Author : Lakewood News from Karen

Lakewood Residents Petition to Save Their Parks

By Lakewood News from KarenPosted on April 28, 2024Posted in UncategorizedTagged Colorado, environment, news, real-estate, water

Guest Post from Save Open Space Lakewood Lakewood residents petition to save their parks and open space which the City likes to give away to developers. On April 27th they were at Lakewood’s Belmar Park with petitions. Background Local environment advocates will circulate a petition at Lakewood’s Earth Day, on Saturday, April 27, that would force the City from its arrogant behind-the-scenes approval of out-of-control developments to provide significant environmental stewardship for Lakewood. Once certified with 6,000 required signatures, the petition becomes an initiative which Lakewood is required to vote for. If it doesn’t, it will be placed on a citywide ballot. Over one thousand signatures have already been collected in less than a month. When: Saturday, April 27Time: 11 AM -7 PMWhere: Heritage Lakewood Belmar Park, 801 S. Yarrow St., Lakewood 80226 “It’s become clear that nothing short of this petition is going to change complacent City staff, the City Council and the Planning Commission to be responsive to citizen concerns and also supportive of preserving our parks and open space,” said Cathy Kentner, who co-created the petition with fellow longtime community activist Rhonda Peters. Both founded Save Open Space Lakewood which is organizing this all-volunteer petition effort. The petition, titled the Lakewood Green Initiative, was inspired after the public learned Lakewood staff had worked for several years to preliminarily approve and advance the plans of Kairoi Residential, a Texas developer, for a 412-unit, 83 unit per floor, 6 story luxury apartment building with a footprint the size of two football fields which would share the eastern boundary of Belmar Park. Belmar Park is a 132 acre beloved park in the middle of Lakewood’s growing concrete jungle. It is a peaceful haven for over 230 bird species (many protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act), abundant wildlife and innumerable human visitors. In preliminarily approving the Kairoi plan, the City ignored its own ordinances on protecting parkland and wildlife, improving tree canopy, fighting climate change and providing affordable housing. Instead it supported the gigantic 800,000 square foot design with no buffer with the park, the elimination of 69 mature trees, and lack of serious analysis of the development’s effects on the environment and on the safety of nearby residents who can only exit on a narrow street. The public was notified very late as if it was an afterthought. Now the City claims many elements of the project are a done deal and they lack the power to correct this. Since this deal was initially revealed, the City has placed numerous obstacles in the way of citizen attempts to have input on the development’soutcome. Likewise, Lakewood staff has been actively attempting to thwart approval of the petition. The latest effort was an unprecedented five-day delay. Interestingly, a few hours after a local TV reporter submitted questions to the City, the petition was promptly approved and released to Kentner. The Initiative Summary as Set by Lakewood City Clerk Shall the City of Lakewood Municipal Code Chapter 14.16. PARK AND OPEN SPACE DEDICATION be repealed and replaced to eliminate the option for developers to pay a fee in lieu of parkland dedication and to require the City to accept open space and land dedications for current and future developments. Longer version: See soslakewood.org Several years ago Kentner, who ran as an independent candidate for Mayor and has served on the Lakewood Planning Commission, successfully authored and helped pass a petition to limit population growth in Lakewood; it was subsequently approved in a citywide election. By not following its own standards, Lakewood has effectively sold what should have been more than a dozen acres of parkland in the last decade. According to information provided by the city, Lakewood has not required land from developers since the Solterra development in 2007 and 2013. Kentner said there appears to be a gentleman’s agreement between Lakewood and all of its developments so they are allowed to pay the City instead of providing open space. Although citizens have long felt powerless as Lakewood approved large apartment buildings in charming neighborhoods and at the perimeter of parks, the Kairoi monolith at Belmar Park inspired several groups to work to either limit the size of the building or eliminate it entirely. SaveBelmarPark.com is a comprehensive website that includes a petition to declare eminent domain on the land between the building and the park in order to create a buffer zone. Save Belmar Park, Inc. has been organizing, educating and fundraising to pursue legal channels to protect the park. Save Open Space Lakewood (SOS Lakewood) created a petition to bring these groups together to work toward a common goal of protecting Lakewood’s natural environment.

