residents continued clapping.

Claims that moving public comment is normal for budget meetings have been proved false (see 2022 and 2021). However, it is normal procedure to have comment close to the relevant agenda item, which in this case was after the budget. This simple move, set the stage for misunderstandings and hard feelings after residents had to wait hours to speak.

The issue involves developing private land adjacent to Belmar Park. Due to a zoning change in 2012, the land can be developed as a much higher-density multi-family development than the street was originally intended for.  In combination with Lakewood’s decreased parking requirement (1.5 parking spots per unit), residents expressed worries that this is a perfect storm of congestion (see Lakewood’s parking study where residents cite similar parking problems caused by inadequate parking near Abrusci’s, Manning’s and Colorado Christian University).

In response, Lakewood has said that the development plans are legal.

Although some residents continued to argue that legal doesn’t make it right, others turned to areas where use of City discretion was involved. For example, developers have had the option to pay a fee instead of dedicating land to parks. According to L.M.C. 14.16.010, fees are “…at the discretion of the Community Resources Director (Director).”

“If the Director determines that a land dedication in accordance with this chapter would not serve the public interest, the Director may require payment of a fee in lieu of the dedication”

L.M.C. 14.16.070

L.M.C. 14.16.050 shows that land adjacent to existing parks is eligible for park dedication.

According to Denver7, a Lakewood spokesperson has said that fee-in-lieu “is particularly allowed for developments that are less than 15 acres.” Lakewood codes have examples of land dedication for 10 acres. The option is particularly useful for smaller developments, if the Director found that a land dedication would not serve the public interest.

Legal counsel for the City advised that accepting a land dedication would require rewriting the ordinance. (Note: legal advice being offered during the meeting is also not typical.) No specifics as to what was against ordinance were offered. Legal counsel also advised that City Council could not direct the City Manager in any actions, which the resident resolution proposed. The City has previously published an article that only with a vote of the majority of Council can the City act on Council actions.

The mayor did not allow a vote on the motion. Several Council Members briefly rallied around a proclamation of support for the residents. However, the majority of Council did not support any discussion or action by Council in the future on this issue.

In the end, there was 1 hour and 40 minutes of public comment. There was 1 hour and 30 minutes of speeches by City Council explaining their positions on the resolution but no minds appeared to be changed.

Related lessons residents learned:

• Lakewood uses a minimum tree replacement method rather than more modern methods.  
• A migratory waterfowl specialist testified that Belmar Park has an higher variety of ducks than anywhere he’s seen.
• Lakewood does not have emergency traffic and/or evacuation planning requirements.
• Per Lakewood’s open-space requirements, no raw land is included or will be purchased for open space. However, sidewalks, the dumpster pick-up area, electrical transformer access areas and various internal areas of the building are being classified as open space as per page 27 of the site plan.
• The fee-in-lieu-of-land option is required to be reviewed by City Council no later than December 2023. It has not yet been scheduled.
• The fee option was started because City Council determined Lakewood already had enough parks.
• The Council Policies and Procedures override City Charter in the matter of making motions, so that a Council Member cannot make a motion without agreement of a majority of Council.