Lakewood News from Karen, Author at Lakewood Informer

Lakewood Spends Taxpayer Money on Keeping Taxpayer Money

Written by Lakewood News from Karen on February 3, 2024.

In June 2023, the Lakewood Budget and Audit Board voted to recommend keeping future TABOR funds. To do that, they recommended finding a specialist to help find out what would make residents agree to this proposal. That decision seems to be proceeding, although requests for status have not yet been answered.

As this CBS News article points out, governments cannot spend money on political campaigns. Although keeping TABOR refunds will be a ballot issue, it is not now. Therefore, there is a loophole to be taken advantage of in order to craft a political message before announcing the ballot measure.

Jefferson County is doing the same so-called pre-campaigning for tax refunds. However, in the case of the county, they were very careful not to say that a decision had been made to keep the funds. Jeffco said they were just researching, which will include ways to craft ballot language.

Lakewood has already made the decision to keep the TABOR funds by a vote of the Budget and Audit Board. So a ballot issue is pending but is not yet announced. The Board discussed using the specialist to find out what residents would be willing to pay for so that they could use that language. Former Mayor Paul pointed out how successful that strategy was the last time.

Jefferson County was in the news for hiring a personal connection of Rep. Brittany Pettersen to research this TABOR issue.

Lakewood did not have to suffer this scrutiny because they reached out for three quotes that did not go over the limit which would require a public Request For Proposals. The decision did not come to Council as a separate policy decision that would require public discussion. The expense would have been included in the 2024 budget and approved at that time.

There is no word on the current status of this project. No Council Member responded to questions for status or where in the 2024 budget the funds were included.

Update 3 February 2024: Council Member Olver responded that the current Budget Board Council Members would be more likely to have answers. Currently that would be Councilors Rebekah Stewart, Jeslin Shahrezaei, Isabel Cruz.

Reader Recommended Business: Go With the Flow Plumbing

Local Person Nominated for Armed Forces Insurance Military Spouse of the Year

Written by Lakewood News from Karen on February 1, 2024.

Guest Post

Jerad Knight, Navy spouse in Lakewood Colorado has been nominated for the 2024 Armed Forces Insurance Military Spouse of the Year (AFI MSOY). Jerad Knight is an active military spouse in his local and nationwide military spouse community. He has worked with local organizations and global military spouse networks to bring awareness to issues within the military community ranging from Mental health, suicide awareness, food insecurities, and housing issues.

A full review of his accomplishments and nominations can be viewed on his candidate profile at:

https://msoy.afi.org/profiles/2024-jerad-knight

Public voting for the first round of competition opens from February 5 – 9 2024 at:

https://msoy.afi.org

To vote all anyone would need to do is create a user profile and they can vote daily each day of voting by logging in and casting their votes. Base winners (first round) will be announced February 13, 2024.

A second round of voting will occur February 27 – 28 2024 and the public voting will happen the same way as the first round. Branch (Second Round winners) will be announced March 4, 2024.

After the two rounds of public voting Branch winners will be judged for the overall Military Spouse of the Year 2024 award and announced at the AFI MSOY town Hall in Washington, D.C. on May 9, 2024.

About AFI MSOY

About the Military Spouse of the Year Program

The Armed Forces Insurance Military Spouse of the Year^® (AFI MSOY) award was founded in 2008 to honor military spouses from all branches of service. More than one million military spouses support and maintain the home front while our service members defend this great nation.

The AFI MSOY award recognizes military spouses’ important contributions and unwavering commitment to the military community and our country. Nominations for AFI MSOY are made by both the civilian and military community. There are four rounds of advancement, culminating in the announcement of the overall AFI MSOY in our nation’s capital in early May. AFI MSOY is so much more than an award!

Echo Chamber of Public Support for Navigation Center

Written by Lakewood News from Karen on January 28, 2024.

The grant for the Navigation Center in Lakewood includes several letters of support from community organizations who have previously existing ties to the city.

Organizations are a type of special interest group who have good intentions but do not necessarily democratically represent the neighborhood residents, for example by taking a vote. The residents who live around the Navigation Center did not provide any support letters, and no city meeting nor survey of Lakewood residents was conducted to solicit support. Was there a place for robust discussion and dissenting voices to be heard?

