Transparency

Emory Questions Left Unanswered

By Lakewood News from KarenPosted on October 30, 2025Posted in Community, Development, Entrenched Bureaucracy, Jeffco, TransparencyTagged action center, contract, Emory, financial, partners, questions, rush, transparency, zoning

The October 27, 2025 City Council meeting demonstrated how determined Council is to approve the Emory sale and Action Center purchase. That date was the first opportunity to approve the multiple transaction after the new zoning was passed – zoning which was required for the new operations. Despite having an injunction in place to stall the vote, Council did everything possible except the actual vote itself. They claimed everything was known, disclosed and proper. They laughed and smiled as if the injunction was a joke. However, despite their claims, below is a list of over 70 lingering questions.

The votes on Emory have been delayed from October 27 to October 29 and now until November 3 while Council desperately tries to vote as soon as possible even while the case is in court and under injunction. The difficulty lies in how to restore trust and enable a public process to answer questions that have been handled behind the scenes for two years.

Canstruction Food Event Subverted for Emory Purchase Propaganda

By Lakewood News from KarenPosted on October 27, 2025Posted in Community, Development, Jeffco, TransparencyTagged action center, Canstruction, Colorado Gives, done deal, Emory, food bank, Kaiser Permanente, shell game

Lakewood’s shell game to buy Emory for the Action Center has shone a light on deals made before the public has a chance to weigh in. City leaders tell residents they can speak at the public comment period that was months away, and then they use the time before public comment to cement their plans away from public eye. More proof? An upcoming event taking place at Emory Elementary, hosted by Kaiser Permanente to benefit the Action Center. Chances are good that this was originally planned to be a celebration event for the Action Center that has now devolved into an event “with nonprofit partner.”

This is not just a regular Canstruction event. This is special for the Action Center at Emory.

The Persecution of Desirée González: A Case Study in Unequal Justice

By Lakewood News from KarenPosted on October 22, 2025Posted in Crime, Elections, Jeffco, TransparencyTagged Desirée González, equal justice, persecution, retaliation, threats

The criminal case against Lakewood resident Desirée González raises grave questions about whether political and personal animosity have replaced equal justice under law in Jefferson County.

This is not a defense of any or every email that González sent. It is a clear-eyed examination of the extraordinary disparity between how she has been treated and how individuals who issued explicit, public, and recorded threats have been treated across Colorado.

Two Examples — One System

Jeromie Rose — left voicemails threatening to “put a bullet in the Governor’s head” and “kill” a prosecutor. These are recorded and explicit death threats.

Springsteen Wins Injunction on Emory

By Lakewood News from KarenPosted on October 21, 2025Posted in Community, Homeless, Jeffco, TransparencyTagged action center, Emory, fiduciary duty, injunction, jeffco-schools, market analysis, millions, springsteen, transparency

Anita Springsteen, former Lakewood City Council Member and attorney, has won an injunction filed against Lakewood. The injunction will pause two upcoming votes on Emory, wherein Lakewood is acting as an agent for the Action Center. It is unclear what, if any, benefit Lakewood will gain through this deal, but it is very clear the city will lose millions. At the same time, the Action Center will gain millions of dollars of property that it could not get without the special privileges of the government middleman. The injunction will pause the vote until after the previously scheduled October 28, 2025, court date.

Lakewood Rewriting Zoning Around Race

By Lakewood News from KarenPosted on October 20, 2025Posted in Development, TransparencyTagged 1801 Glen Dale, Colorado, DEI, equity, Morse Park, racial covenant, The Dales, zoning

Some Lakewood City Council Members once again framed zoning decisions through the lens of historic racial injustices. During the October 13, 2025 meeting, Councilors returned to the same narrative seen throughout this rezoning process — that Lakewood must address equity and right racial wrongs through land use. What remains missing is evidence of any current racial barrier or any clear problem residents are actually experiencing under the existing zoning.

The August 25, 2025 meeting was even more explicit. Residents heard lengthy references to racism, equity, and climate change, with little connection to practical planning issues such as traffic, infrastructure, or neighborhood character. On October 13, Council singled out Morse Park for a zoning downgrade on the grounds that it once had racial covenants. No evidence was provided that any current residents are engaging in discrimination.

This is not new. A previous decision tied to a different neighborhood refused to fully honor a historic landmark petition unless the applicant accepted public labeling about past racist covenants unrelated to the current property owners.

Which raises the question:

Is Lakewood City Council making de facto reparations without ever saying so, and without consulting the people impacted today?

