Lakewood Informer

Resident generated news about Lakewood, Colorado

Lakewood Informer

Resident generated news about Lakewood, Colorado

LAKEWOOD INFORMER

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Will Lakewood remember problems when finally issuing permit

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Get the background before Lakewood makes a decion on a Navigation Center permit

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Residents Reject City Council Zoning

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Kentner on Mandy Connell for Belmar

Kentner on Mandy Connell for Belmar

March 21, 2025/

From Mandy Connell’s blog WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN GOVERNMENT WON’T LISTEN? That is the situation that many Lakewood residents find themselves in when it comes to the conflict over green space vs. development. This time it’s Belmar Park, where developers want to build right up the boundaries and pay dispensation money instead of actually honoring green space that is required. I’ve got Cathy Kentner with Save Belmar Park on at 1 to chat about it. Find out more about their cause by clicking here. Lakewood’s Cathy Kentner did a great job of explaining how this goes beyond growth arguments and into honoring plans to maintain community standards. Thank you Cathy and Mandy for highlighting this issue! Listen to the interview here

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New zoning rules propose to take Lakewood back to “bedroom” community concept

New zoning rules propose to take Lakewood back to “bedroom” community concept

March 20, 2025/

Repost from Dave Weichman On top of everything else going on these days, the Lakewood establishment is planning to change the city’s comprehensive plan and zoning codes to allow for more population density and cheaper housing. As usual there is way too much devil in the details to wrap one’s head around. However, there is one area that gives me a deja vu. Back when I was on City Council (in 2012) there was a major change in zoning. One of the innovations was the concept of “mixed-use” zones. We on Council bought into the idea there could be buildings with multiple uses. The example we were sold on was a vision where the first floor of the building could have commercial uses like restaurants or shops. The second floor could be offices for businesses. The third and fourth floors could be apartments or condos for residential use. Therefore there could be three different types of uses within the same building. This would reduce the need for traveling to different zones for a range of uses – i.e. one could work, shop, play and live all within a single building. So city zoning was changed to create “mixed-use” zones that would allow for several different types of uses within the same structure. However, when it came time to actually build this type of zoning ALL these buildings were 100% housing. Commercial uses and offices remained located in other parts of the metro area. The City argued mixed-use did not mean...

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Screenshot of the Dec 19, 2022 City Council meeting video

City Manager’s Annual Review

March 20, 2025/

By Lenore Herskovitz On Monday, March 24 the City Council will hold the first of 2 Special Meetings regarding the Annual Review of the City Manager, Kathy Hodgson. Residents are not privy to the standards or metrics that are used to evaluate the job performance of our most powerful and most highly compensated city officials. At one time, the City of Lakewood Community Survey was issued every 2 to 3 years which included approval ratings for the city’s performance. In 2010, when Kathy Hodgson took office this approval rating was 67%. By 2022, this had dropped to 38%. Since then, this survey has not circulated. Until 2022 these survey results were included in the evaluation process (See Lakewood Informer news report from 2022). On Dec. 19, 2022, the City Council met to amend the City Manager’s 2014 Employment Agreement and establish the 2022 Employment Agreement. This was supposed to be discussed on Dec. 5 in an Executive session but 4 Councillors (Able, Springsteen, Olver, and Janssen) opposed the session because they felt they had not been provided enough information in advance of the meeting. At the Dec. 19 meeting there was confusion about whether the representatives were voting solely on the amendments or on the new contract because the packet that was presented only included a staff memo and the resolution containing the proposed amendments. There was no redlined version showing what had been removed from the 2014 contract or any copy of what the new contract would be in...

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No Permits For Kairoi Demolition?

No Permits For Kairoi Demolition?

March 19, 2025/

From savebelmarpark.com Update 3/19/25: Permits were straightened out (very quickly) and demolition on track Greetings Supporters of Save Belmar Park, This is an update on the attempted demolition of the Irongate Campus we told you about yesterday. The top image is 777 S Yarrow Street in Lakewood, CO after 24 hours of illegal demolition. We now know that Kairoi Residential had moved forward with the attempted illegal demolition without obtaining proper permits. Kairoi Residential attempted to illegally demolish the Irongate Office Campus at 777 S Yarrow Street. Local activists intervened and the city ultimately had to shut down the illegal project. So please consider this. If you happen to be in the construction business, obtaining permits is standard operating procedure.  At least for any business that intends to obey the law. Even if you want an electrician to install a circuit in a residence, you need a permit. The idea a company that has been involved in the construction industry in Colorado and other states for many years does not know how to properly permit the demolition phase of a project raises some questions. Especially considering that their own civil engineers at Kimley-Horn prepared a large document titled: “EROSION AND SEDIMENT CONTROL REPORT” that included great detail on the topic: “SEQUENCE OF CONSTRUCTION ACTIVITIES” The first listed responsibility in the Kimly-Horn document is: “The city does not authorize any work to be performed until the City Grading, Erosion, and Sediment Control Permit has been issued.” Did Kairoi bother to obtain...

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HB25-1211: Deception to Legislate Litigation

HB25-1211: Deception to Legislate Litigation

March 17, 2025/

HB25-1211 is a deceptive bill concerning local government’s ability to set fees and it is passing the Colorado House on a party line vote. The most likely outcome of HB25-1211 is a profusion of concrete jungle developments with increased water usage and decreased ability for water districts to pay for costly infrastructure. But what IS NOT written in this bill is even worse because the bill contradicts existing law that is currently in litigation. HB25-1211 is using legislation to go beyond 100 years of case law to side AGAINST local governments in pending and future litigation. At first read, the bill’s title and language read as if the main point is to conserve water by tying lower infrastructure fees to conservation measures. This is deceptive and misleading. Infrastructure has certain fixed costs no matter how much you use it. To make this relatable, think about the appliances in your homes as your water infrastructure. It doesn’t matter if you promise to only use the dishwasher once a week or flush the toilet once a day. You still have to buy the whole appliance to make it work. You can’t buy half the appliance because you promise not to use it often. But that’s exactly the argument HB25-1211 makes. It asks water districts to let people pay less for their infrastructure because they promise to use it less. No matter how you count it, 100 high-density apartments will use A LOT more water than a couple houses, even with yards. No...

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Terumo Not Liable

Terumo Not Liable

March 16, 2025/

The Colorado Sun reports that Terumo will not be held liable for cancer since the company always met federal regulations. From the Sun: “Terumo Blood and Cell Technologies of Lakewood was found not negligent Friday by a Jefferson County jury for alleged releases of toxic ethylene oxide into surrounding neighborhoods from its sterilization process, after four women sued the company for liability in their cancer cases.  The plaintiffs, part of a large group of negligence and liability cases against Terumo and other companies who use ethylene oxide, claimed the Lakewood plant should have done more to stop chemical emissions into neighborhoods. They sought damages in state district court over their extensive medical costs, as well as physical impairment and disfigurement. “ Read the full article..

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