Lakewood woman to chain herself to a tree Saturday  

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 [email protected]

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:

• Increase the acreage of functional and healthy natural ecosystems.
• Increase tree canopy coverage of 30 percent by 2025. The tree canopy of the 69 trees is a habitat for various life forms including birds and insects which it seeks to protect. 
• Protect and enhance habitat for 230 bird species that have been documented at Belmar Park including those protected by the Migratory BirdTreaty Act. Belmar Park is in the path of the Central Flyway, a critical element of the natural environment used by migratory birds and which Lakewood intends to be protected and enhanced. Also, human-induced disturbance can have a significant negative effect on breeding success by causing nest abandonment and increased predation.

Additionally:

• The site plan does not provide any affordable housing.
• The site plan ignores the effect that increased traffic will have on the area’s only exit, South Yarrow Street, which is not even wide enough to acquire a middle stripe.

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