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Cross post from RooneyValleyNews The Lakewood City Council voted 6 – 3 in favor of the new Developer Reimbursement Agreement. Yet, the discussion between council members and staff told a story that would give reasonable residents pause to wonder “why”. [Video inserts from meeting provided] But the Adam Paul group insisted this was just between developers and there would be no cost whatsoever to the residents of the homes built in these developer “reimbursement areas”. Read more…

Guest Post from a Resident to Save Belmar Park There are two upcoming meetings that you are invited and encouraged to please attend.  Meeting #1 – Community Organizing Meeting Hosted by Regina Hopkins and City Council Member Anita Springsteen – Tuesday, October 17, 2023 at 6:30 PM at Phillips United Methodist Church, 1450 S. Pierce St, Lakewood, CO 80232 Oct 17 Meeting Description:  We are planning an in-person community planning meeting next Tues. Oct. 17 at 6:30pm at Phillips United Methodist Church at 1450 S Pierce St, Lakewood, CO 80232.   Please join us and help us plan to introduce a motion to adopt the resolution at next City Council meeting on Oct. 23. Bonus Action Item: We also need to lobby at least 3 more council members to vote yes on this motion for resolution, sponsored by Ward 3 City Council Member Anita Springsteen.  Let your city council rep know your support. Please come and we’re excited to brainstorm and keep this momentum going, trying to stop or properly mitigate this development at 777 S Yarrow St from happening! We CAN do amazing things when we come together for a common cause. Meeting #2 – Lakewood City Council Regular Meeting Monday, October 23, 2023 at 7:00 pm Council Chambers & Zoom, 480 S Allison Parkway, 80226 View Map City Council Meeting goal: As many Save Belmar Park members as possible should attend in support of a resolution to be presented by Ward 3 City Council Representative Anita Springsteen for a vote of city council.  Councilor Springsteen has submitted an agenda request for the meeting.  More Save Belmar Park members in attendance means more political pressure on city council members to do the right thing.  The resolution directs that Lakewood City Council requires the proposed development at 777 S Yarrow St adjacent to Belmar Park to include the following mitigations: Council Member Mary Janssen is among city council members who have already expressed support to vote for our 777 S Yarrow St resolution.  Thank You Councilor Janssen! Councilor Janssen also invites everyone to please support her proposal to reduce Lakewood’s property tax mill levy which will also be on the agenda at the same Oct 23rd city council meeting.  Councilor Janssen invites everyone to please offer public comment in support of her property tax relief measure.  Media Coverage In case you have not seen the media coverage of our community action, here are some recent stories: KMGH Channel 7:   https://www.denver7.com/news/local-news/lakewood-residents-rally-against-apartment-project-proposed-near-belmar-park KDVR Channel 31:  https://kdvr.com/news/local/save-belmar-park-lakewood-residents-protest-proposed-apartment-build/ Jeffco Transcript:  https://coloradocommunitymedia.com/2023/10/13/lakewood-residents-protest-belmar-park-development-council-to-discuss-further-oct-23/

Guest Post from a Resident to Save Belmar Park This email is to clarify various aspects of City Council meetings including possible misunderstanding regarding agenda setting: Lakewood City Council Policy 05.08 requires compliance with Robert’s Rules of Order.   Therefore, Robert’s Rules determines the agenda setting process.  Regarding agenda setting, Robert’s Rules state: “For a proposed agenda to become the official agenda for a meeting, it must be adopted by the assembly at the outset of the meeting. At the time that an agenda is presented for adoption, it is in order for any member to move to amend the proposed agenda by adding any item that the member desires to add, or by proposing any other change. It is wrong to assume, as many do, that the president “sets the agenda.” It is common for the president to prepare a proposed agenda, but that becomes binding only if it is adopted by the full assembly, perhaps after amendments as just described. [RONR (12th ed.) 41:62; see also pp. 16–17 of RONR In Brief.]”  END QUOTE  https://robertsrules.com/frequently-asked-questions/ That process from Robert’s Rules should be followed and the Parliamentarian of the meeting should support that.  If the Parliamentarian does not support Robert’s Rules on the matter, then his/her interpretation and whatever alternate authority is relied upon should be requested to be reflected in the meeting minutes. This is to remind that Article 7.1 of the Lakewood City Charter states: “The City Council shall act by ordinance, resolution, or motion.” Council for the proper administration of all affairs of the City placed in the City Manager’s charge. That Title 2.06.060(B) of the Lakewood Municipal Code states: The City Manager shall have the following additional functions and duties: B. To be responsible to the City Council for the administration of all departments of the city, save and except those departments confided to the supervision of other city officers by law or ordinance; and to cooperate with and supervise the administrative functions of such departments to the extent requested or delegated by the city officers having primary responsibility for the operation of such departments; POLICY 05.9 MOTIONS Page 29 – “Any council member may make or second a motion to approve, amend, table or continue any matter before the council.”  So if the meeting is open for new or ‘General’ business, a member can arguably make a motion to introduce a resolution that another member could second. Motions and seconds shall be made in accordance with Robert’s Rules of Order/Parliamentary Procedure. POLICY 05.14 Page 34 Passage or adoption of resolutions (and motions) shall require an affirmative vote of a majority of Council members present and voting. Code of Conduct:  At City Council Meetings, City Council Members shall: Avoid interrupting Council members who have the floor and withhold questions until the speaker yields the floor.    For example, the presiding officer should not interrupt a council member even for the noble purpose of denying a motion that has not yet been fully stated by the member who has the floor.  Reader recommended business: Angela Chirila

