On July 24, 2023, Lakewood City Council voted in a new ordinance that could penalize leaving your property vacant for more than 30 days. Many of the Council Members who spoke, expressed reservations with the ordinance as written. City staff say they will take their concerns into account and use staff discretion when enforcing the new ordinance. This ordinance arose from discussions on the increased calls for service to distressed properties, specifically involving the homeless population. This measure may be part of a strategy to decrease homeless activity around vacant property by penalizing property owners rather than the homeless.

How this affects residents

The new ordinance states that if your residential or commercial property is vacant for more than 30 days you will need to register it as vacant and have mandatory inspections. The new ordinance will particularly affect vacant homes for sale; an exemption can be applied for.

The ordinance includes the provision that property owners shall have a plan to inhabit or demolish any buildings within six months of vacancy, meaning no structures will be vacant for more than six months.

No data was presented as to how many vacant properties this would affect outside of the few problems that have been discussed in Council meetings.

Each vacant property registration will require a fee. Council Member Shahrezaei inquired as to whether a additional fee could be used to establish a fund that would provide monies to neighbors in a non-vacant property to mitigate their hardship. The city attorney replied that there may be a way to achieve this but it is not known at this time.

Determining Vacancy and Residential Applications

The city will determine vacancy based on the appearance of the property, such as an unkempt yard or lack of window coverings. Council Member Mayott-Guerrero was the first to object to this basis for determining vacancy. She expressed, with broad agreement among Council Members,  it was not the City’s role to “penalize the attentiveness of homeowners.”  Mayor Paul agreed that the city just adopted the  2021 maintenance code that could penalize rundown properties. This new ordinance allows multiple ways to potentially penalize the same set of conditions.

“…not the city’s role to penalize the attentiveness of homeowners.”  – Council Member Mayott-Guerrero

Mayott-Guerrero stated her understanding that Council agreed this ordinance was intended for long-term vacancies of commercial properties. Councilor Olver supported the sentiment that the ordinance was only going to apply to commercial property and/or out-of-state owners. Although there seemed to be general agreement on this point, however that is not what happened.

Ordinance O-2023-29 will apply to residential properties and vacancies starting at 31 days.

City staff are not intending to enforce the rules against vacant school buildings, which would get an exemption. Neither do they anticipate enforcing the rules against people that move to warmer climates during the winter months. The assumption is that part-time residents will make arrangements for property maintenance while they are gone so the property will not look vacant.

Council Member Strom expressed general support for the ordinance, saying that this was a public safety concern which everyone pays for. She explains that vacant properties are “situations that are inviting criminal behavior”. This ordinance then creates a new “crime”, having vacant property, without making any additional provisions for the criminal behavior referenced.

Overall Councilors seemed to disagree with the presumption of vacancy provisions, the limited 30-day timespan, the inclusion of residential properties and the duplication of maintenance code provisions.

Despite that, no amendments were offered. The ordinance passed 8-2 with Olver and Janssen dissenting.

Resident Recommended Business: Foothills Mobile Dog Grooming

Jefferson County seems to think Lakewood and Arvada will build a navigation center that Jeffco can contribute to, according  to the August 1, 2023 Jefferson County Commissioner work session. Lakewood mentioned that Jeffco is looking for a navigation center site early in the year. Meanwhile, Lakewood and Arvada are applying for state grants that would go to expanding nonprofit organizations. Ideally, the proposed navigation centers would host services, permanent housing and shelter beds.

A navigation center, a concept pioneered by officials and advocates in San Francisco in the past decade, is a place where a city’s unhoused residents can stay until they can be connected with permanent housing.

– msn.com

Jeffco secured $6 million through the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), also called the COVID Stimulus Package, of 2021. The money was intended to be used for two navigation centers where homeless resources could be centralized and coordinated. Ideally, the centers would host services, permanent housing, and shelter beds. Jeffco has committed those funds for two years, and time is running out to have it spent.

Arvada has purchased land with a building, but unfortunately Arvada found environmental problems with the building that caused delays. Lakewood has reportedly been looking for an acceptable site to build a shelter for the last year. Lakewood says they are still open to that plan, but the current focus is on Colorado Department of Local Affairs (DOLA) grants to expand RecoveryWorks. Likewise, Arvada is also applying for the same grant to be passed to an associated nonprofit, Community Table.

Should Lakewood and/or Arvada commit to building a navigation center themselves, the project is expected to take longer than the ARPA funds allow. Therefore, Jeffco is discussing other ways to use the funds that will preserve the navigation center option. Commissioner Kerr expressed that Jeffco was still committed to following the American Rescue Plan Act.

