Lakewood Informer

Resident generated news about Lakewood, Colorado

Lakewood Informer

Resident generated news about Lakewood, Colorado

LAKEWOOD INFORMER

Reference Shelf

Councilor Admits Zoning is a Developer Handout

"Yes, zoning is a developer handout" on top of City Council Member Sophia Mayott-Guerrero on the podium
Trickle down housing explained: Give developers a handout and hope that some taxpayer-subsidized units unfold

Support the
Lakewood Informer

Donation QR Code for Lakewood Informer

Zoning Change Links to Information

Fact Sheet: Proposed new zoning code will: * Convert existing single-family zoning to multi-family and retail *Eliminate occupancy limits CITYWIDE so every home can be used as multi-family * Change height restrictions * Reduce mininmum lot size * Eliminate parking minimums * Sacrifice home rule

Latest Articles

  • All Posts
  • Budget
  • Business
  • Community
  • Crime
  • Development
  • Elections
  • Entrenched Bureaucracy
  • Homeless
  • Jeffco
  • school
  • Statewide
  • Sustainability
  • Transparency
  • Vote Tally
  • Word Games
Out of Control Demolition has started at the Irongate Complex

Out of Control Demolition has started at the Irongate Complex

March 15, 2025/

From savebelmarpark.com Greetings Supporters of Save Belmar Park, The Kairoi Belmar project is moving forward with no active citizen objections.  Will this rogue demolition mess be a wake-up call? The top image is 777 S Yarrow Street in Lakewood, CO after 24 hours of demolition. The Demolition Permit was approved on March 12 by Lakewood so the city is fully aware of what is happening. However, the contractor has not installed any erosion control devices, silt fence, etc. as required by the Kimley-Horn specifications shown in the second image above. They began demolition on March 13 in violation of their own established Sequence Of Construction Activities as specified by Kimley-Horn engineers.   We assume this is OK with the city manager and city council because the city would have approved everything at the REQUIRED MEETING before demolition begins as stated on page 11 of the Erosion and Sediment Control Report : Read the full Savebelmarpark email from the source

Read More

Jefferson County Committed to DEI and Sanctuary Policies

March 14, 2025/

From a resident with a question. Thanks for sharing! According to the Jefferson County website: https://www.jeffco.us/4887/Federal-Impact-Updates “In 2023 the county [Jefferson] received about $105 million in federal revenue from approximately 130 different awards. The county relies on these federal dollars to provide a broad range of critical services such as food assistance, early childhood education, highway safety, crime victim assistance, employment services, child support, medical assistance, emergency management, and preventative health services. Additionally, in 2023 we administered about $110 million in direct federal assistance to our community. Once our 2024 audit is complete, we will have more recent numbers.”  Question: Why are Jeffco County Commissioners risking the loss of $215 million dollars in essential federal funds to openly defy federal law by not cooperating with federal immigration law and an Executive Order to eliminate DEI offices?  County answer: “We will continue to provide essential services and resources to our community and are in the process of identifying strategies to do that in the event that we lose funding.”  In other words, RAISE OUR TAXES AGAIN.  Voters in Jefferson County were not allowed to vote on implementing DEI in the County nor could we vote on defying federal immigration law for the County to protect illegal immigrants nor vote on defying the DEI Executive Order. These decisions are the sole responsibility of the County Commissioners and their handlers. Please share any answers you hear from the county as to whether they will comply with federal direction in order to receive federal...

Read More

The Bend Development Incomplete Site Plan

March 14, 2025/

16 March, 2025 Thanks to a reader who provided new information, this post requires a major rewrite. Please stop reading now and stay tuned! What will Lincoln Property Company (LPC) do with the toxic landfill on The Bend development at 4th and Union? No one knows. One part of the property has development plans, including the area SOUTH of 4th Ave. This area is supposedly free of contamination and can be developed by following safety rules. The area NORTH of 4th Ave is where no development can occur because it wasn’t fully remediated, only covered with dirt. There has been no plan filed for this land so the site plan is incomplete. The city needs the plan for the entire parcel of land to design adequate resources and to reassure residents the area is safe. But if anyone knows the full site plans, Lakewood Informer can’t find them. Lakewood Informer filed an open records request for the site plan. Instead of supplying the document, the city said to get it online. To be fair, knowing where to find the documents yourself is a valuable tool for any government website, which always seems convoluted. The Urban Renewal application materials were posted for the meeting back in January. However, there was no site plan included.  (Thank you to the city staff who handle requests) Going to the eTRAKiT development site revealed no permits or projects for that parcel ID. There is obviously a site plan, pre-development application, development application, or whatever is...