News Release from Barbara Millman Contact:  Barbara Millman 303 519 2949 Lakewood woman to chain herself to a tree Saturday to protest planned gigantic apartment building bordering treasured Belmar Park As condo and apartment construction runs rampant around metro Denver, leaving its citizens feeling disgusted and helpless, a group of Lakewood residents have declared they are “mad as Hell and…not going to take this any more.” “I’m as mad as hell, and I’m not going to take this any more!” from Paddy Chayevsky’s play and screenplay Network. They are protesting a planned 412 unit high rise luxury apartment building (see image below) bordering the east side of their beloved Belmar Park, a magical and serene home to birds and wildlife and visiting humans.  For humans, it’s a sweet and calm oasis from the frenetic urban world they inhabit.   To join the group or for future updates, email savethepark@spamex.com On Saturday during Lakewood’s Cider Days at 801 S. Yarrow, longtime Lakewood resident Lorraine May Springer will chain herself to a tree in the park (at the northwest corner of Ohio and S. Yarrow) from 11 am to 2 pm to protest the plan to cut down 69 mature trees to make way for the development.   The 72 year-old grandmother said, “I am sounding an alarm to friends and neighbors to speak out against Lakewood’s short-sighted, unconscionable approach to development at the Lakewood City Council meeting at 7pm on Monday, October 9 at 480 S. Allison.” Others in the group have researched how the city is ignoring its own ordinances and plans that declare it to be a leader in sustainability.  They have found that Lakewood has reneged on its pledge to: Additionally: How to Connect to Provide Public Comment:By Computer:https://lakewood.zoom.us/j/84957320840By iPad, iPhone, or Android device on the Zoom App, enter webinar ID:849 5732 0840 By Telephone: 720-707-2699Webinar ID: 849 5732 0840 #Participant ID: # (just type #)Press *9 to Request to Speak, you will be prompted when to speak.Press *6 to Unmute

Lakewood Mayoral Candidates were invited to join a forum and let us get to know them. Don Burkhart and Cathy Kentner accepted that invitation. Watch the video, in two parts: Mayoral Forum, Part 1: Moderator Questions Mayoral Forum, Part 2: Public Questions Profound thanks to all our candidates for giving us a choice and a special thanks to Cathy Kentner and Don Burkhart for supporting the little people in this informal forum. Part 1 Minute 5:20 – People are voting for a mayor to help them solve problems. We’ve seen residents come in overwhelming numbers to talk about problems but City Council has to jump through hoops to get anything on the agenda before they can even talk about it. Do you think there’s a better way for Council to take action or get things on the agenda? Minute 9:30 – Lakewood hired a new Police Chief this year who is implementing the “21st Century Policing” methods developed under President Obama. One immediate affect is this year’s plan to reduce police officers and convert those positions to civilian community resource positions. Do you believe this will be effective in Lakewood? Minute 14:38 – Lakewood is building a new homeless shelter on Colfax for long-term and short-term supportive needs of the unhoused. If you were able to choose, would you provide supportive resources with or without contingencies? By contingencies I mean any kind of “if you do this, then you get that”, such as medical care, work hours, etc. Minute 20:00 – Sustainability is the number 2 priority for the city. The latest proposal from city staff is benchmarking policies that lead to eliminating gas powered systems in favor of electricity. The goal is to cutdown on greenhouse emissions but according to this graphic, the proposed standards are to the left of Boulder and California.  Are we on the right track? Minute 27:00 – Lakewood recently opted-in to Proposition 123, which will provide state funds for affordable housing. As this graph shows, according to the City’s report for Strategic Housing, Lakewood needs housing that costs under $875/month more than anything else. So in a needs-based model, Lakewood would serve this population first, which is equivalent to someone making under $31,000 annually, while someone making over $31,000 would not benefit, because that’s not the biggest need. Do you believe these Prop 123 funds should all go to this lowest income group or would you distribute them based on another model? Or bigger picture, do you think there should be any model for spending money and should that discussion be public? Minute 36:00 – 36:30 Ultimately the City Manager is in charge of solving all these problems, not City Council nor the Mayor. Resident satisfaction is going down yet the City Manager got a bonus this year. How will you enforce accountability? Part 2 – Randomly selected questions to fill the remaining time Over twenty questions were submitted by residents, which were answered randomly to fill the remaining 15 minutes. Minute 00:39 – What is the City of Lakewood going to do to rejuvenate the Colfax corridor? Our current Colfax looks like the old East Colfax. Back in the day, Lakewood was the envy of nearby communities. Clearly, that’s no longer the case. I would like to have each candidate explain how they will help bring Lakewood back to the beautiful city it once was. Two crime questions were submitted but candidates did not have anything further to add since that was discussed. Minute 7:30 – There is a narrative that claims that Lakewood needs more affordable housing to get more jobs. Yet a number a communities with significantly more expensive housing, such as Boulder and Golden, have far better economic development progress. How do you explain this? Minute 12:10 – As Mayor, will you take the pledge to help Monarch butterflies and other pollinators? https://www.nwf.org/mayorsmonarchportal/Signatories Thank you again to our candidates and to the viewers who are doing the hard work to stay informed and make good decisions. Reader recommended business: The Wholeness Hut

