Tag: community

Lakewood Still Ignoring Window Washers

Written by Lakewood News from Karen on .

When Lakewood City Council had the opportunity to study the effects of repealing laws like those that govern panhandling in the street, Council voted no. Council Members said they, “can’t imagine telling a voter that we said we’re going to get rid of the consequences to crime.”

What residents heard was “we want our laws to stay.”

What Council meant was literally, “we can’t tell people what we are doing.”

Nobody used false words, but a year later, Lakewood is still not enforcing its own laws and has not acknowledged the effects of removing the consequences.

Since that time, Lakewood has doubled down on permitting window washing by deciding not to put up new signs to deter window washers, while voting to put up new signs to change the speed limit, both of which carry the same traffic risk.

Residents are still voicing concerns and noting the lack of enforcement. A new thread on nextdoor.com appeared January 6, 2025. It disappeared within a day because Lakewood has vocal supporters on nextdoor who get people canceled (A big reason to support independent media!). Before it was removed, the post had over 200 comments, most of which agreed that panhandling and window washing on street medians was dangerous. Residents want Lakewood to do something about it.

Original post:

Nextdoor post: Every single day, there are groups of men standing on medians by the intersections in Lakewood with their "windshield cleaning tool" going up to cars and touching them after people tell them "no". All it takes is one of these guys to say someone "hit them" for a taxpaying citizen to be sued. In addition, when I've tried to tell them to not touch my car, they get aggressive and nasty, take pictures of my car and myself, mock me, and group around my car at the stop light with their phones on me. I have called the Lakewood Police Dpt and they say there is only so much they can do. Other cities in the area have laws that people cannot stand on the medians (this is common sense, this is safety). Lakewood needs to do the same. The gentleman said it also has to do with politics, and he suggested I reach out to the city council members. He said the more people that speak up about this, the better chance something will be done. If you agree that this is dangerous and shouldn't be happening, I urge you to speak up to the city council members. The more voices the better.
“Nextdoor post: Every single day, there are groups of men standing on medians by the intersections in Lakewood with their “windshield cleaning tool” going up to cars and touching them after people tell them “no”. All it takes is one of these guys to say someone “hit them” for a taxpaying ciizen to be sued. In addition, when I’ve tried to tell them to not touch my car, they get aggressive and nasty, take pictures of my car and myself, mock me, and group around my car at the stop light with their phones on me. I have called the Lakewood Police Dpt and they say there is only so much they can do. Other cities in the area have laws that people cannot stand on the medians (this is common sense, this is safety). Lakewood needs to do the same. The gentleman said it also has to do with politics, and he suggested I reach out to the city council members. He said the more people that speak up about this, the better chance something will be done.  If you agree that this is dangerous and shouldn’t be happening, I urge you to speak up to the city council members. The more voices the better.” – E on Nextdoor.com

Complaints:

Most neighbors said they felt threatened by the activity, especially females. Others felt endangered due to the high risk of accidents. Still more expressed frustration with Lakewood for not taking action the way other cities, like Arvada, are doing.

"The authorities need to get them out of the intersections, and stop harassing the drives. It's horrible. It makes Lakewood look like the hood."
“The authorities need to get them out of the intersections, and stop harassing the drivers. It’s horrible. It makes Lakewood look like the hood.”
"Kipling and Colfax are awful too. The median is very narrow and when they have little kids in strollers sitting there it's just unsafe."
“Kipling and Colfax are awful too. The median is very narrow and when they have little kids in strollers sitting there it’s just unsafe.”

Some people disagreed that window washing was a problem at all. They didn’t seem to argue about its legality or status as a traffic hazard. Rather than addressing those issues, they argued that residents should be more compassionate. To those that feel threatened or endangered, the overwhelming response was to tell people to deal with it. That is, it was your fault for feeling threatened, not the fault of the window washers or the situation.