City Seeks to De-Tabor but Over Collects Property Tax

By Lakewood News from KarenPosted on April 28, 2024Posted in UncategorizedTagged budget, city-council, news, politics, taxes

Guest Post by Mary Janssen Here we are again! The city of Lakewood is sending out a $73k survey to test the waters if the public is ready to De Tabor again and give up your over paid tax refunds so the city can spend it on their pet projects that they deem important. After asking how things are going… snow plowing, police response, pot holes, the money spent on new parks (a new majority in Ward 5). They ask you if you would reject them taking more of your money. One of the questions made me laugh. The one about the Mill levy. If you didn’t know I made a motion last October to decrease the mill levy from 4.7% to 3.85%. This would have decreased the revenue collected by the city to within the charter rule (12.12) which says clearly that property tax revenue must be below 7% growth from previous year. At a budget meeting I attended The city financial officer Holly Bjorklund was projecting a valuation number that she guessed was going to be the new property valuations. We do property taxes in arrears. After doing some research on what the city was collecting on previous years since the last De Tabor we found the city was over collecting property taxes one year alone was 18%. Based on this information I thought the citizens deserved a real decrease so that’s how my team and I came up with 3.85. It would have decreased the revenue to around 5%. The city would still be collecting a fair amount and provide the citizens the relief so desperately needed since the other districts i.e. school, Fire, etc. did not decrease their mills. My team did some calculations and found that based on Holly’s projected valuation number the city would be increasing property tax revenue by 12%. After getting the real certified valuation number from the Jefferson County Assessors in August the city would have made a whopping 24.5% increase in revenue. That new certified number was never brought up, so I made some papers to inform the rest of council, the mayor and the city manager and the budget committee about the new certified valuation numbers and why we must decrease the mill levy to provide relief to our Lakewood citizens. The only other councilor that contacted me about this was Rich Olver and he decided that based on the research and the facts he would co-sponsor my motion. I had to announce my motion by council request and was denied the first time so I had to wait till the end of October at the budget approval council meeting, when I was allowed to bring my motion forward, as reported in Lakewood news. I had already provided the other councilors the mayor, the budget committee city manager and staff my findings and why we need to decrease the mill. I put my motion forward and councilor Olver seconded my motion, when out of the blue councilor Barb Franks made an amendment to my original motion to raise my mill levy number of 3.85 to 4.28% in an appearance to make it look like the revenue was neutral. I have an email from Holly Bjorklund the chief financial officer admitting that the city will be indeed increasing the revenue by 12.5% , not neutral. During discussion about the amendment I cited the charter 12.12 and was told by the city attorney that we were talking about the mill levy reduction not the charter rule about the revenue cap. I was told that in order for the city to go back and look at the interpretation of 12.12 the city would have to be sued. The 4.28% mill levy amendment was voted on 10-1. I declined to vote for the amendment because #1 it was based on an estimated valuation number not the certified valuation number and #2 I knew that the increased revenue would be above the charter cap. So based on facts do you think its safe to let the city take your TABOR Refunds? Mary Janssen Previous Lakewood City Councilor Ward 5

Sale of Lakewood Motel leaves some Coloradans searching for new housing

By Lakewood News from KarenPosted on April 22, 2024Posted in Uncategorized

Cross-post by Karen Morfitt, CBS News Room 110 at the Mountain View Inn has everything Joyce Gonzales needs. “It’s small, but it serves the purpose, you know, for me,” she said. Over the last three years, she has worked at a nearby gas station to pay $425 a week needed to live here. From the pots and pans on the wall of her kitchen to the small couch and TV in her living space, she has made it a home. “Don’t have much but it’s all I have. I don’t want to lose it,” Gonzales said. The reality is she will likely have to leave. The motel was sold to Recovery Works earlier this year, which informed long-term guests they would need to vacate. “I said ‘So you guys are going to make someone homeless to help someone who is homeless?’ What is the purpose here?” Read the full story at CBS news…

Jeffco Missed Opportunities for Sunlight on Emory

By Lakewood News from KarenPosted on April 22, 2024Posted in Uncategorized

Tip from Robert Greenawalt, https://improvejeffcoschools.org/ Here is an example of how much Jeffco schools’ staff wanted to keep quiet the talks about Emory and the City of Lakewood/Action Center. The conversation in this clip https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xWRI8v0vpl8 occurred at the very end of the November 1, 2023 Board of Ed study session. Staff was directly asked why they wanted the property declared surplus and their answer was that it was big and potentially costly to maintain. There was no mention that they had most likely been approached by, and had discussions with, Lakewood and possibly others. That was deceptive at best and lying by omission at worst. This deprived the Board, and community, of very important information. There is something very wrong with what transpired that evening. Note: Read more of Robert’s reporting on Jeffco fiscal issues at https://improvejeffcoschools.org/ Thank you, Robert!