None of these projects would be possible without state and local funding. However, the grant is only for the initial stage. After the initial grant the city must secure permanent funding which is estimated to be considerable. Likewise, the county does not seem to have plans to build a navigation center themselves. The $6 million ARPA funds must be spent in August.

Reposted from CPR By Andrew Kenney

Lakewood just became the first city in Colorado to change its development policies in response to pressure from Democrats in the state legislature — but not without an intense public debate.

A new state law forbids cities like Lakewood from enforcing what it calls “anti-growth” policies. Lakewood city leaders responded on Monday by starting to undo the “strategic growth” law that has dominated city politics and reshaped Lakewood’s growth in recent years.

The council voted 8-3 to put an expiration date on the city’s growth law, setting it to disappear in two years. The change appears to put the city in compliance with the new state law, but it leaves Lakewood with the question of how it will manage growth and development as a new chapter of city politics begins.

Continue reading…

Guest Post by Linnea Hauser

Another big foot of the federal government is stepping its way through Congress and may soon be heading to Lakewood. That foot belongs to the Telecom industry. Its name is H.R.3557 – the American Broadband Deployment Act of 2023. If passed by Congress, it will clear the way for the reckless deployment of future wireless infrastructure, usurping Lakewood’s current laws and stomping out our right to manage our public rights-of-way and our land use policies.

Its damage will be permanent; its only benefit will be to the Telecom industry. It will allow the wireless industry to ignore the critical environmental laws, historic protections, and aesthetic considerations that Lakewood has thoughtfully built into our city programs. And, contrary to what its promoters claim, it is not likely to close the digital divide. 

The National League of Cities, in opposition to the bill, claims “There is no evidence that heavy-handed preemptive mandates, such as harsh permitting shot clocks, deemed granted policies, or restrictions on permitting fee arrangements or cable franchises, have expedited the deployment of broadband infrastructure”.

The Lakewood Broadband Task Force, a group of Lakewood citizens, wants to make our community aware of this bill. We urge each resident to tell their local, State and Federal elected representatives that H.R.3557 should be stopped. The US Conference of Mayors, the National Association of Counties, the National League of Cities, and many others have already spoken out in opposition to H.R. 3557.

Thank you for joining us in this important campaign. 

Linnea Hauser

Lakewood Broadband Task Force Spokesperson

Read the letter sent to Lakewood Mayor and City Council…

On August 7, 2023, Lakewood City Council will decide on how the city will react to the state passage of HB23-1255, titled Regulating Local Housing Growth Restrictions. This state law would effectively overturn the votes of Lakewood’s residents.

The Strategic Growth Initiative, which Lakewood called Residential Growth Limitation, was adopted as Lakewood Municipal Code 14.27 in 2019.

Lakewood City Council Members have all acknowledged the deep feelings residents have for this issue, both for and against. Many Members have acknowledged a will to honor the votes of the residents, despite personal feelings. The question is, what can Lakewood do?

On July 24, 2023, City Council approved a first reading of proposed Ordinance:

“This Ordinance would readopt Lakewood Municipal Code 14.27 as a temporary, nonrenewable anti-growth law for the purpose of developing or amending land use plans or land use laws covering residential development or the residential component of a mixed-use development for a term not to exceed twenty-four months from the effective date of this Ordinance, with the intent that such new land use plans may be incrementally enacted, but will be fully enacted within twenty-four months from the effective date of this Ordinance, such temporary, nonrenewable anti-growth law attached hereto and incorporated herein, all in conformance with C.R.S. § 29-20-104.2, without waiving any Constitutional objections to C.R.S. § 29-20-104.2.“

There are multiple options Lakewood could take. Those options, as shared with City Council, include:

Option 3 appears to be in line with the ordinance that passed first reading (above). Option 3 involved “action by ordinance” which requires time for posting and public notice, even as an emergency ordinance. That requirement is now satisfied.

Options 1 and 2 can be passed through a simple motion. In other words, they can be approved and take effect immediately after voting, without the first reading required by option 3.

With the requirements of option 3 completed, and other actions being simple, all three options are currently viable for action.

These options will be discussed and potentially voted on at a virtual Council meeting held August 7, 2023.

Updated 7/31/23

Unlike other cities with strong elected officials, Lakewood City Council is very limited in the actions it can initiate. Councilors set broad objectives at the annual retreat and they are able to bring forth “Requests for Legislative Modifications” to get items onto the agenda during the year. Other than that, they are limited to voting for policies developed by city staff.