"I've never once seen them get aggressive. I have had them clean my windshield even after having them off. They are just trying to make a living. Isn't that what we preach? Try to remember that these men came over the Darien Gap. Maybe even get your windows washed once in a while. This world is crazy. We don't need to make it crazier by getting our panties in a wad. Sorry."
“I’ve never once seen them get aggressive. I have had them clean my windshield even after having them off. They are just trying to make a living. Isn’t that what we preach? Try to remember that these men came over the Darien Gap. Maybe even get your windows washed once in a while. This world is crazy. We don’t need to make it crazier by getting our panties in a wad. Sorry.”

Misinformation:

More troubling is the amount of misinformation out there. For instance, one resident said this wasn’t a Lakewood issue. She advised people to call the state. During this process she agreed with Lakewood’s strategy of unofficially repealing crimes without resident consent.

Lakewood Informer reached out the CDOT and the Colorado State Patrol and confirmed that Lakewood are indeed the responders to this situation, if they so choose. Lakewood should have time to police all its laws.

"I'd rather have LPD responding to serious crimes, such as assault, rape, shooting, robbery, etc. BTW Colfax, Wadsworth, Kipling, etc., are all state highways,. Contact the state."
“I’d rather have LPD responding to serious crimes, such as assault, rape, shooting, robbery, etc. BTW Colfax, Wadsworth, Kipling, etc., are all state highways. Contact the state.”

One resident said he reached out to Lakewood City Council and was told there was no law against panhandling. Does City Council really not know the laws that have been brought to their attention numerous times?

"I contacted Lakewood City Council including the mayor and I was told there's no law against panhandling. But these illegals are not panhandling. They try to intimidate people and stand in the road. The City of Lakewood will not do anything. I tried for weeks and didn't achieve anything. If people would STOP giving these people money they would go away."
“I contacted Lakewood City Council including the mayor and I was told there’s no law against panhandling. But these illegals are not panhandling. They try to intimidate people and stand in the road. The City of Lakewood will not do anything. I tried for weeks and didn’t achieve anything. If people would STOP giving these people money they would go away.”

According to another resident, Mayor Wendi Strom specifically called these “crimes of survival” – a concept Council denied defending when refusing to research repealing the law.

"I spoke up about this at city council meeting and Wendy the mayor told me it's a crime of survival."
“I spoke up about this at city council meeting and Wendy the mayor told me it’s a crime of survival.”

Are Council or staff interpreting Lakewood laws are illegal and so are unofficially repealing them without a proper vote?

Or are they playing word games to say “panhandling is not illegal” while not addressing the fact that there are laws that address the issue?

According to staff, Lakewood has repealed several panhandling laws. However, there are others still active for roadside solicitation (LMC 12.18.020).

City Council has refused to research effective policing strategies or to take action to enforce Lakewood laws. They have also not officially repealed any laws. But Lakewood residents seem to have no doubt that Lakewood is not enforcing its laws and they are noticing the detrimental effects.

Lakewood Expanding Homeless Program

Written by Lakewood News from Karen on .

Denver’s Sanctuary City status has pushed many of Denver’s homeless into Lakewood. As a result, Lakewood has taken up Denver’s homeless industry and is building a multi-million dollar business. And just like Denver, Lakewood is relying on growing the homeless response. Left unsaid, is that to continually have more response, there must always be homeless to respond to – a reinforcing circle of political expediency that has caused Denver to be one of the worst in the nation despite spending $274 million. Lakewood’s latest study session reveals city staff expanded emergency days and City Council is asking for more. All without any council vote on a city homeless policy – which would easily pass but would require public hearings. All Council Members who spoke at the meeting encouraged more spending and more services for the homeless shelter. Several thanked staff for coming up with this policy although policy is Council’s domain – after a proper vote.

Mayor Strom acknowledged on November 18, 2024 that homeless advocacy was a new thing for Lakewood to get involved in and there have been growing pains. She also acknowledged that having good communication to notify people when the shelter was open was very helpful.

