Resident Voices: Lakewood Zoning Ignores Preservation

From Eve S., Lakewood resident

      Lakewood’s Comprehensive Plan and the new zoning ordinances do NOT protect our native and migratory wildlife. Without a specific Zoning Regulation the City will allow all land-use development regardless of the destruction of the few remaining wildlife areas. We need a Wildlife Preservation Zone that allows us to create refuges for wildlife. The Comprehensive Plan mentions protecting wildlife. We need enforceable laws that set up and preserve wildlife areas. We have Arts Districts and Historic Districts and we protect homeless populations. “Open Space” as defined by the city includes rooftops and building patios. Our “Parks” are for people, not wildlife. In Lakewood, Parks and Open Space have nothing to do with natural flora and fauna. Only a new Zoning Regulation that protects them will prevent the destruction of all of our remaining natural habitats.

   When the Planning Commission passed all the measures Kairoi wanted, the chairman said he couldn’t help Belmar Lake because in Lakewood there are no regulations that protect wildlife. In Longmont and other Colorado cities natural areas are protected. 

   But how can we get the Council to listen?