from Guest Commentator Tom Dearth

Belmar Commons is a small 45-unit patio home development on Yarrow Street near Alameda and Wadsworth. It is across from the Belmar Library and the Beautiful Belmar Park/Bird Sanctuary. 

There are plans to begin construction on a 5-story, 412 unit apartment building on Yarrow, a narrow curved street with only 2 emergency exit routes to Wadsworth. The emergency evacuation issues have been ignored and the people currently living in the area had no idea this was going to be built until it was “a done deal!”

Issues:

• If there were ever a Marshal-type fire or Lahaina, Hawaii fire from the overgrowth in the park west of Yarrow street, we would not be able to evacuate the area and the first responders would not be able to get in. With 500 or more additional cars on that 3-block curved street, we would not stand a chance of evacuating. When this concern was brought up at a city planners meeting, the response was that the new building would have sprinkler systems, an answer that seems to suggest there will never be an emergency.

• The REAL concern is that if there were hundreds of cars on Yarrow Street during an evacuation, there would be no way for any emergency vehicles to get in or out of the area. The residents of Belmar Commons would not be able to use their only exit onto Yarrow Street. That scene would resemble the after effect of burned-out cars in Lahaina, HI. We were told by the fire department that fire trucks need 28 feet to move freely. With our parking situation and the new overflow of cars from the apartment, emergency vehicles would not be able to get through to us.

• The narrow street cannot currently accommodate an 18-wheeler truck and simultaneous oncoming traffic.

• Traffic on Yarrow Street is already heavily used daily by fast moving delivery trucks and trash collectors serving a small two-story office building. That building is slated for demolition and that site is where the apartment building is scheduled to be built. The number of new trucks on Yarrow would increase by a large factor. After a winter snowstorm or when there are special events at the Heritage Center just south of the building site, Yarrow Street is already tightly congested.  

• The street department said they did a traffic study on Yarrow Street, but it was done during the Covid19 shutdown when the library was more than likely closed. The need for a traffic study is itself unlikely when the impact can be readily deduced. The streets were only developed for the minor traffic of a small business, not a huge residential use.

• In the community there is a blind person and another who is confined to a wheelchair. Their safety and wellbeing are a major concern for the community. Their access to the park would cause them great danger if the traffic were increased by a large factor. The majority of other residents are senior citizens.

• The community was told by the police officers who attended our Neighborhood Night Out meeting, that crime rates do go up when the density of people and cars goes up. This building would change the number of people living on Yarrow Street from approximately 70 to close to 600. (These are guesses – not facts)

• The Park/Bird Sanctuary site for which the new building is slated, is a pristine natural habitat for numerous species of birds. If you have never been to Belmar Park, it would be a wonderful experience for you to visit.

The city has not responded to requests for more information at the time of this posting.

from Complete Colorado

Whether the hideous hoax Proposition HH passes or fails at Colorado’s November ballot, local governments including towns, cities, special districts, and schools must lower their 2023 mill levy this fall to avoid taxpayer suffering in January 2024 when tax bills are sent out.

In each Colorado local government, there are elected members. Those local elected representatives set and vote on the mill levy for their respective districts in October or November each year. When the elected bodies meet to set the mill rate, they take public comment. I would suggest reaching out to your elected representatives before the meeting. After the body votes, they notify the county assessor of the tax rate by December 15, 2023 and that’s what gets charged on the January 2024 property tax bill.

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When you run out of money for your expensive spending habits, you might self-evaluate. Responsible people, find ways to cut costs or perhaps hire a financial advisor. Lakewood and Jefferson County have both opted for a different path – spend money on a consultant to research potentially successful ballot arguments to let the government keep taxpayer TABOR refunds.

The government cannot legally spend money campaigning on ballot initiatives. However, by starting before they put the measure on the ballot, Lakewood and Jeffco have months to figure out how to shape the narrative – and use your tax dollars to do it. As long as they don’t know it will be on the ballot, use of funds in what could be a “pre-campaign” or “fact-finding” effort is legal. Once the measure is on the ballot, use of funds must be stopped immediately.