Rather than talk to disparate residents, an easier route is to get a letter from organizations which has previous ties with the city. In this case, the Lakewood organizations all had close working relationships with Lakewood, including financial ties, as shown below.

There is no evidence that the letters of support were financially motivated. What it may suggest is an echo chamber of existing, friendly partners rather than a coalition of broader community support.

Other letters of support came from Jefferson County and the cities of Arvada, Westminster, Wheat Ridge and Golden. Each city letter used the same language: “fully supports the proposed goals of the project and looks forward to continuing to collaborate with the City of Lakewood and RecoveryWorks”. Only Jefferson County mentioned future funding, pending availability.

No Policy Discussion to Become the Homeless Center of Jeffco

Written by Lakewood News from Karen on January 24, 2024.

City Council passed up another opportunity for an open discussion on a homeless policy for Lakewood. Instead, on January 22 Council approved a “supplemental appropriation” to the budget which will implement the strategy they decided on internally. Accepting this grant for a Navigation Center represents a multi-year fiscal obligation about how to serve the unhoused and Lakewood has not so much as set a committee or a study session to talk about best practices. Final vote to accept the grant will happen on second reading.

City staff have let you know they received a grant. Council has taken no other public vote but brief mentions throughout the year indicated something was being researched by staff, not Council. It seems reasonable that if the city is researching something for a year, that maybe the public be brought into that conversation at some point before the final vote.

The public may want to contribute or may be interested to see how Council will represent them on questions such as:

Does Lakewood want to serve as the only Navigation Center in Jefferson County?
What type of shelter would residents support (i.e. low barrier or self-help based)?
Should migrants be integrated into the shelter system?
Are there other ways to help that are more government-appropriate?

Definition: Navigation Center is “This is a centralized location that provides residents easy access to a variety of supportive services to help with basic needs, medical and behavioral services and housing resources for residents without stable housing. The facility serves as a “one stop shop” for anyone in need of resources and provides a day shelter to our unhoused residents.” – Lakewood.org

There are many options to solve this problem and Lakewood seems to assume it has the answer with the most public support. Lakewood also assumes it knows the problem when even the problem is controversial.

For example, the Director of RecoveryWorks, James Ginsberg, says this is absolutely an economic problem. His non-profit, RecoveryWorks, will be running the Navigation Center. He says that people just need a place to stay, housing first. Housing first is a “low barrier” strategy that does not require people to address their problems to receive help. He says that although you want people to be able to be responsible for their own payments, “around 90% of the unhoused have suffered trauma.”

Experts from cities with longer histories of homelessness disagree and say homelessness is mostly an open-air drug use problem.

“Homeless is a propaganda word” because it also describes the open-drug scene. Because when you say homeless you think it’s a housing problem and people who only have housing problems are the easiest populations to help. The overwhelming problem with the homeless is street addition and untreated mental health crises. – Michael Shellenberger

Is Lakewood ignoring the lessons learned by other cities? Perhaps. But what are the options?

“How do we protect our society while at the same time showing compassion to those sick and struggling…. We can’t ignore or arrest our way out” –Dr. Jennifer Clark during KOMO News Documentary.

One option found in Rhode Island was to strictly enforce all laws, with a specialized, voluntary, medical treatment program in jail to impose physical stability. This approach has pros and cons.

Aurora (Colorado) just found another option, which was a work-first shelter, including sobriety testing for guests. They too reject the Denver “housing first” model that Lakewood embraces.

Lakewood may have the right answer, but did residents know this discussion was held since it wasn’t public? Do they know what values their City Council member was standing for? How can residents vote for public officials with no public discussion on policy?

If you have been listening very carefully to City Council meetings over the last year, you would have heard several mentions that a Navigation Center was being researched by staff. But even as of August 2023 it was unclear to the public and Jefferson County what was going on. What role did City Council play?

There will be discussion and a public vote on second reading to receive the grant, presumably February 12, 2024.

Please contact us if you are interested in being a contributor. Take a survey on the issue here.

$60M apartment project in Lakewood ‘all but abandoned,’ lender says

Written by Lakewood News from Karen on January 20, 2024.

