Lakewood is using every tool at its disposal, and then some, to aid development at 4th and Union, known as The Bend. The latest proposal is to blight the property in order to include it in an Urban Renewal Project so that the Lakewood Reinvestment Authority can fund the development. The Lakewood Planning Commission voted unanimously to approve the first step of this process on January 22, 2025. However, despite a presentation on blight, there was no consideration of blight status for this vote and other developments in the area, like St. Anthony’s, did not receive financial assistance. Since the blight finding relies on environmental contamination, Lakewood should get involved in cleaning up a toxic landfill to make this legal, which is also not being proposed. This vote concentrated on whether the new development conforms with the Comprehensive Plan. The Comprehensive Plan was written by Lakewood to include this high-density development, which has been in the works since 2013. There was no examination of whether the residential units being built were needed per the provisions of urban renewal, such as mitigating slums. Examples of Games None of these factors were discussed or by the Planning Commission but one approval leads to another in this process. No elimination of slum or blight Per Colorado State Statute 31-25-102 (1), the purpose of a blight designation and urban renewal is to eliminate blight or slums. In a typical blight situation, there has been deterioration of structures that now need repaired. That’s not the...
Resident generated news about Lakewood, Colorado
Resident generated news about Lakewood, Colorado
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Arvada is selling the building they purchased to run a homeless shelter and navigation center. Just like what happened in Lakewood, these centers were sprung on residents with little notice about actual details. People who may support the unhoused as a general conception may not support millions of dollars in spending in a previously undisclosed location. It turns out, residents did not like the concept as much as officials thought they would. Arvada officials listened to resident opposition and are now selling the building, unused. Completely opposite to Lakewood, who is expanding their program already. Read original article: City of Arvada to sell proposed homeless resource site following community pushback Dodging a Bullet By listening to residents, Arvada might have dodged a funding bullet. Lakewood’s homeless shelter is budgeted to spend almost $4 million per year, almost all from outside sources. Lakewood, on its own, cannot support this level of services. With federal funding now in question, which funnels to state grants, future funding is not looking so rosy. Colorado is already facing a $1 billion budget shortfall. And funding was never guaranteed in the first place. Arvada may prove to be twice wise by divesting an investment that cannot be funded.
One little formatting problem on our website was the tip of the iceberg. I’ve been putting off some backend changes on the website and while trying to fix one problem, I ended up trying for too much. So Lakewood Informer is live again and we’ll continue to work out the kinks. Please remember that all input is welcome. This site is for all of us who have stood up and asked City Council for common sense measures, accountability, and upholding the social contract between long-term residents and city government. There are a lot of us out there and more every day! Thank you all for your patience and support. I’m surprised by how much the site was missed. You are the best audience! You give hope that together we can make a difference. Thank you! Karen
Lakewood has a sustainability agenda to push electrification in order to decrease fossil fuel emissions. Electrification means changing your gas appliance to an electric one. Xcel is asking for an extra $5 billion to upgrade infrastructure that is needed for this change. Xcel will fund this by charging all customers more on top of an ever-increasing bill. A recent podcast from PowerGab called “Heat Pump Surprise”, pondered whether our elected officials know the total cost of their agenda. This was a good question so LakewoodInformer news asked Lakewood City Council if they knew the total cost for Lakewood residents. We got two responses and zero answers. All Lakewood residents are paying for electrification efforts through these additional fees. It’s not just the cost of a new appliance. “Xcel Energy, seeking to meet an increasing demand for electric vehicles, rooftop solar arrays and heat pumps and general growth in electricity use, is proposing a $5 billion plan to improve the links between the grid and homes and businesses.” – Colorado Sun The possible new fee is a result of the Fenberg Rider, passed by Colorado legislators in 2024. This fee will improve only one leg of an overloaded distribution center. Electrification is one of, if not the most, expensive ways to decarbonize energy. “Whether or not you actually convert to a heat pump you’re still gonna pay for this…. It’s even more perverse than that because what the PUC actually did was tack on a fee for existing natural gas customers...
Over the last month, Lakewood has been sued over the new park land dedication ordinance, has hired outside counsel and is now trying to quickly amend or repeal the ordinance. Lakewood staff and City Council say they are trying to make the ordinance legal. Others say Lakewood has an obligation to fight for the citizen-led ordinance, a belief summarized below. Also below is an article detailing how residents are getting involved in the legal fight as intervenors, hoping to fight for the ordinance they believe the city is leaving behind. On February 3, 2025, there was a City Council executive session and workshop on the subject. Second and third readings of possible changes are scheduled for February 10 and 24. From LakewoodSpeaks public comment: The City of Lakewood is legally responsible to defend the Parkland Dedication law our citizens brought forth by petition and City Council subsequently voted to incorporate into our laws. The right to this democratic petition process is protected by our National Constitution and passed down by our City’s upper tier documents. It is disrespectful and dangerous to attack this revered democratic process (or bully those citizens in need of utilizing it) that has been created and implemented by our democratic leaders to provide a voice to downtrodden citizens who feel their Government is not listening to all people. There is concern by many residents that the City will protect their long-standing history of favoring developers over citizens, by putting forward a weak, unprofessional and half-hearted defense...
Lakewood voted unanimously to pass a new ordinance for metropolitan districts on January 13, 2025. The overwhelming feeling was that Council truly believes that this ordinance is better at regulating metro districts than the basic state law. Almost every City Council Member spoke of the multiple meetings they held to work on the ordinance, which was started years earlier when a metro district was expected. In fact, former City Council Member Dave Skilling was apparently advising current Council Members, according to publicly made comments. The new ordinance included an underlying assumption that cities had to allow metro districts. This belief was voiced by city attorneys and Councilor Rein. Several other Councilors deferred to Rein’s contributions on crafting this ordinance. Only Councilor Cruz voiced the opinion that Council could still vote “no” on a metro district application, but even she voted to approve this new ordinance. Councilor Rein led the charge to prove Lakewood was not able to “ban” metro districts. He started the discussion by asking city attorney Lauren Stanek about banning metro districts. Although Stanek said that it couldn’t be done, there are several mechanisms other cities have used to “ban” metro districts. Any of these mechanisms below, or none of them, allow the city to vote against metro district creation. Lakewood staff never presented any of these options, or even just the option of voting no, to City Council. However, Councilor Cruz pointed out that this ordinance does not bind Council to approving new metro districts. As attorney...
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