“no public funds, including County staff time working with the Consultant under the contract, will be expended as of the moment in which the Board of County Commissioners makes a decision to move forward with any ballot initiative. no public funds may be spent advocating for a ballot issue once a decision has been made. Therefore, all terms of this contract must be completed before the Board of County Commissioners decides whether or not to move forward with any ballot recommendations made by the Consultant.” – excerpt from Jeffco draft contract

excerpt from the Jefferson County draft contract

Lakewood’s Budget and Audit Committee has already agreed the City needs to keep future TABOR refunds. They recommend hiring a specialist to find out what voters would be willing to sacrifice their refunds for. The Budget Board did not recommend a specialist to find ways to cut spending or to find out if voters would be interested in keeping their refunds if they made cuts.

Jefferson County is following the same play book. They propose a “fact-finding” mission, during which they will inform residents of all the challenges they see and the only solution they can determine at this point.  Jeffco calls this implementation of “an educational outreach plan”.

The outreach plan, as currently discussed, does not educate residents on any merits of TABOR restrictions, refunds, or ways to operate within current budget levels.

No ballot language is needed to make internal spending prioritization. Ballot language is only necessary for retaining TABOR funds. However, one of the county deliverables is for different versions of ballot language and survey results to show what the public would be interested in voting for.

In any other situation, that would be termed a campaign strategy analysis.  

An alternative strategy is to ask residents to vote… Do you approve the government retaining your TABOR refund?

Neither government can answer what the money is NEEDED for specifically. The consultant is being hired to find out what you WANT to spend on money on. Winning the vote means framing the argument. Research shows how much the right words matter, making hiring these government consultants critical if they want a ballot measure to pass. For instance, Jefferson County found out that jails are critical so that’s what they used as a ballot issue last time. Lakewood found that residents wanted to spend money on parks. No research was done on controversial programs that would be easier to cut or spending prioritization.

Both Lakewood and Jefferson County will be voting to approve these expenditures at a future meeting, date not yet set.

via Fox 31 KDVR by: DAVID A. LIEB and KAVISH HARJAI, Associated Press

Joplin officials say they have big plans for $13.8 million of pandemic relief funds the tornado-ravaged southwestern Missouri city received under a two-year-old federal law. Yet the latest federal records show none of the money has been spent — or even budgeted.

In fact, about 6,300 cities and counties — nearly 1 in 4 nationwide — reported no expenditures as of this spring, according to an Associated Press analysis of data released by the U.S. Treasury Department. About 5,100 of those listed no projects — either planned or underway.

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Guest post by Joan from Lakewood

History

So  I have been following the LAC sustainability committee since late June when there was a request of the City Council to allow them to research the mandating  of electrification of homes during remodeling. I did an interview with Lakewood Informer about this subject and shared my knowledge of the federal laws passed in the seventies – Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act (Purpa) with the LAC executive board and my love of gas stoves. 

I believe that this caused the Sustainability Committee pause as at a previous meeting they talked about modifying the proposal. 

However there is 180 million federal dollars available and this committee is determined to “get a piece of the pie”. And I believe the City Council’s Emergency meeting on August 7 helped to energize this committee to continue to try to mandate this electrification. Home Rule and leaders with an agenda can over come all laws. 

8/16 meeting

So as my husband and watched this meeting we could not understand how this proposal would be made policy by the city council.  The chair of the committee admitted that there was no way they could collect the necessary energy usage data (due to privacy issues)to use as benchmarks but then stated that  there were approximately 5000 structures in Lakewood of which 4800 were under 5000ft. These 4800 structures (presumable household structures) are responsible for  41% of the  greenhouse gas emissions in Lakewood. I asked my husband wouldn’t it be a better use of the money to go after the 59% from the bigger structures and he said that piece was probably car emissions. I looked up today greenhouses gas emissions from households and there were several articles quoting 20% to 73% so I do not believe this is settled science yet. 

So it was decided that collecting data would be difficult, the discussion turned to what small issues could be addressed. There was an interesting discussion on the permitting process in Lakewood and the number of people that pulled permits. It was brought up that some people do not pull permits because of lack of knowledge (I learned that you should pull a permit for replacing a water heat although there is ambiguity in whether you need to pull a permit when replacing “like with like”) and additional cost to the update. 