Submitted by the Wholeness Hut The tenants of the Squire Plaza are coming together to offer a fun family Halloween Celebration on Saturday, October 14th from 10am-7pm.  Lakewood small businesses from the Squire Plaza will each be offering their own special way of celebrating Halloween. From safe trick or treating, costume contests, and more. Adults can also treat themselves with the many discounted services being offered that day:  The Squire Plaza houses many amazing businesses that love serving their Lakewood community.  The Squire Plaza Halloween Celebration invites their community to join them for tricks and treats for the whole family. Recommended Business: The Wholeness Hut

Lakewood has 26% of Jefferson County’s overall population but has 50% of its homeless population. The Metro Denver Homeless Initiative (MDHi) point-in-time data provide the homeless point-in-time data for Lakewood as well as Jefferson County. The most common explanation for the rise in homelessness is the lack of affordable housing. However, that explanation applies equally across the front range. So why does Lakewood have so many of Jefferson County’s homeless? According to the Strategic Housing Study presentation, Lakewood has 1.2 more homes per job than economically growing areas like Denver. That pushes Denver employees to live in areas like Lakewood. Lakewood then becomes a so-called bedroom community to cities with jobs. From a homelessness point of view, Lakewood may be so affordable and attractive that Denver employees are displacing local residents. But Lakewood is not uniquely positioned that way. The Strategic Housing Study also pointed out that “housing value is not unusually high” in Lakewood. So affordable housing cannot be cited as the reason that Lakewood has so much of Jefferson County’s homeless population. Denver is also pushing its homeless to Lakewood. Lakewood homeless have said they needed to move because Denver got too dangerous. Lakewood’s position next to Denver could explain the higher population, especially along Colfax Avenue. The solution to this would seem to be increased enforcement along Colfax, a solution that residents along Colfax have argued is not occurring (see 10 min mark https://lakewoodspeaks.org/meetings/570) Another factor commonly cited for high homeless populations is high overall population density. In other words, big city = big homeless. Lakewood is the largest city in Jefferson County, even though it only accounts for 30% of the population. Likewise, Denver has almost 70% of the metro area’s homeless despite less than a third of its total population. If this is the problem the solution would be slower population growth or a shift to more jobs-based growth. This solution was rejected by Lakewood. In fact, the Strategic Housing study cites the possible goal of maintaining Lakewood’s status as the largest city in Jefferson County. Prior to the affordable housing crisis, homelessness was attributed to a variety of other problems, such as economic difficulties, mental health and substance abuse. In their 2019 report advocating for housing, the Colorado Coalition for Homeless cite a 1988 statistic that 71% of people experiencing homelessness have a mental illness or post-traumatic stress, and that 58% have substance abuse disorders. Presumably their experience shows that the 1988 statistic is still relevant, although a 2011 study of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMSHA) shows only 30-50% of chronically homeless have mental health or substance abuse problems. An SMI Advisor report cite a 66% number, saying it is “not surprising that 2/3 of surveyed homeless adults in the U.S. have mental health and/or substance use disorder.” Mental health and/or substance abuse problems are also not unique to Lakewood. The MDHi report shows the number one reason for being homeless was a “relationship/family breakup” or “unable to pay rent”. MDHi assert the reason for homelessness as lack of affordable housing but do not give relevant background research. The many reasons a person is unable to pay the rent/mortgage are unexplained although there are unrelated income statistics provided. This reason, again, does not explain the Lakewood disparity. The MDHi report is “through the lens of racial equity and lived experience” and shows there are “historic funding opportunities” available. These numbers suggest that reasons for the high rate of homelessness in Lakewood, such as affordable housing or substance abuse, needs to be examined from a policy perspective for what may be unique to Lakewood.