Referendum Can Be Signed at 820 Simms #11

By Lakewood News from KarenPosted on October 18, 2025Posted in Development, Elections, TransparencyTagged 820 Simms, grassroots, petition, referendum, signing, zoning, zoning code

For the many residents asking where and how to sign, there is now an ongoing opportunity to sign Zoning Code Referendum Petitions in a suite located at 820 Simms Street, #11, situated behind the 7-11 building. This venue is open from 10:30 am to 6:00 pm, Monday through Saturday.

There are THREE active grassroots referendums to repeal Lakewood’s recent zoning codes. Signers are asked to keep track of which they have signed in order to reduce duplication.

The volunteer efforts are one way that residents are getting engaged at a rapid rate. Nextdoor is also full of chatter. It’s a rare time in nextdoor history where residents can feel safe in criticizing city efforts. Historically, city supporters attack and drown out those with opposing views so that many have turned away from nextdoor – leading to the creation of alternate sites like the Lakewood Informer.

The office location is staffed with volunteers so please be patient with any unexpected closures, although currently there are numerous people helping. Volunteers span different neighborhoods, different political parties, and different reasons for supporting a repeal. This is truly a grassroots effort with room for everyone.

Final Zoning Map Change Passed But Not Released

By Lakewood News from KarenPosted on October 18, 2025Posted in Development, TransparencyTagged code, Daniels Garden, ditch water, infrastructure, Kawanee Gardens, Kemo, map, October 13, public comment, zoning

Lakewood City Council approved the final segment of the zoning code overhaul on October 13, 2025. Numerous neighborhoods were changed during the meeting to adopt a lower density zoning than was proposed. Those changes generally reflected high resident turnout with specific requests for their neighborhood. Residents cannot see what the final map looks like because it has not been made available, even though the final ordinance is legally published.

The adopted ordinance, O-2025-30, defines the new zoning map. However, confusion remains over inconsistencies between the map’s legend descriptions and the written code itself. For example, the map legend for R-L-B says “R-L-B – Low-Form Residential B: Traditional suburban housing, mostly single-family homes with potential for accessory dwelling units and duplexes that look housescale.”

Yet the zoning code contains no limit on the number of dwelling units allowed. It only limits the size of the building. The term duplex appears only as part of a general list of housing types—without numerical restriction:

Council Beholden to Housing Special Interests

By Lakewood News from KarenPosted on October 12, 2025Posted in Elections, TransparencyTagged Bill Furman, campaign finance, Colorado, Cruz, elections, housing interests, Lakewood, Mayott-Guerrero, realtor fund, Roger Low, Shahrezaei, special interests

Lakewood City Council may be beholden to housing special interests for their place on council. Overall campaign contributions to sitting Lakewood City Council are about 38% from local residents, and 62% from non-resident or special interest donations. This raises the question of whether these special interest obligations are influencing local Lakewood zoning decisions. The National Association of Realtors is the biggest named contributor with the Metro Housing Coalition being the second largest.

Note these numbers do not reflect current campaigns.

Councilors Sophia Mayott-Guerrero and Jeslin Shahrezaei did not receive any local resident donations.

ZERO

Dismantling the NEW Zoning FAQ Lies

By Lakewood News from KarenPosted on October 3, 2025Posted in Development, Transparency, Word GamesTagged FAQ, Hopkins, infrastructure, misinformation, parks, Regina, single-family, zoning

Repost from Regina Hopkins

Lakewood’s leaders keep telling us everything is fine: “No elimination of single-family zones.” “Protecting neighborhoods while planning responsibly for the future.” “No threat to infrastructure.” Sounds nice, right? Too bad it’s all a scrambled spin of words, designed to trick you into thinking there’s no problem while they hand the city to developers. Here’s the truth:

The Single-Family Lie. Yes, you can still build a single-family house. But the exclusive protection for single-family neighborhoods is gone. No other Front Range city has done this — not even Denver. Developers now have free rein to drop duplexes, triplexes, apartments, warehouses, and more right next door. For all intents and purposes, this is the elimination of single-family zoning as we’ve known it. Don’t let their dressed-up words fool you.

The McMansion Distraction. The City waves around “new limits on McMansions” like it’s a gift to residents. It’s a classic bait-and-switch: distract you with something that sounds good while quietly removing the rules that keep neighborhood character and open space intact. Meanwhile, developers are encouraged to pack density into every block.

Jeffco Not Disclosing Emory Details

By Lakewood News from KarenPosted on October 2, 2025Posted in Jeffco, Transparency, UncategorizedTagged action center, Emory, Jeffco Schools, market analysis, Paula Reed, transparency

Jeffco Schools is not disclosing how much the district will lose on the Emory Elementary deal. And curiously, no one knows when the Board met or voted on selling the closed school.

Lakewood Informer reached out to school officials and could find NOTHING. How is Lakewood selling the property when the purchase has not been completed through Jeffco? Has it been completed and everyone missed it?