A Review of Lakewood’s Proposed “Beneficial Home Electrification and Upgrade Program”

By Lakewood News from KarenPosted on April 18, 2024Posted in Uncategorized

Guest Post from Bill Foshag Editor’s Note: This plan will be acted on by City Council during the April 22 meeting. Check that meeting packet to see the full proposal for the LAC side of the story. The Lakewood Advisory Commission (LAC) put together a “Beneficial Home Electrification and Upgrade Program” (BHEUP). This plan will come a great expense to the residents of Lakewood, and will mandate drastic changes to the City’s building code. The Plan The BHEUP plan targets Lakewood homes and multi-family buildings for CO2 reduction. It is presented in response to a proposal at a July 2023 City Council meeting where the Advisory Committee was approved to look into policies and actions to expedite “green renovation” in Lakewood’s residential buildings. Lakewood has a 2015 “sustainability plan” that calls for reducing the city’s CO2 emissions to 20% below 2007 levels by the year 2025. According to the plan, “Partnering in the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy commits Lakewood to achieve net zero community greenhouse gas emissions by 2050”. Achieving these goals means the entire elimination of the use of natural organic fuel sources (oil, natural gas, and coal). There is no discussion in the report why the city has partnered with a global organization that does not represent our residents. Achieving these goals means the entire elimination of the use of natural organic fuel sources (oil, natural gas, and coal). The plan states that 21% of Lakewood’s CO2 emissions come from residences. The sources of the remaining 79% of CO2 emissions in Lakewood (commercial, transportation, unspecified “consumption”, and other sources) are not targeted for reductions. The report does not state why residences are specifically targeted and why larger CO2 contributors are excluded. Traditionally, governing bodies have found it easier to regulate individuals, as corporations and larger organizations have lobbying groups and funding, and are better equipped to fight back and litigate if necessary. The plan states that the targeted properties are multi-family units over 20,000 square feet, with certain exemptions for new homes under 2,500 square feet, and remodeling of existing homes. Further reading shows in fact, that it calls for changes to be made to the EDM which would include all existing residences and all new construction regardless of square footage under this plan. The plan LAC proposes has four primary recommendations to achieve the goal of greenhouse gas reduction: 1. Establish a Lakewood program for tax credit and rebate match for qualifying upgrades. 2. Make additions to the Enhanced Development Menu (EDM), Article 13 and (continue to) adapt as conditions develop in order to meet goals. 3. Add full time employees as deemed necessary at the Lakewood Building Department and Sustainability Division to implement and administer recommendations. 4. Develop a comprehensive community outreach and education plan to promote and support appropriate electrification and weatherization. Adding more support staff to implement these changes has budget implications at a time Lakewood is already asking for more money. The plan calls for partnering with companies such as BlocPower, a for-profit corporation based in New York. No doubt BlocPower would profit from Lakewood’s adoption of this proposal. Representatives from BlocPower are noted as assisting in preparing this plan. A Sense of Urgency The LAC is making this proposal with a sense of urgency: “The LAC supports urgent adoption of these recommendations so Lakewood staff will have time to develop programs affecting the 2025 city budget. Federal funds are available now and state funds become available in 2024” and: “They (Federal funds) may not be available indefinitely, especially given the uncertainty of election outcomes and politics. It is therefore imperative that Lakewood takes the below listed steps related to funding opportunities…”. A quick approval of this plan by City Council allows less time for resident’s feedback. It does not allow for careful analysis of the necessary expenses and possible consequences of a proposal that will be very costly for the residents and likely to require unacceptable lifestyle changes. Mandated Major Changes The plan seeks to take away homeowners energy choices and impose city mandated regulations via changes in the building code and permitting processes to achieve these goals: “Broad adoption of electrification is necessary to make significant change. Where voluntary reductions fall short of decarbonization goals, upgrades at the point of replacement of heating appliances and furnaces can be encouraged at permitting or through the expansion of Lakewood’s Enhanced Development Menu: EDM. Additionally, Federal, state, and local incentives can assist most homeowners in the transition away from greenhouse gas producing systems and can be weighted to further assist homeowners when affordability is insurmountable.” Heat Pumps The plan advocates the use of heat pumps to replace natural gas furnaces. Heat pumps can be thought of as air conditioners that can be run in reverse. They generally work well and efficiently within certain specific indoor/outdoor temperature ranges, but when those temperatures ranges widen, the efficiency drops. Working as a heat pump, the units depend on a certain amount of heat to be available in the ambient air outside so that heat can be transferred indoors for heating. For residential heating, heat pumps can work fairly well when the outside temperatures are in the 50 to 60 degree range, but their efficiency and ability to heat a home drops considerably when the temperatures approach 40 degrees. Below 40 degrees, heat pumps are not able to maintain indoor temperatures at comfortable levels so some sort of back-up heat source is required. The back-up is typically either a natural gas furnace or an electrical (resistive) heating source. While resistive heating works well, it is very expensive compared to natural gas heating. Heating homes in this area with heat pumps is very expensive, not efficient, and not practical considering the cold winters we have in Lakewood. The plan also mentions heat pump systems for heating water. The BHEUP proposal states: “Add electrification compliance of a heat pump water heater at the replacement of natural gas hot water heaters. This achieves GHG emissions reduction