Rebates and actually paying for the electrification was discussed. Generating of forms and the means to inform the people about program was another topic. Nate W brought up that DEI should be included in the process. My thought on this was another government program picking “winners and losers” and if the committee really believed in inclusion this would be a more overall program for all of the city. 

So in conclusion it seems that the committee will have some plan because those federal dollars under the Inflation Reduction Act need to be spent. And it is important to have a plan when those dollars are made available.

Thank you Committee for all your hard work and especially looking into how hazardous those Gas Stoves are. I think you will find some recent articles stating they are not so bad. 

PS the last topic was the introduction of the Xcel and Committee Choice Energy Bill that will be introduced in the 2024 legislature. I am looking forward to this bill. 

via ColoradoPolitics by Wendi Strom

In Lakewood, growth and development are important topics, and our City Council is working together to address them head-on.

Communities are multi-faceted and encompass many essential elements, such as ensuring safety, affordability for all residents and spaces that embody the Colorado lifestyle. Lakewood is incredibly fortunate to possess all the necessary components for a vibrant, thriving community. We boast parks, businesses, excellent schools and convenient proximity to the majestic Colorado mountains and the bustling City of Denver. As residents of Lakewood, we greatly appreciate these valuable assets.

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via the Guardian

Raksha Vasudevan, Thu 3 Aug 2023 14.00 EDT

In 2017, Stephanie Deveaux noticed her city and neighborhood were changing. Lying on Denver’s western outskirts, Lakewood was known for its spacious single-family homes, good public schools, pristine parks and Rocky Mountain views. But many of the things that made Lakewood so livable seemed under threat.

“All these multiunit dwellings [were] starting to be developed,” she said, referring to the boxy, ultramodern and monotone buildings now scattered across Lakewood. “And then lands that I thought had been earmarked for open space, those started to get filled up.”

Cathy Kentner, a teacher and Lakewood planning commission member, also noticed those same tall buildings “adjacent to small single-family homes and cutting off all their sunlight”; deteriorating streets; busier hospitals; and green space being replaced by “a sea of concrete”. She mentioned the murals dotting several buildings along West Colfax Avenue as an example. “I really appreciate the art that they put on the outside, how it’s all green and plants,” she said. “[But] how nice would it be to actually have some real greenery.”

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Reader Recommended Business: Cafe Ole

The City of Lakewood cites an increase in crime around or near Jumbo’s Sports Bar and Grill (6111 W Colfax Ave), leading to increased emergency service calls. The City cites this increase as a reason to suspend the bars liquor license. Others point to the regular crime rate along Colfax as the source for crime. Jumbo’s owner, Tanesha Howard, argues they are the victims of crimes that Lakewood will not investigate.

Some neighbors have complaints over alleged license irregularities. A State investigation of license irregularities concluded the liquor license allegations were “unfounded”.

Ms. Howard explains that opening the bar actually cleaned up the area and gave good purpose to the property. Robert Vigil, a local resident and supporter, says he looked forward to having a safe place in the community to come to. Jumbo’s routinely feeds the homeless.

According to CBS Colorado, Lakewood’s document calls Jumbo’s “a target for gun violence”, not a perpetrator, enabler or cause of gun violence.

This marks a disturbing trend in Lakewood to penalize property owners for their property not being safe. Recently Lakewood passed a new ordinance for vacant properties, requiring owners to register, pay fees, and potentially be penalized, because their vacant property attracts crime.

Jumbo’s may also be penalized for property location. Fox31 KDVR shows Lakewood City Council Member Springsteen saying, “I’ve read through the allegations from the City and I did not see specific circumstances when people from this establishment were causing gun violence that you don’t see anywhere else on West Colfax.” Springsteen has been advocating for Jumbo’s since she heard about their problems.

In fact, the business purports being the victim of many crimes and potential acts of sabotage. Mr. Howard explains that the bar was flooded due to what appeared to be a hose on left out on the roof.

Down the street from Jumbo’s there are only a handful of houses for neighbors to complain from. However, these neighbors have been active and have provided the City with video footage and verbal complaints to show people in the parking lot after 2 AM, arguing that means the business is open after legal hours.

