Lakewood Informer

Resident generated news about Lakewood, Colorado

Lakewood Informer

Resident generated news about Lakewood, Colorado

Author : Lakewood News from Karen

Metro Districts of No Benefit to Taxpayers

By Lakewood News from KarenPosted on Posted in UncategorizedTagged , , , , , ,

January 13, 2025, Lakewood City Council will vote in a new ordinance regulating metropolitan districts. The Denver Post has done deep investigations into metro districts, exposing them as mechanisms that bury taxpayers in debt with no accountability. Other cities are starting to pay attention and not allowing metro districts. Lakewood, on the other hand, is still supporting developer-sponsored metro districts. Staff has been bringing forward this ordinance since 2021 and backing down against resident pushback in Lakewood and across the state. Now the time has come. The new ordinance has language attempting to fix some existing problems with metro districts. However, a city ordinance cannot fix the problems that exist within state law. Lakewood is passing the ordinance now to enable the developers of The Bend to apply for metro district status, which is anticipated in February. Metro districts are critical for developers to make money from bonds without a vote from residents – because there are no residents to vote yet. Research shows this debt does not benefit residents. “…developers issue a small tranche of debt on the bond market with unfavorable terms (above-market interest) and then buy the debt themselves so future homeowners will end up paying the developer for decades through their property taxes for a completely unnecessary load of bad debt.” -Denver Post “Metro district financing is the opposite of affordable housing.” – Rooney Valley News Will Lakewood have a “safe” metro district ordinance? Not if state law prevails. They can only make baby improvements. “[metro districts] all lead to the same result – taxing residents without representation based upon single party agreements by a developer with a confessed conflict of interest to pay themselves profits by issuing taxes with no accountability for how the money is spent.” – Rooney Valley News “…debt is often intentionally hidden and getting true control of metro districts can be hard if not impossible.” – Denver Post For example, one of the improvements Lakewood attempts is to reveal home cost differentials showing that residents will not be over-paying for homes. Except there is no way to audit the costs, get company financials, or hold the developers accountable if they are overcharged. “The Service Plan shall include a cost estimate of what an individual property within the District would cost an End-user with and without the establishment of the District.“ – proposed ordinance Once the metro district status is granted, Lakewood has little authority to make sure the developer governs fairly, a point that several Council Members brought up in past meetings. As the quotes above show, metro districts are historically problematic and more expensive for the end-residents. Lakewood hopes it will be different this time. “This time” includes The Bend development at 6th and Union. As of fall 2024, the developer anticipated applying for metro district status in February. Then they would have the advantages of being a government entity, while being blighted and thereby partially funded by Lakewood. All opinions in this or any post are the personal opinions of the author

Read More

Possible New Gang Activity

By Lakewood News from KarenPosted on Posted in Uncategorized

A resident sent pictures of what he’s sees as new gang activity in his neighborhood. The picture below is an example, taken near Lamar and Alameda on the south side. Two to three days after this marking there a fire set right next to it. Now similiar writing is appearing in Belmar and on sidewalks near In & Out. Please share any updates you may have. Police were not asked because this is so small. But residents sometimes see what’s going on in their neighborhood.

