The development at 777 S Yarrow St, Lakewood, Colorado, has brought residents concerns over development to the forefront. Despite having ordinances and zoning codes, residents have identified concerns with traffic impacts, wildfire and emergency response, the loss of trees and questionable park fee implementations. Residents continue to act for this cause, at SaveBelmarPark.com, and there has been rumors of possible legal action. However, if Colorado House Bill 1107 gets passed, residents will have an even more difficult time bringing legal action against the city, because they will face legal fees if they lose the case. The bill is meant to decrease suits from residents, who don’t understand that the city has done research to show that the city is right, and therefore, resident concerns are generally unfounded and possibly frivolous. The Lakewood Legislative Committee, has taken a support position on this bill, meaning they support making it harder for residents to bring legal action against the city. This position provides an insight as to why so many resident complaints, like those of hundreds of people against the S Yarrow St development, are often given lip-service or outright ignored. The issue highlights an important dichotomy in government. Technically, in a representative democracy, the residents should be telling elected officials what they want in terms of legislation. The elected officials then vote on a policy and the city staff will implement it. But what happens when politicians use targeted words to get a policy through that means something other than what people...
Resident generated news about Lakewood, Colorado
Resident generated news about Lakewood, Colorado
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Terumo BCT is one of four commercial medical sterilization facilities in Colorado subject to a new regulation meant to decrease emissions and reduce cancer risk associated with ethylene oxide. Terumo BCT Sterilization Services Inc., Lakewood’s 10th largest employer, has been the subject of lawsuits regarding concentrations of this compound that may cause cancer (see Westword article for more information). Residents have been submitting Lakewood news and public comment on the issue and it came to the attention of Lakewood City Councilor Rich Olver. Olver made a request on May 4, 2023 to hold a study session on the topic, inviting the EPA and Terumo to discuss. The motion was approved on May 22, 2023, but no study session ever occurred. Council Member Olver reports that he has renewed his request for a study session. The EPA press release does not provide any outside scientific references for how or why this the new rule is necessary but does predict a 90% reduction in emissions. Promoted Post:
The Community Meeting held on March 12 got mixed reviews, with some residents giving the speakers rave reviews while others left early. Although one resident cited a lack of Lakewood specific information as the reason for dissatisfaction, others were glad for regional information that is now pertinent, given the local ramifications. The main speaker was John Fabbricatore, a subject matter expert, talking about statewide immigration policy. He explained how federal immigration laws would work if they were equally enforced. Kim Monson, of the Kim Monson Show, spoke about holding elected representatives accountable. Local resident and X star Marge Collum spoke about her experience with a video going viral and why people were grateful that she spoke out. Videos of some of the speeches are available below. Marge Collum started the evening, giving an inspirational speech about how her speech at City Council went viral and how many people appreciated hearing from her. She ends with, “Why do I speak? Because I am more afraid of what will happen if I don’t.” She speaks about becoming a citizen journalist and standing together as Americans. See her whole speech here on Rumble, or see the highlights here on YouTube. Fabbricatore is a subject matter expert on border issues. He discussed the history of ICE and how our laws would work if they would just be enforced. He says, “You will hear this argument that everyone who is here was let in and they are legal. That is not true. … They are...
Lakewood City Council has set new penalty fees for vacant property owners in Lakewood. Some vacant land has been elevated to the level of a public nuisance because of the homeless encampments on them. However, camps on private property are a relatively new and lesser phenomenon than camps on public property. Public homeless camps have been increasing in Lakewood news for years, as Denver homeless have been expanding into Lakewood. Public encampments are so prevalent that they are increasingly being found on private property. The increased crime and poor economy has led to a downward spiral of vacant properties. So Lakewood has instituted fines on a property owner for having vacant land. Did Lakewood focus on the lesser private problem instead of addressing the larger public problem and is this an adequate alternative to hiring more police officers? Public Homeless Camps 2013-Oct, 2020 In 2020, Lakewood first started posting notices for private property. As shown below, they made a significant number of private property notices over two months, but it was still not as common as public camps. The temptation for Lakewood will now be to pursue these private properties to bring in revenue from fines at the expense of cleaning up the larger public property problem. Many properties in Lakewood have been vacant for years, with no crime problem, but since economic development has stagnated, these owners are left with property the owners would like to have in productive use but that option isn’t available at this time. So...
Guest post from Bill Foshag During public comments at the February 26th Lakewood City Council meeting, Tom Gonzales, a Lakewood resident remarked that he was told by Lakewood Police Department (“LPD”) officers there was nothing they could do about the panhandling (window washers) on street corners – that the police “were handcuffed”. Later, Councilman Rich Olver posed a question based on these remarks to Deputy City Manager Ben Goldstein – is it true that our officers are “handcuffed” or is there something they could do about panhandling on street corners? Mr. Goldstein answered that it depends on the circumstances (what safety issues are at play), that it’s a matter of resources (not having enough staff), and that “it is a complex issue”. Mr. Goldstein suggested that LPD could put together a report for Council that would address the issue. Under Lakewood Municipal Code 12.18.020, it would seem that window washing would be clearly prohibited: A. It shall be unlawful for any person to solicit employment, business, contributions, or sales of any kind, or collect monies for the same, from the occupant of any vehicle traveling upon any street or highway when such solicitation or collection: 1. Causes the person performing the activity to enter onto the traveled portion of a street or highway; 2. Involves the person performing the activity to be located upon any median area which separates traffic lanes for vehicular travel in opposite directions; 3. Causes the traffic on the traveled portion of a street or highway...
Two flyers are circulating for a community meeting on March 12, 2024. One flyer lists a speaker and suggests the topic of the meeting is immigration. The other flyer suggests the meeting is being called because City Council cancelled the March 11 Council meeting. The Council meeting was cancelled so that Councilors might attend the previously scheduled National League of Cities meeting in Washington DC. It is unclear when city officials were invited to the community meeting or if any can attend. Although discussion topics are not listed, the growing number of migrants is a concern to Lakewood residents – a concern that did not make it to the City Council 2024 priority list. These community meetings may offer residents an opportunity for discussion that is not otherwise available. The community meeting is open to all, at Emory Elementary, March 12 at 6:30 pm.
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