Council Member Mayott-Guerrero was also thankful for more communication between staff and Council but was concerned even more was needed. She asked if Lakewood had enough homeless navigators to get the word out to the homeless community. Like Mayor Strom’s statement, there was no concern expressed for letting the rest of the community know what was going on or if they agreed.

Chris Conner, Manager of Housing and Thriving Communities, said several times that turning people away from the shelter was untenable and that Lakewood would need to grow services in order to be sustainable. He said he did not want to open the shelter permanently without knowing that there was overflow capacity, which the county is currently filling.

Jefferson County provides hotel vouchers for shelter overflow. Vouchers are coveted commodities so Lakewood staff work hard to randomize so that no one can exploit a system just to capture a hotel room. Hotels may not be within Lakewood. Lakewood provides transportation to hotels, through Bayaud Enterprises. Jefferson County pays to bring people back from hotels in order to return the unhoused to Lakewood. Lakewood had a bid out, as of November 18, that would include paying for transportation again in 2025.

The unhoused are incentivized, and reportedly prefer, to stay in Lakewood, a growing program.

Lakewood staff has new emergency criteria that will open the shelter 50-70 nights a year while also increasing the amount of people served by 50%.

Conners said that solutions to homelessness would be to either increase shelters or move people into housing. He said that the move to housing will be when he would be asking for more help in terms of personnel and budget, meaning he is not talking of personal homes.

Keep in mind that Lakewood is altering its ordinances to allow for temporary housing, that seems to fit the definition of housing as a solution, i.e. Lakewood permanently funding housing for a population.

In every case, the feeling is that more resources are needed with no limit.

Councilor Sinks expressed the concern about getting the 24/7 operations started soon.

Council Member Cruz acknowledged there is more need in Lakewood than we can currently handle so she welcomed the county program to pay for hotel rooms. She is happy that Lakewood expanded the days the shelter will be open. Again, no council vote was taken on any policy regarding days or policy to open.

Many Councilors expressed the hope that other cities follow Lakewood, including Mayott-Guerrero, Cruz, Shahrezaei, Low, and Rein, and some asked how Lakewood could pressure other cities into participating.

Will surrounding cities give in to peer pressure to start homeless initiatives or will they listen to their constituents first? Arvada had to cancel the plans of City Council after listening to residents. Lakewood is not even listening to the neighbors of the shelter as crime increases and Lakewood becomes a magnet for homeless.

Mayor Pro Tem Shahrezaei expressed gratitude that city staff built a policy that includes what she was hearing from stakeholders.

What stakeholders? There was no city survey like they do for much smaller projects such as an individual park plan or giant multi-step surveys to keep your tax dollars. And isn’t it the job of City Council to set policy?

Shahrezaei’s statement acknowledges the runaround and backroom dealing that made this homeless shelter slash navigation center possible. Her statement also corresponds with that of Strom and Mayott-Guerrero, celebrating the increased communication with everyone but the community at large and only after the plan was implemented.

Council Member Low thanked the staff for “framing the discussion around the hypothermia issue and the emergency room visits.” He went on to say, “I think that’s a very sobering but meaningful statistic for us to be looking at and hopefully we can continue to have that number be zero or as close to it as possible so if we could have the city continue to get us that at least annually to assess whether this is continuing to save lives.”

There was no explanation as to why, if the number of deaths has always been zero or close to zero, Lakewood would need a shelter. It is unlikely that a shelter will decrease deaths below zero.

Low is also interested in having city staff expand meal services at the shelter, an idea brought up by several councilors previously. He encouraged staff to increase the budget for next year as necessary to support the clear agenda of City Council regarding this activity.

All Council Members who spoke at the meeting encouraged more spending and more services for the homeless shelter (Councilors Olver and Nystrom were silent).

Nothing really new came out of the study session, except this may be the only time residents will hear that Lakewood will be expanding homeless services, without vote, without a Council policy, and without public conversation.