Read More

January Specials at Ageless MedSpa

By Lakewood News from KarenPosted on Posted in UncategorizedTagged , , , , , ,

Business spotlight Step Into The New Year Let’s start the new year with a bang! It’s time to focus on yourself and your goals. At Ageless MedSpa, we understand that self-care is crucial, and we’re here to help you take your skincare and wellness regimen to the next level. We know it’s easy to put others first, but it’s time to prioritize yourself too. That’s why we’re committed to making you our top priority when it comes to your beauty and wellness goals. Our top-tier services are designed to give you the best results every time. Whether you’re looking to achieve your skincare goals or your body goals, we’ve got you covered. Let us help you upgrade your beauty routine and take care of you! With Ageless MedSpa, you’ll feel refreshed, rejuvenated, and ready to take on anything that comes your way in 2025. So, what are you waiting for? Don’t put off prioritizing yourself and your goals any longer. Contact us today and let’s begin this journey together! Our team of experts is eager to help you kick off the new year with a renewed focus on self-care. Let’s make 2025 your best year yet! Start off the new year with a new glow and radiant confidence! Our IPL Photo Facial is the perfect way to give your skin the boost it deserves. What makes our IPL stand out from the rest? Let us count the ways! First off, our Lumecca IPL requires fewer sessions than traditional IPL. With only one to two treatments needed, you’ll be seeing results faster than ever before. Plus, our IPL causes less redness, swelling, and discomfort, meaning you’ll experience a shorter recovery time. Say goodbye to days of hiding away after a treatment! Our sapphire tip provides a cooling sensation during the treatment, so you won’t need to worry about any topical numbing. And with our high-pulse repetition rate, we’re able to treat a larger area at once, making each treatment shorter and more efficient. But what’s truly amazing about our Lumecca IPL is that it’s suitable for all skin types and can treat a variety of concerns. From sun damage and acne scars to rosacea, age spots, and pigmented lesions, our IPL will leave your skin looking and feeling its best. First Treatment $149 Don’t wait any longer to give yourself the gift of glowing, radiant skin. Book your IPL Photo Facial today and start the new year off right! Blueberry Bliss Facial- This facial is loaded with potent antioxidants that work wonders for your skin, leaving it looking and feeling refreshed and rejuvenated. The combination of glycolic and salicylic acids gently exfoliates your skin, effectively removing dead skin cells while also softening sebum. This results in a brighter, tighter, and more vibrant complexion. Moreover, the blueberries present in this facial treatment have incredible anti-aging properties that offer you a healthy, radiant glow. Apart from exfoliation and providing antioxidants, this facial treatment also refines your pores, giving you a more youthful appearance. It penetrates deep into your skin tissue, removing multiple layers of dead skin cells and providing a more youthful and radiant complexion. You will be amazed at how refreshed and rejuvenated your skin looks and feels after this facial treatment. Monthly Special $69 Strawberry Mint Microdermabrasion Facial- Microdermabrasion is an exceptional treatment that can effectively reveal smoother and brighter skin while diminishing the appearance of fine lines, age spots, and light scars. Our microdermabrasion service includes a strawberry mint mask that features a unique kaolin-based cream formula. This mask is specially formulated to absorb excess oil, minimize acne, and refine pores without hardening on the skin. Apart from its oil-absorbing properties, the strawberry and mint in this mask offer antifungal, antibacterial, and antiseptic benefits. These natural ingredients work together to draw out impurities and toxins from the skin, leaving it refreshed and revitalized. By choosing this treatment, you will have the ultimate refresher that will leave your skin feeling and looking rejuvenated. Don’t hesitate to book an appointment with us to experience the amazing benefits of microdermabrasion with our strawberry mint mask. Monthly Special $79 75 Minute Red Light Rejuvenation Facial- Our facial treatment is designed to provide you with a comprehensive relaxation and wellness experience. It begins with a custom facial tailored to address your unique skin needs. Following this, we incorporate red light therapy to promote relaxation, meditation, and improve the appearance of wrinkles, fine lines, and crow’s feet. This treatment can also enhance skin texture, elasticity, and tone. The entire session lasts for 75 minutes, providing you with ample time to indulge in a truly rejuvenating experience. Monthly Special $95 Call or text to schedule 720-419-4704

Read More

Littleton indefinitely postpones ordinance for multi-unit homes after packed meeting

By Lakewood News from KarenPosted on Posted in Uncategorized

Note: This is pertinent to Lakewood because Lakewood is trying for exactly the same kind of high-density, multi-unit homes. They have already contracted new codes to be written, and it’s scheduled to be voted on this spring. This is not a resident-led iniative but a regionally coordinated agenda. From Rachel Saurer, KDVR.com LITTLETON, Colo. (KDVR) — On Tuesday (7 Jan), the city of Littleton held a public hearing to allow people to provide feedback on a proposal to amend Littleton’s Unified Land Use Code regarding housing types. At the end of the meeting, city officials made the decision to indefinitely postpone the ordinance. “Our goal is to see if we can address some of the housing issues that we have here in Littleton and the whole metro area,” said Mayor Kyle Schlachter. Read more and watch video…

Read More

Lakewood Still Ignoring Window Washers

By Lakewood News from KarenPosted on Posted in UncategorizedTagged , , , , , , , , ,