Your job is to vote on the matters that are presented to you –Lakewood Deputy City Attorney, stated during City Council meeting

Besides acting on those regular business items throughout the year, Council Members can make their mark by getting things on the agenda. From July 2022 through July 2023, the following 14 Requests for Legislative Modifications were all added to the agenda.  However, as indicated below, only seven of those items were approved for action:

• Rule adjustment for Lakewood Advisory Committee (LAC) (approved and passed on to LAC)
• Minority-owned business analysis (Shahrezaei, approved and passed to LAC)
• Public safety committee (Janssen, deferred to annual retreat)
• Bicycle connectivity map (Olver, denied due to claims it had been done)
• Unblight properties (Olver, inactive due to sponsor absence at meeting)
• Censure (Shahrezaei, approved for immediate Council workshop)
• *Additional Dwelling Unit – ideas to expand use (Stewart, approved to Planning Commission) *corrected 7/31/23
• Additional Dwelling Unit de-regulation (Stewart, approved to Planning Commission)
• Pride month proclamation (Mayott-Guerrero, removed due to staff implementation)
• One Book One Town (Vincent, approved for personal research)
• Terumo education (Olver, approved for unspecified action)
• Speed reduction (Shahrezaei, approved for existing LAC action)
• Adding public safety committee (Olver, denied due to desire to keep action to annual retreat)
• Council compensation (Olver, denied due to similar discussion two years ago)

There is a perception by some Councilors who were denied action that the Councilors getting action approved were getting preferred treatment.  However, it might also be true that these Councilors work the process differently. For example, another trait common to almost all approved requests was that the work approved would NOT be done by City Council itself, but rather by other Lakewood agencies. For example, discussions regarding Additional Dwelling Units (ADUs) will be conducted by the Planning Commission. Minority-owned business and speed reduction studies were moved to the Lakewood Advisory Committee (LAC).

Only two things were approved for Council to work on themselves:

1. Censure – moved to an immediate Council Workshop (completed May 1, 2023)
2. Education on environmental problems near Terumo – moved forward to unspecified time.

However, if we judge a City Council Members effectiveness and success by their ability to initiate work and get discussions going, Council Member Shahrezaei is by far the most effective Councilor. That leadership is further exemplified when you consider that many of the LAC Commissioners were recruited by Shahrezaei and that the LAC is now working on two of those approved projects.

In contrast to speedy approval, a request to take a closer look at public safety concerns was denied twice, or possibly three times, by City Council. The specific request was for a new Public Safety Committee. Such a committee would probably involve City Council Members who are already busy on several committees. Council Member Janssen was the first to request this, but it was delayed for later discussion during the annual retreat. During the retreat, there was some discussion about what public safety might mean but, ultimately, no action for Council itself was approved.

The third time discussion about a Public Safety Committee was raised, most Councilors agreed nothing could be done –unless it was approved at the next retreat. No other Request for Legislative Modification was required to wait until the annual retreat.

The objectives set at the annual retreat are city-wide objectives, some of which the City Council themselves take an active part in. For example, “Regular reports provided by the police” does not take Council action. Another item, “Provide a detailed review of the process and challenges associated with developing affordable housing projects during an upcoming Study Session” will involve a Council session, from which further action may be forthcoming.

The same Council Members who would not approve a discussion about a public safety committee seemed upset when denied an opportunity for discussion in executive session on July 17. In that case the issue will proceed anyway since the information can be distributed in other ways, but no executive level discussion occurred. In every case there are reasons why the discussion doesn’t happen, but the net result is the discussion doesn’t happen.

It might appear that Council Members get things done by having the right connections, by playing a superior game or by just having better ideas.  In any case, over the past twelve months, the net effect of individual Councilor-initiated agenda items, not staff initiated, was that Council chose to spend time on only two items: number one was ways to censure each other. Other items, like public safety, were thrice denied.

Update: Crime prevention was the number one concern of 88% of the respondents in the Lakewood Community Survey (pg4).

Support this author and Lakewood teacher: Angela Chirila

Lakewood Mayor Adam Paul received the Community Leadership Award from the Community Investment Alliance for his personal involvement with the Lakewood launch of an Extreme Weather Overflow Shelter. (news release here; link removed from lakewood.org) This was the first year for the shelter, which operated out of the Whitlock recreational enter.  During the Feb 27 Lakewood City Council meeting, the City Manager reported that 11 guests used the shelter the first night, and 33 guests were there the second.