Lakewood Lobbies for Your TABOR Refund

By Lakewood News from KarenPosted on April 18, 2024Posted in UncategorizedTagged community, election, elections, news, survey

Lakewood has hired Magellan Strategies to conduct a ballot measure survey intended to help pass a ballot measure allowing the city to keep your TABOR refunds. Residents are already receiving the first part of that survey by cell phone message. The intent is to use the survey to find out what question residents respond positively to, and use that language on the ballot. The survey will also allow weighing responses by demographic group and information targeted to specific demographics. The city will spend up to $74,000 figuring out how to convince residents to give up their refund. Opposing groups will not have this advantage. This survey is a one-sided informational campaign aimed at allowing the city to keep TABOR refunds because the Budget and Audit Board has already identified the need to keep the funds. According to Magellan, a cold ballot measure, one without prior information, does not have a good chance of passing. Through the survey, the city can spread the information that the city needs money. In other words, the survey is a way to get around the prohibition against government ballot campaigns. “A ballot measure survey is more than just measuring voter support and opposition for a sales or property tax increase. The ballot measure survey is the single best way a government organization can educate and inform their resident and voters about the reasons why new revenue is needed for core services, capital projects, an other needs. From years of experience, we believe a ballot measure asking voters to approve a tax increase for any purpose is more likely to pass if a survey is conducted. One primary reason being, informed voters, who trust their local government’s leadership, appreciate the information and can better rationalize the financial contribution they are making.” From: https://magellanstrategies.com/surveys-for-governments (emphasis added) What does the city need money for? Well…. everything. The city does not know and cannot say specifically. Spending levels for all city departments have gone up over the years and that level is now expected to be maintained. The survey attempts to find out what residents would be willing to spend money on so that the city can justify keeping refunds. The Budget Board had not identified possible specific cuts prior to the survey. If the ballot measure fails, City Manager Hodgson told the Board the city will default to across the board spending cuts. In other words, reverting to previous levels. The survey takes about 10 minutes to complete and is composed of general interest and demographic questions. This will help gauge the mood of the residents. The demographic questions will help the surveyors weigh your response. For example, respondents who are homeowners over 65 will have their answers downplayed, while Hispanic renters will have their answers amplified. This artificial weighing allows the consultant to mimic the demographics of Lakewood, rather than the demographics of actual respondents or voters. Take the survey here https://www.research.net/r/What_do_you_want_for_Lakewood There will be a second survey in June to refine the actual ballot language. This first survey is just gauging community interest. Residents question the use of city funds in an effort to gain resident money, as demonstrated in the Nextdoor post below. According this post, the average income in Lakewood is $45,000, almost $30,000 less than what Lakewood may spend on this survey.