When Lakewood City Council had the opportunity to study the effects of repealing laws like those that govern panhandling in the street, Council voted no. Council Members said they, “can’t imagine telling a voter that we said we’re going to get rid of the consequences to crime.” What residents heard was “we want our laws to stay.” What Council meant was literally, “we can’t tell people what we are doing.” Nobody used false words, but a year later, Lakewood is still not enforcing its own laws and has not acknowledged the effects of removing the consequences. Since that time, Lakewood has doubled down on permitting window washing by deciding not to put up new signs to deter window washers, while voting to put up new signs to change the speed limit, both of which carry the same traffic risk. Residents are still voicing concerns and noting the lack of enforcement. A new thread on nextdoor.com appeared January 6, 2025. It disappeared within a day because Lakewood has vocal supporters on nextdoor who get people canceled (A big reason to support independent media!). Before it was removed, the post had over 200 comments, most of which agreed that panhandling and window washing on street medians was dangerous. Residents want Lakewood to do something about it. Original post: Complaints: Most neighbors said they felt threatened by the activity, especially females. Others felt endangered due to the high risk of accidents. Still more expressed frustration with Lakewood for not taking action the way other cities, like Arvada, are doing. Some people disagreed that window washing was a problem at all. They didn’t seem to argue about its legality or status as a traffic hazard. Rather than addressing those issues, they argued that residents should be more compassionate. To those that feel threatened or endangered, the overwhelming response was to tell people to deal with it. That is, it was your fault for feeling threatened, not the fault of the window washers or the situation. Misinformation: More troubling is the amount of misinformation out there. For instance, one resident said this wasn’t a Lakewood issue. She advised people to call the state. During this process she agreed with Lakewood’s strategy of unofficially repealing crimes without resident consent. Lakewood Informer reached out the CDOT and the Colorado State Patrol and confirmed that Lakewood are indeed the responders to this situation, if they so choose. Lakewood should have time to police all its laws. One resident said he reached out to Lakewood City Council and was told there was no law against panhandling. Does City Council really not know the laws that have been brought to their attention numerous times? According to another resident, Mayor Wendi Strom specifically called these “crimes of survival” – a concept Council denied defending when refusing to research repealing the law. Are Council or staff interpreting Lakewood laws are illegal and so are unofficially repealing them without a proper vote? Or are they playing word games to say “panhandling is not illegal” while not addressing the fact that there are laws that address the issue? According to staff, Lakewood has repealed several panhandling laws. However, there are others still active for roadside solicitation (LMC 12.18.020). City Council has refused to research effective policing strategies or to take action to enforce Lakewood laws. They have also not officially repealed any laws. But Lakewood residents seem to have no doubt that Lakewood is not enforcing its laws and they are noticing the detrimental effects.

Read More

Lakewood Abuses Emergency Declaration Power

By Lakewood News from KarenPosted on Posted in UncategorizedTagged , , , , , , , , ,

Cold weather has been an accepted fact of Colorado life for thousands of years. That is, except in Lakewood, where normal winter weather has been declared an emergency for the last two years. The city’s seasonal emergency declaration allows Lakewood to bypass its own procedures and operate a homeless shelter — without a required permit. Did Lakewood lack planning, or did the city plan to use an emergency declaration to purposely operate without official votes? Another emergency declaration will be made, if it hasn’t already been, for 2025, the third year in a row. “Any time there is forecast to be an extraordinary emergency/extreme weather event involving sustained temperatures at or below twenty (20) degrees Fahrenheit I have determined that a local extreme weather emergency exists requiring and authorizing me to exercise any or all of the emergency powers vested in me as City Manager…” Extraordinary weather event? Meaning natural Colorado winter weather? Sustained cold? Like, overnight? How is this extraordinary? “In Lakewood, the summers are warm, the winters are very cold and snowy, and it is partly cloudy year-round. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 23°F to 87°F and is rarely below 7°F or above 95°F.” –Weatherspark.com The weather itself is not the emergency. Rather, Lakewood leadership wanted to start a homeless shelter but did not want to go through the normal process of public hearings to decide on a homeless policy.  This public process would be open for community comment but the establishment of homeless shelters is a contentious issue that could lead to unfavorable attention. So, to avoid this prickly issue, it appears that Lakewood City Manager Kathy Hodgson issued an emergency proclamation declaring that normal weather is an emergency, completely bypassing public policy processes, presumably with City Council’s full approval. With this emergency mechanism in place, Lakewood could immediately start operating a homeless shelter.  Interestingly, Lakewood had already applied for state funds, assuring the State that it would get the required permit when necessary.  Unfortunately for the citizens, by the time the permit hearing is held (still in future), Lakewood leadership could claim the emergency process has been historically in place for the past few years, with funding appropriated – thus automatically approving the required permits.   A permit is necessary by code to operate a homeless shelter.  Lakewood had to write a new law in 2023 to operate a temporary shelter. The emergency shelter mechanism appears to be a carefully constructed misinformation tactic that abuses the public trust.  Most significantly, Lakewood has completely bypassed important public policy discussions which resulted in citizens in cities like Arvada to vehemently oppose proposals for getting into the homelessness industry. From Lakewood City Council Study Session, November 18, 2024: “Our hope is that we can ribbon cut this address as a 24/7 shelter in 2025,” said Chris Conner, Manager Housing and Thriving Communities.  He assumes the shelter permit will be approved. Still, there was no mention of public policy debate of homeless response in Lakewood and no response to public criticism of the current shelter. City Council has made it clear during study sessions that they approve of staff policy. Study sessions have no public comment or votes. The only vote so far has been to approve the fund appropriations. There will also be the anticipated vote from the Planning Commission for a shelter that everyone seems to think is guaranteed. Lakewood City Manager Kathy Hodgson continues to get annual bonuses and salary increases, while Council approves of finding legal loopholes to make policies materialize without official Council votes. That keeps the policy power within the City Manager’s office and allows those involved to blame others for the lack of proper public process.   Read the 2024 emergency declarations yourself…