From Colorado Updates “Adam Paul, the new Director of Regional Affairs, has over 20 years of public service experience. He is serving his second term as Lakewood’s Mayor, focusing on issues like affordable housing, homelessness, fiscal stability, and environmental sustainability. In his new role, Paul will work with various agencies and jurisdictions to improve communication and coordination.” Read more…

Volunteer in Lakewood! On September 23, Serve Spot Lakewood is hosting the first Love Lakewood Day, a city-wide day volunteer day. Serve Spot partnered with the city, schools, and other organizations to engage the community in service. This year, there are project sites at schools, nonprofits, and a church. Volunteers will be packing food, picking up litter, painting, delivering food, and more from 9am to noon! Go to servespotlakewood.com for more information or sign up here! If you have any questions or need help signing up, reach out to me at mwilch@benefitsinaction.org or 720-378-4321.  Serve Spot Lakewood is a nonprofit organization created to strengthen collaboration and leverage resources between three coalitions started by the mayor: the Lakewood Faith Coalition, the Lakewood Service Club Coalition, and the Coalition to End Hunger in Lakewood.

Many residents from the Belmar Commons area showed up at Lakewood City Council meeting to ask Lakewood to reconsider dense re-development without adequate street development or consideration for the park sanctuary. Lakewood has responded with additional information, including the fact that Belmar Park is not a bird sanctuary. After the public outpouring, the Mayor responded that residents should continue to work on the issue with their Councilor. Attendees expressed their skepticism that any action would result from that conversation, as well they should since the Mayor already said no action could be taken by the Council. The response from city indicated that all of the resident concerns were unfounded. One resident shared her public statement: “My name Is Barbara Millman. I have lived in Lakewood for 30 years. Ward 2. “One of the true jewels of the City of Lakewood park system, Belmar Park, is a peaceful enclave in the center of town.” That is a direct quote from the city of Lakewood’s website describing Belmar Park. I agree. I visit it often because it’s my sanctuary away from the rush of city life and noise. The majority of people I encounter there are friendly and appear happy. I am happy walking my dog on its well worn paths, spotting at a pond’s edge turtles lined up on a log facing the sun, further away seeing Canada Geese parade down the center of Kountze Lake, nesting cormorants content on a little island, and a Great Blue Heron taking off for points unknown. The park – even during the pandemic – was never overrun with people. It actually helped get us through it. The park is indeed a “peaceful enclave in the center of a town.” Belmar Park must not become the backyard of a large development of 412 units and as many or more cars. The impact of this dense development adjacent to our park is unfathomable and very concerning to many users. Philanthropist May Bonfils Stanton purchased the land that is now Belmar Park in 1936 to protect wildlife on Kountze Lake and the rest of her property. That included 30 mule deer, many peacocks, ducks and geese. She had Colorado officials approve it as “State Licensed Preserve No. 557,” where “hunting, fishing or trespassing for any purpose” were forbidden. The grounds were patrolled by armed security guards. May Bonfils Stanton would be crushed to learn what direction her paradise is now taking. I urge you to preserve this sanctuary that as it is to make people happy and critters thrive. I urge you to Save Belmar Park. With regards to the park and bird sanctuary, Lakewood responded that “An environmental study is not required. Belmar park is not a bird sanctuary, though we are aware of the many species of bird that reside in and pass through the park.” Lakewood also says there are no safety concerns within the development. although the city does not have to have emergency plans, “West Metro Fire Rescue reviews new development proposals within the city to ensure that sites are designed in accordance with applicable fire codes, inlcuding emergency access condiserations and requirements.” The traffic study was completed in June-July of 2021, which appears to be before the site design for the current development. Lakewood reports that “Transportation Engineering staff have determined that existing street infrastructure can accomodate the additional vehicular traffic.” Despite the reassurances from Lakewood, residents have seen cause for concern where problems have developed with traffic and stormwater in areas where Lakewood has fully evaluated and approved development. Reader recommended business: Foothills Acupuncture