Shoplifting Arrests Down Over 50%

By Lakewood News from KarenPosted on April 13, 2024Posted in Uncategorized

Arrests for shoplifting in Lakewood are down 56% over the last 5 years. Reported shoplifting cases are also down but not by as much due to a sharp increase in reports last year. Council Member Rich Olver recently made the point that the two Walmart stores on Wadsworth have taken out their self-checkout aisles. By speaking to the store managers, he confirmed this change was due to shoplifting. Olver noted that something must have changed for Walmart to go the expense of closing what was supposed to be a long-term investment for self-checkout lanes. The visible proof at Walmart shows that shoplifting is up. On March 12, there were reports that three busloads of people were dropped off at the Walmart on Colfax and Wadsworth. These three busloads of people reportedly came in, filled their carts and left without paying. Click here for more on Douglas County policy to fine bus passenger drop off Walmart has no official comment on the bus incident. Unfortunately, many business are unable to make comment on recent crime trends without enduring public backlash. However, again, the proof of increasing shoplifting is in the change of checkout lanes. For years, stores in Lakewood have been putting up gates and extra security guards at most grocery stores. Stores Face Difficulty Prosecuting Stores have long been resigned to enduring loss through shoplifting. For one thing, the bar for prosecution is extremely high. Regular customers and store employees are deemed unreliable witnesses. The store must get the accused to agree to wait for police without chasing them or restraining them. The store must prove intent. Proving intent is almost always the act of concealment. If there is not a consistent witness throughout concealment, or if there is no concealment, the store may have a problem getting a court to pursue. If the store is fairly confident they have the procedure right, they still have be sure the police will arrive “in reasonable time.” If any of this goes wrong, the store could be sued for illegal detention or false imprisonment. There is no benefit of the doubt in the “Shopkeeper’s Privilege” to hold accused shoplifters. On the other hand, Colorado and Lakewood are committed to diversion programs that will allow an offender to “avoid the collateral consequences associated with criminal charges and convictions”. To sum up: There may be good reason for residents to believe shoplifting is increasing while arrests are decreasing in Lakewood news. Reader Recommended Business: Kirk’s Painting — Best Quality Attitude and prices — Free estimates 218-251-3932

Exciting New Hiking Network Unveiled – The ‘Denver Orbital Trail (DOT)’

By Lakewood News from KarenPosted on April 11, 2024Posted in Uncategorized

Encircles Entire Metro! Press Release from DenverOrbital.org (DENVER, CO) Locals and visitors to Denver alike now have a new way to explore the region. The ‘Denver Orbital Trail’ (AKA the ‘DOT’) is a 177-mile, 28-segment, walking, running, and wheeling route linking existing trails and public-access paths to completely encircle the Denver metro area. The DOT’s designer is Golden resident Michael Tormey, a Civil Engineer currently working on transportation safety projects on public lands. He developed his love of walking the outdoors in the English countryside while in graduate school in London. He says his goal in developing the DOT route was to create something that would get more people outside exploring more of the region. “A circular walk brings you right back where you started,” Tormey said, “but along the way, I hope you find yourself seeing all this incredible region has to offer, that you find yourself changed along the way.” He wanted to make sure as much of it as possible is easy for walkers of all ages and abilities, close to amenities and facilities, and public transportation-accessible. It’s a long route, so it’s been divided into manageable parts. The 28 segments vary a lot. They range from 2 to 12 miles in length, all perfect for day hikes. This was not just drawing a circle on a map! Tormey walked every inch of the DOT to confirm and document the trails, which enabled him to build a detailed website with plentiful information on every segment, including photos. While walking the route, he discovered some side-trail opportunities, which are also included on the website. He calls those, of course, ‘sub-orbitals’! It took Tormey a few months to walk the entire orbital, but he says the beauty of it is that it’s ‘hop-on, hop-off’. “People can walk as many or as few segments as they like. They can take as long as they want to complete the whole circuit,” Tormey says, “Or maybe they never get all the way around. That’s OK too. That said, there’s something great to see on every single segment, so my hope would be that people aim for a complete orbit!” The development of the DOT was generously supported by a micro-grant awarded by the Denver Community Active Living Coalition (CALC) in partnership with the Department of Transportation & Infrastructure (DOTI) and Denver Streets partnership (DSP). The website is DenverOrbital.org. We’re on Instagram and Twitter @DenverOrbital.