Read More

An Unused Strategy to Housing Affordability

By Lakewood News from KarenPosted on Posted in UncategorizedTagged , , , ,

From SaveBelmarPark.com Have you noticed that Lakewood City Council has dug in pretty deep on their pretend parkland ordinance crisis and their related commitment to litigation and media manipulation over their job which is legislation to address the issues they created?  We hope a more constructive attitude eventually emerges on city council. In fact, we noticed the other day a Lakewood resident and attorney popped up on TV news with an issue that Lakewood wants 1,300 square feet of parkland dedication to allow her ranch home to be leveled and a new home built. While this nice lady made some excellent points, the news reporting seemed to implicate the thousands of good citizens of Lakewood who brought forward the fee-in-lieu removal ordinance for causing the problem as if City Council has no authority or responsibility to consider any useful changes to the ordinance they adopted. I did take the liberty of contacting her architect from their public email address and suggesting that City Council is authorized to address her concerns.  I had previously communicated that information to the reporter but apparently some facts are not news. Read the full email here… And read more about the housing design strategy already used in Europe here…to learn about

Read More

Radiant Painting & Lighting

By Lakewood News from KarenPosted on Posted in Uncategorized

Promoted post At Radiant Painting & Lighting, we are more than a service provider; we are partners in transforming your home. Led by Karen Gordey, a longtime Lakewood resident, our team delivers personalized, professional, and exceptional painting and lighting solutions across the Denver Metro Area. Karen’s background as a customer service executive and paint expert ensures that every project is approached with care. She starts every job, uses quality products, and makes sure the job is completed flawlessly. CONTACT: https://paintwithradiant.com/ 720-940-3887

Read More

Wheat Ridge Development Notice

By Lakewood News from KarenPosted on Posted in Uncategorized

A Wheat Ridge resident reached out for help on development issues on 32nd, just west of McIntyre. Development application signs are posted on the land around the Mormon church there. There are reportedly similar signs along South Golden Road, West 8th Ave, and Ford Stree in Golden. Multi-family units are coming to lots of places and residents have made the same complaints to the city as Lakewood residents have to no avail. The hearings are open to the public. Update: West Metro Housing is the developer

Read More

Whippoorwill Withdrawn

By Lakewood News from KarenPosted on Posted in UncategorizedTagged , , , , , , ,

From Jonna Helm, as of November (apologies for the delayed posting) After 18-months of the community sharing concerns surrounding the site suitability and safety issues with the entrance and exit through Youngfield St for the proposed development on Whippoorwill Dr (Williams Pointe apartments), the developer has officially withdrawn their major site plan application and canceled their building permit application with the City of Lakewood.   Over the course of the last year, the development underwent six separate major site plan reviews with the City of Lakewood’s Planning Department. At the time that the developer withdrew the major site plan application, the site plans still had challenges that had not been rectified, and the plans were not approved.  During the last snowstorm, we shared with the developer’s board members and city staff, yet again, multiple incidences of vehicles unable to make it up W. 15th Place, which is the location that the developer chose for the sole entrance and exit for the apartments.      As one resident wrote to the developer’s board members in response to our email: “ Thank you so much for sharing these events which highlight the issues we’re facing in what’s only the beginning of our winter season. It’s blatant negligence at this point for the city to ignore our concerns and move forward with W 15th Pl as the ingress/egress for the Williams Point project and I truly hope they make an impact, before it’s too late”. The following day, we received multiple emails from the developer. The first email in response to sharing the videos: “Thanks you for sending this information. I believe you should continue to work with the city on the lack of safe streets in your neighborhood”. Followed by another email: “I’m writing to inform you that we will not be completing our financing of Williams Pointe this year. We will continue to work on temporary and permanent uses of the property”. At this time, we are unsure what the developer is planning for the site but we can only hope that between the cost and complexity of developing this small, steep hillside and the headwinds and challenges that had not been able to be rectified through six separate review processes, that the land will be kept as open space or used to expand the adjacent Blue Star Memorial Park, which is currently a small road-side park along W. Colfax Ave, that is dedicated to our armed forces.  Blue Star Memorial Park – City of Lakewood At any rate, we thank the community and everyone who has taken the time to share and bring these concerns to the attention of our city and developer.  

Read More
Scroll to top