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Maps clipped from Community Crime Map for the month of June, 2024, in Lakewood, Colorado. Note: Statistics seem to vary slightly per application (density map versus event map). This website is very user friendly and can be zoomed in for better detail although exact locations are changed for privacy. Compare to June of 2023 below. Note that comparison is done visually since numbers for “Lakewood” include parts of of Denver, which doubles the number of crimes.

Changes to the zoning code in 2012 and new exemptions from the City of Lakewood are causing Applewood residents to fear for their property, road safety, parking and emergency circumstances. Lakewood will allow a narrow access road through the neighborhood to serve a multi-family, affordable housing development rather than route traffic to Colfax. Residents have organized a neighborhood garage sale for Friday and Saturday, June 28-29, to raise funds for the cause. Please stop by to support them and see the site location for yourself. Applewood for Responsible Development: Oppose Irresponsible Development at Whippoorwill Dr – See the Change.org Petition The property was originally zoned as residential. The roads and stormwater runoff are appropriate for residential use. The city could insist on development that is consistent with the neighborhood and existing roads, as per ordinance. To do that, the city would have to follow it’s own advice from 2014 and route multi-family traffic to Colfax, which is right behind the property. Instead, these residents will be forced to bear adverse affects of development that could easily be mitigated by following existing ordinance. Just like the residents advocating against the Belmar Park development, Applewood residents are organizing and hiring a lawyer. Your financial and moral support Friday and Saturday could make a difference. For more details, see their Change.org petition Garage Sale: June 28-29 at W 15th Place and Youngfield Dr. (Nearest address is 1525 Whippoorwill Dr)

Promoted post from the Fruit Truck FRESH FRUIT FROM THE ORCHARD TO YOUR FAMILY! The Fruit Truck will be in Lakewood on July 13 Summer Fruit 2024: peaches, cherries, blueberries, blackberries, apricots, and pecans. Sears Parking Lot, 10785 W Colfax Ave4:30 pm – 5:00 pm $45 for 20lb box first come first served Cash or check at the truck Dedicated to bringing the freshest and most delicious fruit straight from the orchard to your family.  Find out more here

Guest Post by Alex Plotkin One of the fundamental jobs that a government has is to ensure that businesses act ethically.  In theory, the government, local, state or federal will pass regulations which keep corporations from exposing thousands of residents to cancer-causing chemicals.  In theory, having learned just how abusive metro districts can be, a government would, maybe, outlaw them? Some cities, such as Longmont and Westminster, have taken such a stand but Lakewood is still working on ways to enable formation of metro districts. Metro Districts are a type of special district especially for developers. It is not a government of the people, by the people for the people, because THERE ARE NO PEOPLE. There is only a developer, making deals with himself to have future people pay increasing amounts of taxes and fees. Not surprisingly, granting governmental immunity and taxing abilities to a developer who is only accountable to himself, has caused problems  (see this district with toxic sludge for a recent example.) On May 6th 2024, Lakewood City Council had a workshop to study a proposed ordinance on Metro Districts in Lakewood.  The ordinance was first proposed in 2021 and it was immediately obvious that it’s more of a “see, we did something for the good of the public”, while allowing the big money they shill for to continue to make profit, at any cost. City Council Members seemed very aware of all the pitfalls of metro districts, asking pertinent questions about how Lakewood could possibly limit some of the abuses, while at the same time neglecting limiting districts altogether. Allegedly, according the Director of Planning, Travis Parker, the need to implement “something” was due to the recently passed Senate Bills 21-262 and 23-110: In reality, it would be better to do nothing and simply follow the state’s statutes, instead of crafting a faulty ordinance, designed to offer the developers a plethora of loopholes to perpetuate further financial abuses (at least, in Lakewood). Furthermore, when the Lakewood City Council tried to push through the same, flawed, piece of legislature in 2021, its numerous flaws were covered in great detail by Mr. John Henderson, who, for years, has been leading the fight against Metro District abuse in Colorado.  Mr. Henderson sent a detailed analysis of the proposed ordinance with specific areas of concern pointed out to the Council. There is a narrative, pushed by Metro District lobbyists, that metro districts make housing more affordable.  We are still waiting for a logical, three sentence (or less) explanation, as to how a house that costs $500,000 and has $8,000 worth of mill levies is more affordable than a house that costs $530,000 and has $4000 worth of mill levies per year.  In this situation, the $500,000 house has extra mill levies in a metro district, rather than the upfront cost of the infrastructure. The $30,000 decrease in cost is financed through the developer, who earns interest. If the resident bought the house for $530,000, their mortgage would pay that cost off in 8 years of equivalent mill levy payments, but the resident will be paying that levy forever. Decades of $4,000 per year, per house, in extra fees that go directly to the developer. The extra mill levies do not go toward schools, fire departments and other services normally paid for by taxes. Instead, they go towards the basic infrastructure that usually comes with your house but you pay for decades to come.  And those mill levies could go up even more, without residents having a say, because there are no residents involved from the beginning to be fairly represented. Only the developer will vote for the mill levy other people will pay. The reality is that paying the total house cost through a mortgage is more affordable for residents. One of the many claims is that the metro districts make development possible (and affordable).  For who?  For those who need the housing or for those who will profit, immensely, from selling it?  Most other states in the U.S. do not utilize metro districts to finance development.  A developer, well, develops the land.  A builder purchases the developed land from the developer.  A builder builds the house and sells it to a buyer for a profit.  End of transaction.  They do not continue to collect cash from the buyer for decades to come. Metro districts are not mandated to provide affordable housing as a condition to receiving government status. Developers do not pretend to provide affordable housing. Instead, some claim that metro districts make housing more affordable than traditional development. The financial difference is upfront costs versus costs stretched out over time and what interest rate you are getting. Typical mill rates levied are the equivalent of 18% interest, which is more than the average home loan. Lakewood City Council, who recently has moved general public comment to the “back of line” to make it even harder for the public to speak up during the city council meetings, DID NOT invite anyone to represent the public concerns to the workshop.  Stories of flat-out financial abuse are well-documented but experts known to the city were not invited. The city did, however, invite the Metro District top lobbyist, Kristy Pollard from the Metro District Education Coalition.  She was the sole outsider to answer questions  MDEC’s hypocrisy was covered by Mr. Henderson as well. One of the city councilors, Rich Olver, did voice a concern of “who invited this person, while not having anyone in the room to represent the other side of the argument.” One.  The rest of the councilors proceeded under the forgone conclusion of “well, we gotta pass something.”  The truth is – you don’t.  You could, simply, make metro districts illegal. Councilor Nystrom ardently kept stating that more disclosure was always better, while Councilor Shahrezaei kept saying that the city will most likely not be able to enforce the failures to properly disclose and notify the potential buyers of a property within a Metro District.  While Councilor Sinks