There is no doubt that Mayor Paul works tirelessly for the City of Lakewood. However, other Council Members would like to work tirelessly on the issues they care about and are often stymied as to how to do that. Councilor Springsteen says information is withheld. Councilor Olver is famous working towards a new dog park but cannot talk to staff about it for fear of undue influence. When Olver tried to offer opinions and discussion points on bike paths, there appeared to be a Council protest. What is the difference between Olver asking to help on bike lanes or dog parks and the Mayor lending leadership to the weather shelter and “helping resolve issues that arose during its operation”?

Perhaps after Mayor Paul’s long tenure in Lakewood he has figured out a way to get into a leadership position in city operations. This may be something worth sharing because Lakewood Council Members seem to be continuously reminded that such a thing is not possible.

Following up on resident concerns raised in a recent interview discussing the newly approved “Green Remodeling” project, Lakewood Mayor Pro Tem Wendi Strom and the Sustainability Committee Chair, Glenn Weadock, responded that this was just research, that outcomes had yet to be determined and no policies have been set. The implication of project approval is that City Council and the Sustainability Committee agree that green remodeling is a worthy city goal to be sustainable and reduce greenhouse emissions. In this case, research may involve electrification, i.e., replacing gas with electricity in places such as your stove.

Weadock writes: “The Lakewood Advisory Council is a research entity, not a policy entity. Our job is to provide relevant facts to policymakers so that they can make informed decisions. The “green remodeling” project is essentially an extension of work that the LAC has already done in prior years via the Renewable Energy Mitigation Proposal (REMP). The LAC sustainability committee will be studying the pros and cons of several types of electrification in the context of home renovation and remodeling. What the city council chooses to do with the information we provide, in terms of policy changes, will be up to them as elected officials, but it is certainly appropriate for Lakewood city government to evaluate the possibilities for making the city more sustainable for all its residents, and important to do so in a well-informed manner.”

In the past, project researchers often interpret research approval as a mandate for recommendations to “do something”. In many cases, “pros and cons” are presented only for certain recommendations, but the pros and cons are not necessarily considered for the original base assumption.  For example, in the Green Remodeling Project, there may be pros and cons presented for a certain type of electrification, but the original base assumption, that electrification is good, is likely to be considered “a given” and will go unchallenged.  Home chefs who enjoy their gas stove may not want to switch to an electric stove, but somehow the question of “is it necessary?” is not discussed, but rather “how much is necessary?” (no such discussion has yet occurred on this project)

Disclosure statement: This author is a member of the Lakewood Advisory Committee (LAC) and admittedly has personal biases on most of these issues since witnessing the debates firsthand.

Mayor Pro Tem Strom clarifies: “Procedurally, the Lakewood Advisory Commission (LAC) needs City Council’s approval to move forward on study projects that the LAC volunteer members deem to be of interest and/or benefit to the city.  Members of the LAC approached us because they would like to research opportunities and other impacts of policy that may be considered by City Council that could help our residents increase energy efficiency through home remodeling projects, as well as efforts that could help reduce reliance on our electrical grid and consider emissions of greenhouse gasses.  The LAC members also mentioned that there are funds available at both the State and Federal level that may be available for some of this work. “

She continued, “No specifics were voted on, and this research is likely a project that we will not hear back on for quite some time due to the scope of the research.  However, the Council’s approval was both necessary and required for the LAC to move forward gathering information. To date, I’m not aware of any Council conversations around gas stoves specifically.”

Strom notes, “For anyone that would like to see the full conversation, it can be found at minute 49:13 of the 07/10/2023 Lakewood City Council meeting at this Link:   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tKcqTgSiI1o .    The staff memo referenced in the video of the City Council meeting can be found and reviewed here: https://lakewoodspeaks.org/items/3091.”

Residents will have a chance to make their voices heard about any new policy when the final report is presented to City Council. This research is just the first step towards the city taking any action. It also may result in no action. This project idea was not petitioned by an overwhelming number of residents making their voices heard through Council; it is the result of a few individuals. Historically, there are relatively few new actions or policies resulting from LAC research, which is its own frustration to LAC members.

The Lakewood Advisory Commission also recently gained approval for noise pollution research. This will include research into gas-powered outdoor equipment, such as leaf-blowers and lawn mowers, that are noisier than their electric counterparts.

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Cross-Post from Brother Jeff

Lakewood City Council, NAACP and What Happens When Power Fights the Power. 30 Minutes with Councilwoman Anita Springsteen.

https://www.facebook.com/jeff.fard/videos/2046875489008195

Highlights and notes from the video:

Anita Springsteen discusses the latest on Lakewood City Council.

Brother Jeff expresses surprise that Lakewood is seeing increased homelessness.

They discuss Aurora’s outstanding fireworks show and Aurora’s policy of discouraging residents from giving money to panhandlers.