Read More

Lakewood City Council approved a new land use scheme that overturns citizen initiative

March 7, 2025/

From Save Open Space – Lakewood 2/24 Lakewood Mayor, Mayor Pro Tem, backed by dark money, continue City’s long history of choosing development over environment Council’s action threw out the wishes of over 8,000 community members who signed the Save Open Space Lakewood Green Initiative petition 2/24 Lakewood Council approved a new land use scheme reinstating a loophole that allows developers to pay a fee in lieu of land donation On February 24, 2025, Lakewood City Council voted to repeal and replace the citizens’ initiated Save Open Space Lakewood (SOS Lakewood) Green Initiative with City Hall’s anti-environmental, no-transparency, developer-friendly ordinance.  “The City’s vote reinstates the practice of back-door deals where fees are prioritized over parks and open spaces. It is also a slap in the face to petitioners whose pleas not only went unheard, but who also faced personal attacks by a well-orchestrated campaign against the initiative,” said Cathy Kentner, petition representative. At the heart of the initiative was eliminating the provision that allowed large developments to pay a fee-in-lieu of creating a one third acre or larger “pocket park.”  By wrongfully withholding building permits from projects that had already paid a fee and by wrongfully requiring land dedication for smaller projects, City Hall was successful in fabricating a “crisis” that they “heroically” solved. They used the “unintended consequences” suffered by the smaller projects to put back in place all of the problems that led to the initiative – back-door deal making and a scheme where paying a fee is...

Read More

Council loosens green space mandates

February 26, 2025/

From Denver Post, by John Aguilar, jaguilar@denverpost.com The Lakewood City Council has revamped a controversial land-use ordinance that city leaders hope will break a logjam for approval of badly needed housing projects. The measure, passed 8-0 by the council late Monday, is aimed at balancing a fervent desire by residents to preserve as much green space and parkland as possible in Colorado’s fifth-largest city with the need to create affordable homes in a region that is sorely lacking in residential units. Most notably, the city of 156,000’s new ordinance restores the ability of homebuilders to buy their way out of making land dedications in certain cases — a practice called fee-in-lieu. The change reverses the core of the original measure adopted by the council last fall that placed a clear emphasis on preserving green space in Lakewood. The council’s move Monday night also breathed renewed life into a controversial 411-unit apartment building that is slated for the east edge of Belmar Park, a project that was stymied by stricter land dedication rules adopted by the city last fall. That proposed project is what prompted the battle over how much green space to preserve in the city. Cathy Kentner, a Lakewood resident and former mayoral candidate who helped spearhead an effort last year to put a mandatory land dedication measure before voters, called the council’s overhaul of the legislation Monday a “bait and switch.” Read more…

Read More

Citizen Initiative Repealed

February 25, 2025/

A quick update from Cathy Kentner Dear Friends of Lakewood, Unfortunately, but not surprisingly, City Council repealed our citizen initiative last night. They kept none of the requests from the petitioners. Thank you to everyone who made comments! Please stay involved and keep letting your voice be heard. The fact that the developer-funded establishment didn’t even let us vote on this issue is evidence that we are making good, valid points. The next thing coming up for the City as a whole is the comprehensive plan and zoning ordinance amendments. The next thing for the Belmar Park project is the Planning Commission hearing to approve the site plan, not yet scheduled but likely to be in April or May. Thank you, Cathy

Read More
Load More

End of Content.

Subscribe to Our Substack
By subscribing you agree to Substack’s Terms and Privacy.
Your ad here: $30 for 5 postings email thedesk@lakewoodinformer for more information
Fleischer Familiy Farm logo
Citizens for NO New Debt Home page Reporting on Government debt About Us We Organize. We Advertise. We Campaign.
The Revelation of Emery Audubon book cover
Local author - award-winning book
Colorado Pest Pros Lakewood: 720-422-1083
Your ad here: $30 for 5 postings email thedesk@lakewoodinformer for more information
Fleischer Familiy Farm logo
Scroll to top