Cross-post from BusinessDen.com, Justin Wingerter January 19, 2024

Construction on a $60 million apartment complex along Wadsworth Boulevard “has come to a standstill due to infighting” and been “all but abandoned,” its lender alleges.

Aspen Heights Partners, a Texas developer, broke ground in 2020 on a 352-unit apartment project at 1225 Wadsworth in Lakewood, with plans to finish it by the end of 2022. Amenities were to include a heated pool, dog park, bike repair shop and golf simulator.

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Bandimere Update

Written by Lakewood News from Karen on January 19, 2024.

Cross-post from KYGO.com, By Shawn Patrick on January 18, 2024

Here’s What’s Planned for the Former Site of Colorado’s Bandimere Speedway

Bandimere Speedway in Morrison has seen it’s last drag race, and will eventually have a new home, but the site will still likely have strong ties to the automotive world.

Officials from California-based Copart, a car auction firm, said they are in the process of buying Bandimere Speedway and hope to turn the majority of the property into storage for cars awaiting auction.

Lakewood Dismissing Low-Level Offenses

Written by Lakewood News from Karen on January 5, 2024.

Putting someone in jail for a low-level municipal offense is an unsatisfactory answer for people who believe jail is ineffective or harsh. Since jail is often the mandated penalty, Lakewood may take the “compassionate” route and dismiss the case if the alleged offender visits Community Outreach Court. The de facto penalty is then talking to housing and job providers, which isn’t a penalty but a helping hand. The result is dismissing all warrants for Failure To Appear in court, and often dismissing the original charge as well.

Charges that are often dismissed:

Having an open container
Sleeping in a public park
Shoplifting
Trespassing
Simple assault
Possession of drug paraphernalia
Indecent exposure (public urination)
Failure to Appear in court

Lakewood is working to reach out to the homeless community to bring them to Outreach Court. Lakewood homeless navigators and community members spread the word that if you come to court your warrants will be forgiven and your original case may be dismissed.

Is the law effective if Lakewood forgives all the cases?

Having a law that everyone knows will be dismissed is not an effective deterrent. In one case, an offender admitted to ongoing trespassing but because she talked to resource providers, thereby fulfilling the terms of the original trespass case, everything was dismissed.

Jail may be viewed as unreasonably harsh for unhoused individuals because they could lose their meager possessions with one overnight stay. There are arguments that jail is ineffective for anyone and low-level offenses are not worthy of jail. Another argument is that if you are trespassing (for example) because you are homeless, are you really committing a crime or being punished because you are homeless?

Being homeless is not a crime but dismissing these “crimes of homelessness” has consequences such as:

Effectively making the city a homeless sanctuary
Changing the public perception of how Lakewood enforces its own laws
Lowering effectiveness of law enforcement and justice system, as judged by cutting crime

There is opportunity for discussion here.

Do Lakewood residents believe that low-level offenses should not be punished? – Repeal the law
Is jail too harsh? – Modify for alternatives (For example, community service)
Is community service too hard to find? – Extend opportunities outside of non-profit service

Whether penalized with jail or having the case dismissed, the court is not responsible for an individuals housing. However, that is a role the court is taking on by acting as resource coordinator. The Court continues to work for grants for homeless and housing.

Community Outreach Court is presided over by Municipal Judge Nicole Bozarth, who was the only candidate for Municipal Judge on the 2023 ballot. She was previously appointed to the position in June 2022.

Reader Recommended Business: a SAFE HOME Gas Fireplace Service

Denver Metro rent inflation worse than any major city!

Written by Lakewood News from Karen on January 4, 2024.

Cross-Post By SaveBelmarPark.com (updated to correct “by Save Belmar Park Community Action”)

Metro Denver apartment rent inflation has outstripped income gains by a higher margin than in any other major city in the U.S. since 2009, according to a study from Clever Real Estate subsidiary Real Estate Witch.

From 2009-2021 rents in the Denver area have increased 82%!

In an amazing coincidence, numerous national landlords active in the Denver area apartment market have been named in an alleged nation-wide rent gouging scheme in violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act.