Cross-post from By Jeffrey A. Roberts, Colorado Freedom of Information Coalition A judge Friday ordered the Lakewood Police Department to release blurred body-worn camera footage of officers shooting and killing a 17-year-old crime suspect in March 2023. The city withheld the video from Scripps News journalist Lori Jane Gliha, contending it was required to do so by the Colorado Childrens Code — which restricts the disclosure of most juvenile records — and privacy provisions in the Law Enforcement Integrity Act, passed by the legislature in 2020 following the killing of George Floyd. But Jefferson County District Court Judge Chantel Contiguglia found that the footage must be released under the four-year-old statute. “I don’t see that there is a choice,” Contiguglia said, ruling from the bench during a morning hearing. “I see that it has to be disclosed with a plain reading of the law.” Read more from CFOIC…

Mayor Strom’s explanation during the May 15th Council meeting demonstrated first-class political spin for why the April 22 meeting was adjourned early. For those active citizens who have shown up to protest at City Council meetings and have been told they “must refrain from audible support”, Mayor Strom and Mayor Pro Tem Shahrezaei issued a slap in the face. They threatened people for clapping between speakers but allowed interruptions to a speaking Councilor. Then they both claimed that security concerns led the Mayor to adjourn the meeting early on April 22, rather than the active heckling that they allowed. The reality is that no safety concerns were cited at the time and there were no efforts to tame the crowd. Instead, there were people interrupting the Councilors they disagreed with. Councilor Shahrezaei made the motion to adjourn the meeting and said “We’re done with you, Councilor Olver.” No matter the explanation offered by Mayor Strom, Strom was not the leader of this drama. Instead, she followed Shahrezaei. Neither of them asked the people who were heckling and questioning Olver to please quiet down. Mayor Strom explains at the beginning of each public comment session that there should be no “audible support” from the public. In the past, one or two people clapping between speakers has been enough for Mayor Strom to threaten to recess the meeting. “We will be recessing if  we continue to have clapping.  Let’s please make sure that we can respect everybody’s ability to listen.” – Mayor Strom, November 27, 2023 On April 22nd, neither Strom nor Shahrezaei threatened to recess the meeting due to disruptions. Instead, the meeting was shut down because one Councilor was making a contradictory opinion on a nationally divisive issue and another Councilor disagreed. See the video showing the two different examples. Strom argues that the security concerns weren’t visible on video. That may be true, but a call for order would have been visible and that was conspicuously absent. Not one mention of safety, security or order was made at the time. Watch the video to see for yourself. The safety claim was pure political spin, first reported by a resident who questioned Shahrezaei at a ward meeting. The claim is a insult to residents who have had to endure the condescending attitude towards “audible support” in past meetings. Not only was it an insulting, false claim, it was a step backwards for women. Women are better than having to resort to hysterical claims of safety to justify their actions. Women can be strong leaders and competently run meetings, even when their counterparts have opinions they disagree with. Lakewood residents deserve that strength in their elected officials. “You wanna keep arguing here or are you going to listen?” Olver responds to multiple comments from the crowd, April 22, 2024. Losing control of the meeting may be forgivable; it was an unusual situation. Spinning the story later was a disservice to everyone, especially to Councilor Olver, who did not get an apology for being rudely cut off. The Councilors who did not get an opportunity to speak and all the community members who want a transparent and accountable government deserve an apology they did not get. We all deserved an apology, not spin.

Cross-post from Justin Wingerter, BusinessDen A $60 million blunder along Wadsworth Boulevard that was all but abandoned in January is now a stable, $117 million apartment project and two-thirds complete, its receiver said. Aspen Heights Partners, a Texas developer, broke ground in 2020 on a 352-unit apartment complex 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. That didn’t happen. Instead, millions of dollars in mechanic’s liens piled up and Truist Bank, which loaned $59.9 million to the project, tried suing to get its money back. “Truist has become aware of significant cost overruns, scheduling delays and defects in the course of construction of the project,” the Atlanta-based bank wrote in a lawsuit that it filed in Golden in January. “Additionally, work on the project has come to a standstill due to infighting between the two primary members” of Aspen Heights’ development team. Read more from BusinessDen…