There are also new, high-density apartment buildings that brought plenty of new neighbors to the block, but not to complain. Local resident and neighbor Alex Johnson says, “It seems like there are bigger issues out there than beating on a mom and pop shop.” He says he’s tried to go to Jumbo’s but it was shut down. He would like a bar and grill within walking distance.

Recently the restaurant was served with a Notice of Violation in a TikTok video that went viral. The Rocky Mountain NAACP is now involved. Portia Prescott, President of RMNAACP, has issued a Call to Action to Lakewood’s Mayor Paul to encourage small business like Jumbo’s. She argues that Colfax is a known problem area for crime, saying, “If you want to talk crime, I can literally walk, what, 20 feet and see crime.”

Tyrone Glover, a Chair with the RMNAACP Legal Redress Team says, “Small businesses are the lifeblood of our community.” He calls for Lakewood Police to assist with investigations, rather than requiring burdensome records requests.

State investigations found no subsequent problem with serving liquor without a license or serving those underage, although the allegations still haunt Jumbo’s. Ms. Howard says, “[the police] never asked where they got the liquor.” An obvious oversight with a liquor store next door and a public intoxication being common in the area.

Jumbo’s lost their license just before the NBA finals. They stayed open to serve food, and Ms. Howard feels like that was the basis for allegations that they continued to sell alcohol. She emphatically states Jumbo’s never sold alcohol after that time.

Another local resident and neighbor says he’s never known Jumbo’s to be especially loud or troublesome. Against the backdrop of the normal crime on Colfax, there seemed to be a lot questions as to why Lakewood is linking Jumbo’s to crime “in the area” and whether Jumbo’s was the unacknowledged victim of said crime. There is also the outstanding question of whether the neighbor complaints represent the entire neighborhood.

Jumbo’s will have a public hearing August 29 for all interested parties to have a chance to explain why Jumbo’s should or should not get their license reinstated.

No one is talking about what would happen if Jumbo’s had to close permanently and the corner would return back to the non-productive state it was in. Jumbo’s Mr. Howard says they are committed to safety and are willing to hire safety officers themselves. Private business having to hire their own security is another upward trend in Lakewood.

“Just let us run our business and make a living without harassing us … I just want the city to work with me instead of against me”

Tanesha Howard, August 12, 2023

The battle over guns comes to Lakewood.

At the Nov 28, 2022 Lakewood City Council meeting, proponents for and against new gun control measures made their arguments in public comment. This is now an issue for all local governments due to a new law in Colorado, https://leg.colorado.gov/bills/sb21-256. This law makes it possible for cities to pass their own laws, as long as they are more restrictive than state laws.

Moms Demand Action has suggested the following new ordinances:

1. Creating a 10-day waiting period for the sale of firearms
2. Raising the minimum age to purchase and possess a firearm to 21 years old
3. Requiring firearm dealers to post signage about the dangers of weapons in the home
4. Prohibiting guns in certain public places (open and concealed carry)
5. Prohibiting the possession of unserialized ghost guns

City Council has not added these items to the agenda in any formal action but public comment on the issue lasted around 2 hours just considering the possibility.

There were an estimated 11 comments in favor of new restrictions, and 20 comments against them (some comments were ambiguous)

A VERY brief summary of comments in favor of the proposed regulations:

• These are research-backed solutions
• More regulations slow gun violence
• The 2nd Amendment requires a well-regulated militia and that is currently not the case
• These are sensible solutions
• Our laws are out of date
• Proposal is not overly burdensome, it’s respectful
• The proposal is not an unreasonable ask
• Several stories of personal loss, violence impacting family and friends, and examples from around the nation
• Stories of not feeling safe

A VERY brief summary of comments against the proposed restrictions:

• We have 2nd Amendment rights
• Cannot convert rights to a crime
• Criminals don’t care about laws
• Mature enough to vote, mature enough to own a gun
• Government must uphold constitution
• Culture is the problem
• Moms Demand Action are only expressing pain
• New SCOTUS decision says any infraction on rights is too much
• The real problem is mental health cases are on the rise
• There are local gun businesses which are a benefit to the community and tax base
• Gun control has been tried and doesn’t result in less violence
• We already have enough regulation