These landlords are accused of sharing pricing data and using a common software package called RealPage to set rent levels and eliminate price competition on rent.

All defendants deny wrongdoing and are vigorously defending against these unproven allegations.

One of these landlords, Kairoi Management aka Kairoi Residential, is also the developer of the habitat-destroying Belmar Park West apartment complex.

Despite the widely available public information regarding Denver area rent inflation and alleged illegal wide spread rent collusion, Lakewood’s Strategic Housing Plan pegs annual rent inflation at only 3%!

It almost seems as if Lakewood is hiding something. But what?

Is Lakewood aware that some people may be unhoused due to (alleged) illegal rent gouging?

What does Lakewood plan to do if defendants do not prevail and have to pay significant damages? If Kairoi can’t pay the damages and also fund 777 S Yarrow construction, will they abandon the 777 S Yarrow project and leave an unfinished construction project? What then?

Maybe Lakewood should require audited financial statements from all developers in the city including private companies such as Kairoi? And require financial reserves sufficient to survive any major lawsuits.

Kairoi sells limited partnership investments in the form of unregistered securities. Once a building is completed, they sell it a few years down the road and close out the partnerships. Like the Edison building that sold in 2019.

Suppose they have to pay damages to former tenants of the Edison building. Will the former limited partners be willing to pay those damages? Not likely. Can they then assess those damages to partners in another building. Not likely. Yes, this is speculation. But it will not end well.

How did these companies get into this mess? My guess, this is only that, is that at least some of these entities ignored legal advice. There is a long list of defendants. Do you seriously think none of them asked their staff attorney(s) for advice regarding their use of the RealPage software?

Don’t assume their business insurance will cover it. Some defendants are already complaining their insurance will not pay their legal fees.

Here is a partial list of the parties included in the combined rent gouging lawsuits:

ALLIED ORION GROUP, LLC, Defendant

Apartment Income REIT Corp, Defendant

Apartment Management Consultants, LLC, Defendant

Avenue5 Residential, LLC, Defendant

B/T Washington LLC, Defendant

BH Management Services, LLC, Defendant

Bell Partners Inc., Defendant

Bozzuto Management Company, Defendant

Brookfield Properties Multifamily LLC, Defendant

CH Real Estate Services LLC, Defendant

CONAM Management Corporation, Defendant

CONTI Texas Organization, Inc., d/b/a CONTI Capital, Defendant

CWS Apartment Homes LLC, Defendant

Camden Property Trust, Defendant

Conti Capital, Defendant

Cortland Management, LLC, Defendant

Crow Holdings, LP, Defendant

Dayrise Residential, LLC, Defendant

ECI Group, Inc., Defendant

ECI Management, LLC, Defendant

Equity Residential, Defendant

Essex Property Trust, Inc., Defendant

FPI Management, Inc., Defendant

Greystar Management Services, L.P., Defendant

Greystar Management Services, LLC, Defendant

Highmark Residential, LLC, Defendant

Independence Realty Trust, Inc., Defendant

Kairoi Management, LLC, Defendant

Knightvest Residential, Defendant

Lantower Luxury Living LLC, Defendant

Lincoln Property Company, Defendant

Lyon Management Group, Inc., Defendant

MidAmerica Apartment Communities, Inc., Defendant

Mission Rock Residential, LLC, Defendant

Morgan Properties Management Company, LLC, Defendant

Pinnacle Property Management Services, LLC, Defendant

Prometheus Real Estate Group, Inc., Defendant

RPM Living, LLC, Defendant

RealPage, Inc., Defendant

Related Management Company L.P., Defendant

Rose Associates Inc, Defendant

Sares Regis Group Commercial, Inc., Defendant

Security Properties Inc., Defendant

Security Properties Residential, LLC, Defendant

Sherman Associates, Inc., Defendant

Simpson Property Group, LLC, Defendant

TF Cornerstone Inc, Defendant

THOMA BRAVO, L.P., Defendant

The Related Companies L.P., Defendant

Thoma Bravo Fund XIII, L.P., Defendant

Thoma Bravo Fund XIV, L.P., Defendant

Thrive Communities Management, LLC, Defendant

Trammell Crow Residential Company, Defendant

UDR, Inc., Defendant

WINNCOMPANIES LLC, Defendant

Windsor Property Management Company, Defendant

WinnResidential Manager Corp., Defendant

ZRS Management, LLC, Defendant

United States of America, Interested Party

Joshua Kabisch, Plaintiff

The list may contain errors, be incomplete or may not reflect recent changes.