Brother Jeff’s policy is “housing first”  – give people housing first and then address their issues.

Springsteen sees a problem with criminalizing people who go to county jail over and over again who can’t make a bond and that doesn’t solve the problem.

Springsteen highlights the case of Angela Selvage who died in a hit and run in May. Springsteen feels that people in her situation, down on her luck, do not have their cases investigated the same as others.

They discuss the “hierarchy of handouts” – bailouts and scholarships seem ok but not giving to panhandlers.

Brother Jeff gets a text inquiring if Springsteen knows about Jumbos Bar and Grill losing their license. She will look into it.

(see the end of Joan’s interview where she notices an uptick in permitting issues on Nextdoor)

An update on the death of Patricia Dilworth: She went missing in January, and her body was found a month later. Her death was ruled not a homicide. However, there is video surveillance showing Ms. Dilworth talking to someone when a car pulls up and Ms. Dilworth disappears. The owner of the video has been harassed regarding it and the video itself appears missing from the tablet that was given to the police, leading to questions. The autopsy also raised questions: the timing changed, hypothermia may or may not have been involved. The body was reported Jan 24 but it wasn’t found by the police for another week.

Ms. Springsteen is looking for members and organizing members of a new chapter of the NAACP. She hopes they may help in certain criminal cases. For instance, there was a story about a young girl being shot in Lakewood. In the beginning, the story was that two girls were involved in an armed robbery, pulling a gun and shooting a police officer. The next day, apparently the story changed to the girl pulling a gun but not shooting it. The story changed again to the officer being hit by friendly fire, which is unconfirmed at this point. Springsteen has asked for information and feels Lakewood PD is unresponsive to her requests.

Springsteen reports that Lakewood PD has not been keeping her informed of litigation actions involving the police department, which is a decision made by the Lakewood Attorney’s office, not Lakewood City Council.

Brother Jeff asks if other City Council Members are upset about these cases or are they afraid of not rocking the boat. Springsteen responds that there are six members who go along to get along, some of whom have political ambitions so may be afraid of pushback from the establishment.

Springsteen highlights the need for more information so that City Council can make sound policy decisions to fix existing problems.

Springsteen has lost a two year battle to gain information with the Colorado Department of Health. The lawsuit was dismissed to gain a copy of the waiver allowing use of ketamine. The Attorney General’s Office defended the Colorado Department of Health withholding the information. However, the Colorado Attorney General’s Office is currently prosecuting paramedics for administering ketamine in the Elijah McClain case, which appears to be a conflict of interest.  Springsteen personally witnessed someone getting involuntary dosed with ketamine.

Springsteen reports that one of her supporters in the battle to get information out was arrested in December, 2022, and has been in jail since that time on a $250,000 cash bond. She continues, “To put that in perspective, Derek Chauvin, who murdered George Floyd, had a $100,000 bond.”  This woman was accused of threatening City Council by email. Four City Council Members did not feel threatened, “but she got on the wrong side of some very important people.”

Springsteen reports on a viral video wherein a Lakewood woman went on a racist rant at the Green Mountain Swim Club. Springsteen believes this is a systemic problem that is perpetuated by Lakewood’s form of government.

Please email [email protected] if you’d like to help with organizing the new Jeffco chapter of the NAACP.

Joan From Lakewood brings attention to gas stoves and possible changes in Lakewood in this video interview.

Joan highlights state and federal laws that impact us and shows how other localities are reversing gas stove bans.

Joan also talks about permitting issues she has seen on Nextdoor wherein businesses are having trouble getting their permits.

*Joan wishes to correct her video statement regarding copper – she meant cobalt, mined in the Congo with negative health effects.

Background: The Sustainability Committee of the Lakewood Advisory Commission received approval to research “green remodeling” during the July 10, 2023 Lakewood City Council meeting.

Project Proposal Regarding Green Remodeling: “To identify and research possible policies and actions by the City to expedite “green renovation” in Lakewood’s residential buildings, for example through benchmarking of electrification; legislation; leveraging state and federal funds; and code enhancement to the existing Article 13, Renewable Energy Mitigation Program (REMP) and the Enhanced Development Menu (EDM).”

Since this project has just been approved, there are no current results so that status of any recommendations, including gas stoves, is unknown.

See “Lakewood Advisory Commission Adds Grassroots Leadership” for background on these grassroots projects that do not originate from City Council proposals.

LakewoodInformer will be reaching out to those mentioned in the video for reaction and will update if necessary. Please reach out to highlight news you are watching..

Reader Recommended Business: First Link Technology