Denver Shelter Statistics Dispute Lakewood’s Claims to Safety

By Lakewood News from KarenPosted on April 8, 2024Posted in Uncategorized

One of the main claims Lakewood made in regards to the new Navigation Center homeless shelter, was that crime does not increase around shelters. A recent article from Denver shows disputes that claim…. Crime calls up 2,900% at hotel converted to homeless shelter in Denver “In the first three months after the City of Denver converted a hotel in Denver’s Central Park neighborhood to a shelter for the homeless, calls for police and first responders rose 2,900% compared to the previous three months when it served as a hotel, according to city data obtained by CBS News Colorado.” Read more… An important note is the Denver article is that Cole Chandler, Denver Mayor Michael Johnston’s senior adviser on homelessness, said that “residents are also being educated on relying less on calling 911 for various issues.” Lakewood police have already encouraged local food banks to manage trespassing calls on their own. Deprioritizing crimes associated with homelessness is a policy defended by Lakewood officials. If crime does rise around the navigation center, Lakewood residents may be on their own. However, the new Lakewood shelter is in an area with historically high crime so it is unlikely a rise in crime will be noticed, especially since it will have been operating as an “emergency” shelter on and off throughout the winter. Shoutout to News For Reasonable People for bringing Denver’s issue to attention

Lakewood Supports City Planners Over Residents

By Lakewood News from KarenPosted on March 28, 2024Posted in UncategorizedTagged affordable-housing, environment, Lakewood, news, politics, water

The development at 777 S Yarrow St, Lakewood, Colorado, has brought residents concerns over development to the forefront. Despite having ordinances and zoning codes, residents have identified concerns with traffic impacts, wildfire and emergency response, the loss of trees and questionable park fee implementations. Residents continue to act for this cause, at SaveBelmarPark.com, and there has been rumors of possible legal action. However, if Colorado House Bill 1107 gets passed, residents will have an even more difficult time bringing legal action against the city, because they will face legal fees if they lose the case. The bill is meant to decrease suits from residents, who don’t understand that the city has done research to show that the city is right, and therefore, resident concerns are generally unfounded and possibly frivolous. The Lakewood Legislative Committee, has taken a support position on this bill, meaning they support making it harder for residents to bring legal action against the city. This position provides an insight as to why so many resident complaints, like those of hundreds of people against the S Yarrow St development, are often given lip-service or outright ignored. The issue highlights an important dichotomy in government. Technically, in a representative democracy, the residents should be telling elected officials what they want in terms of legislation. The elected officials then vote on a policy and the city staff will implement it. But what happens when politicians use targeted words to get a policy through that means something other than what people think? What happens when words from last year can be reinterpreted to mean something different this year, so that policy can change without so much as a public discussion? These are the questions that residents ask when looking at the rules for developing S Yarrow St. How is it possible that a little street with a small building footprint can have no negative impact to traffic if you change it to high-density residential an add an extra couple hundred cars? Aren’t there rules to maintain a neighborhood in similar fashion? In Colorado Springs, residents have found the answer in taking legal action against the city. Springs residents’ often cite the same problems – and developers are tired of it. According to this article in The Gazette, developers cite the need for more housing while residents cite safety concerns. Reading this article, where they talk about the 7-story complexes going in that are causing traffic concerns for the residents, you may think you are reading about Lakewood. City Has the Experts Lakewood will often require a traffic impact study, or environmental study when necessary. This expert testimony is the basis for approving projects. As one quote from the Gazette article stated, “”When [neighborhoods] fight these projects, they are not agreeing with the experts. They are deciding for themselves that it’s not safe.” “In recent years, numerous political theorists and philosophers have argued that experts ought to be in charge of public policy and should manipulate, or contain, the policy preferences of the ignorant masses.” – Nicholas Tampio, aeon.co It is rare that cities will change their mind on project approval. Residents concerned with 777 S Yarrow have been told for months that nothing substantial can be done. So legal action brought by residents will typically delay a project, but will not cause any particular change. To limit these delays, developers and cities need a way to stop residents from pursuing legal action. One way to achieve that is through HB24-1107 which proposes that residents who legally challenge the city will have to pay legal fees if they lose. Passing HB24-1107 is sure to discourage residents, who already have less financial and legal resources than the city or developers they are facing. Lakewood Council Member David Rein pointed out that this legislation is very one sided because developers are still free to bring legal action with no increased risk to themselves, which will not be the case for the residents. However, with his “city hat” on, Rein supports the legislation. Councilor Glenda Sinks said that Lakewood should support this bill because it’s a way to support staff. No one publicly considered the increase in legal action as a cry for help from the residents, who have presumably asked for the ordinances to be enforced in the way residents commonly understood they would be (for example, open space would be park space, not including dumpster space.) Unanimous approval from the Legislative Committee: Council Members Sinks , Cruz, Stewart, Rein, LaBure (absent) Legislative positions are not posted anywhere or shared unless there is a “strong” position. But this signals to the residents that Lakewood considers resident appeals to be generally not worthy of support.