Please attend Lakewood City Council Meetings and convey your concerns.

https://www.lakewood.org/Government/Upcoming-City-Meetings

And please remember to ask that Lakewood acquire the parking area at 777 S Yarrow St via Eminent Domain to establish that buffer space with the park.

Visit SaveBelmarPark.com

Migrants and Housing

Written by Lakewood News from Karen on December 30, 2023.

Lakewood, Colorado may decide to lessen deportation fears for migrants as part of its affordable housing strategy.

The single sentence from the study suggests “proactively addressing fears in the community about public charge and deportation.”

From Lakewood Strategic Housing Plan, pg 26 (highlight added)

Presentation explained that this means lessening deportation fears, so that people in a difficult housing situation did not feel compelled to leave any stability they may have found.

However, immigration status is polarizing the nation, and in the context of the other housing assistance options, this discussion may require extra time or this single sentence may be interpreted as new policy.

No questions or comments regarding this particular item were brought forth by Lakewood City Council so no details are available.

Lakewood to Propose a Homeless Shelter in Public School Building

Written by Lakewood News from Karen on December 29, 2023.

Correction, Jan 18, 2024: The unnamed, closed Jefferson County school was not proposed as a homeless shelter but as a new location for the Jeffco Action Center which offers hardship services. Increased housing for the homeless would then be available and Lakewood would have a presence in two Action Center buildings. Plans are not final, but discussions have been started. More details have not been brought before Council yet.

Correction: Services, Not Shelter, to Move to Jeffco School

Lakewood’s Strategic Housing Plan (SHP) researched the possibilities of redeveloping vacant or underutilized land for affordable housing. For example, there are many vacant commercial sites that could be used for new affordable units. The SHP currently does not have details, rather the plan is ready for further research and public discussion. However, Lakewood City Manager Hodgson says that by listening carefully to City Councilors, city staff could anticipate that this item was of particular interest so staff has started work.

Towards that goal, Lakewood staff already has a proposal to work collaboratively to house homeless in a closed Jeffco school in Lakewood. That project includes working with the Jeffco Action Center to provide shelter in these already controversial neighborhood sites. Financial incentives may be available from the city.

This proposal will be coming to Council for approval soon, with no other details provided by Hodgson, as announced in the December 18 study session.

Public comment shows people want further discussion regarding sheltering the unhoused in a school, but city staff believe they have enough tacit approval from City Council that they have proceeded with their plans. Under the option for repurposing existing buildings for affordable housing, the city will not require a separate discussion for this topic, outside of plan adoption, although public comment would be available if there is a separate proposal.

Although the people who live in those highly residential areas may not want a homeless shelter next door, the city has an answer to that: Public comment is over-represented by affluent long-term homeowners (link added 2/11/24). The argument that owners of single-family residences are generally rich, white people who are over-represented in their city council meetings is laid out in the Harvard Law Review paper to show affordable housing is a right.

Sidenote: City Manager Kathy Hodgson and Mayor Wendi Strom have studied government at Harvard University.

The city survey correlated how long residents have lived in Lakewood with survey responses in order to pit residents against each other, in what seems to be a continuing conversation of older residents versus younger residents. For example, it has been suggested during the demographic study that residents “ageing in place” contribute to taking up valuable housing stock that would otherwise be “affordable.”

From Lakewood Strategic Housing Plan presentation

Destabilizing neighborhoods by changing their use or density may prove a base assumption of the plan. The SHP depends on residents that have enough money moving out of their existing homes and moving into the newly created market-rate apartments. The move would allow for the existing housing stock that was vacated to be used for those less fortunate. Housing migration is a critical component to a successful market-rate overstock policy implementation. (Hattip Ditson)

Correction: Study date changed from Dec 19th to 18th

Author: Lakewood News from Karen