Lakewood Informer

Resident generated news about Lakewood, Colorado

Lakewood Informer

Resident generated news about Lakewood, Colorado

Author : Lakewood News from Karen

Petitioners Win in Zoning Referendum Hearing

By Lakewood News from KarenPosted on Posted in Development, TransparencyTagged , , , , , , , , , ,

LLakewood has ruled AGAINST PROTESTS challenging zoning referendum petitions – meaning Lakewood ruled IN FAVOR OF THE REFERENDUM. The protesters said they represented the “rule of law” and stood for democracy.  Then they argued against the democratic right to referendum.  Lakewood and the petitioners cited Colorado Supreme Court case law to uphold the Constitutional right to referendum. Lakewood’s decision means the petitions are sufficient, and City Council must now respond. The first reading of a repeal ordinance is scheduled for 12 January, 2026 Council meeting.

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A Bit Too Late for Concerns, Innit?

By Lakewood News from KarenPosted on Posted in Development, SustainabilityTagged , , , , , , ,

From Somebody Should Do Something

JeffCo’s Common Clay of the New West prides themselves on yapping about “equity, diversity and affordable housing.’’ Seeing how they are so well versed in the cultures of the world, they should be able to translate the Russian saying of “Когда жареный петух клюнет” – for the rest of us, mere mortals, it says, “When a fried rooster pecks you” or, for those in JeffCo, “once your house (almost, maybe) burns down, then you’ll care.”

In early September of 2025, yet another community in JeffCo got to experience an evacuation notice, in part, due to the development they live in being placed in an area with known fire risk. To add some spice to the situation, in a manner too common to most of Colorado, the roads in and out of the neighborhood are not sufficient to provide viable evacuation routes.

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Colorado economy driving into 2026 with the fog lights on

By Lakewood News from KarenPosted on Posted in Uncategorized

Jeffco and Colorado are now net emigration but Lakewood is still concerned about growth.

By Aldo Svaldi, asvaldi@denverpost.com

Colorado’s economy will continue to crawl along next year, with GDP growth strengthening but job gains remaining sluggish as some of the state’s highest-paying sectors shed jobs, according to the 2026 Colorado Business Economic Outlook from the University of Colorado.

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Legal Support and Views of a Petitioner

By Lakewood News from KarenPosted on Posted in Development, TransparencyTagged , , , , ,

Defending the referendum requires legal counsel.  Regular residents cannot navigate full legal proceedings alone. Although there can be no issue committee at this time, and therefore no campaign donations, an attorney is stepping forward to assist. 

If you wish to support the effort, donations can be sent directly to:

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Johnson: To Zone or Not to Zone? YOU answer the question

By Lakewood News from KarenPosted on Posted in Uncategorized

From Ramey Johnson’s newsletter

When I served on the Lakewood City Council (2010–2020, Ward 1), we voted on changes to the zoning ordinance in 2012. That process required months of resident input and several citizen committee meetings before it ever reached the council for a final vote. It ultimately passed 8–3. I voted no.

Under normal procedure, city staff—typically the Director of Planning or Public Works—presents updated versions of ordinances to the council for consideration.

However, council is not made aware when new language is inserted into ordinance drafts that shifts additional authority to the Director of Planning (currently Travis Parker).

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City Writes New Procedures for Referendum Hearing

By Lakewood News from KarenPosted on Posted in Development, TransparencyTagged , , , ,

Former Lakewood resident Kip Kolkmeier has filed complaints about the referendum signatures on behalf of Joshua Comden and Reverend Ben Hensley. The complaint alleges very technical violations about the referendum petitions while also complaining about the hearing itself. Without documented procedures, the hearing officer is free to use their experience to guide a successful, neutral process. Kolkmeier disagrees and dictated how the complaint process should be handled, including the hearing and even who is allowed to talk to the City Clerk.

The eight bullet points listed in Kolkmeier’s hearing complaint are not suggestions for future hearings. They are demands to be implemented immediately. He uses words such as “shall”, “is” and “must.” This is a complete departure from suggested advice and does not acknowledge various alternatives of holding public hearings.

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How the shooting of a teen girl put a post-George Floyd police reform law to the test

By Lakewood News from KarenPosted on Posted in Community, CrimeTagged , , , ,

From ScrippNews, By: Lori Jane Gliha , Brittany Freeman

“A Colorado city council member asked a simple question at a July 2023 public meeting, not knowing it would take more than two years to find out the answer.

“Lakewood City Councilor Anita Springsteen called on the city’s police to release body camera footage showing why officers shot and killed a teenage girl months earlier.

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Emory Sold Amidst School Board Misinformation

By Lakewood News from KarenPosted on Posted in Community, Development, Entrenched Bureaucracy, Jeffco, TransparencyTagged , , , , ,

Jeffco Schools unanimously voted to sell Emory with barely a stall in the consent agenda on November 13, 2025. Statements made at that time and also at the November 5 study session indicate that Jeffco School Board and staff were heavily influenced by one-sided propaganda. No other ideas were considered and the propaganda was passed along without fully informing the public.

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Stewart Requests Taxpayer-Funded Legal Representation

By Lakewood News from KarenPosted on Posted in Statewide, TransparencyTagged , , , ,

Colorado State House Representative Rebekah Stewart of Lakewood has requested taxpayer-funded legal representation related to an ethics violation complaint.

According to the Colorado Sun, “Taxpayers will cover the legal bills for 15 Democratic state lawmakers who face ethics complaints related to a dark money-funded weekend retreat held in Vail last month.”

It is particularly ironic that Stewart is receiving taxpayer-funded legal relief. In her first term, Stewart sponsored HB25-1093, shifting more legal costs onto taxpayers. Under HB25-1093, if residents work hard enough to get a citizen initiative on the ballot, the city can take the measure to court, and residents would foot the bill.

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Jeffco School Board Does Not Add Trust Accountability Measures

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

The Jeffco School Board can’t evaluate the Superintendent on “trust” if they can’t figure out how to add it to her evaluation metrics. Even though such metrics have been repeatedly suggested, the board is unable or unwilling to figure out how to increase accountability, shown by this year’s 4 to 1 vote to pass the evaluation without more accountability.

During the 2025 evaluation approval, School Board Member Danielle Varda asked how to implement the new evaluation metrics the school board agreed to add in previous sessions. The rest of the school board refused to take the time.

Two new evaluation metrics were suggested in 2025, the main one being a new measure for trust, the other being for test scores.

In what sounded like a demand, Superintendent Dorland asked for co-accountability if a new evaluation measure based on trust was going to be implemented.

Some would say that sounded a lot like the statement, “if I go down, you go down.”

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