Lakewood Cries Foul Over New Ordinance While Ignoring Own Laws for Years

Written by Lakewood News from Karen on .

By Regina Hopkins

At the Lakewood City Council meeting on Monday, November 4, 2024, council members spent three hours deliberating a new ordinance, O-2024-28, and whether to approve it or send it to a special election, which was expected to cost Lakewood between $175,000 and $350,000. Despite expectations that the council would send it to an election, in an unexpected turn of events, the Council enacted the ordinance itself, arguing that doing so would save taxpayer money and expedite an inevitable legal battle related to the Colorado Legislature’s recently enacted HB 24-1313.

While Lakewood cries foul over the supposed legality of the newly passed ordinance, its longstanding failure to enforce Lakewood’s own ordinances reveals the hypocrisy of the City’s stance. Ordinance O-2024-28, introduced by the grassroots group “Save Open Space Lakewood,” was sparked by the plan to build a massive zero-lot-line luxury apartment complex next to Belmar Park, the city’s crown jewel. This development became the final straw, igniting widespread outrage and drawing attention to the even larger issue of ignoring open space requirements throughout Lakewood and unchecked overdevelopment.

Councilor Paula Nystrom highlighted the issue, saying, “We’re in an untenable situation, but there’s a reason we ended up here. Citizens shouldn’t have to protest, gather signatures, hire lawyers, or jump through hoops just to have their voices heard.” She continued, “The question isn’t whether this petition is perfect; it’s about understanding how we got here and how we can prevent this from ever happening again.”

For the past 13 years developers have exploited loopholes in Lakewood’s ordinances without facing any repercussions, as the City repeatedly sides with developers at the expense of green space. The City’s prior ordinance, which required 5.5 acres of parkland per 1,000 residents for new developments, had been ignored every single time. This raises the question: Since 1983, when Lakewood’s first Park and Open Space Dedication ordinance was adopted as part of the first Municipal Code, and included a “fee in lieu” option, how many acres of land have been sacrificed to development rather than preserved through park dedication? Arguably, a significant amount. The City’s consistent approval of the “in lieu of” fee has undermined the intended balance of the original ordinance, leading to a significant loss of green spaces amid ongoing development. We are losing more and more places every day for plants and animals to thrive without human impact.

Lakewood’s sudden focus on the legality of the new ordinance is a diversion, as the City tries to portray the citizen-led initiative as unlawful. This focus overlooks the fact that, for years, the City allowed developers to use the fee in lieu option without exception, failing to exercise thoughtful discretion in its widespread application across the city.

Had the City exercised better foresight and applied reasonable common sense in enforcing the ordinances already on the books, it wouldn’t be facing this situation today. Instead, by allowing developers to contribute to the City’s coffers while avoiding actual land dedications and now hoping that the newly passed citizen-led initiative gets challenged in court, Lakewood is revealing its true priorities: supporting unchecked development that benefits developers while disregarding the needs of residents, the environment, and escalating larger concerns about global warming.

Councilor Nystrom emphasized, “From all the studies done post-COVID, we know that nature is essential for people’s well-being.” She added, “Every apartment building should include green space… These are fundamental human needs, as well as environmental needs.” Nystrom’s perspective highlights an understanding of both human and ecological needs that is sorely lacking among many of her pro-development colleagues on the Council.

Councilor Roger Low’s claim that Ordinance O-2024-28 would eliminate affordable housing is simply false. In fact, it would likely benefit those residents in affordable housing the most by ensuring access to green space, which is often overlooked in favor of prioritizing density. The real affordable housing issue lies with Lakewood’s failure to meet the urgent demand it has identified. The City has already overdeveloped much of its available land with luxury and market-rate units, leaving little room for affordable housing. Let’s be clear about where the responsibility lies—with the City itself. Lakewood’s overdevelopment has already created a barrier to meeting the community’s needs, limiting its options, while attempting to deflect attention by blaming O-2024-28.

When the petition was initially drafted, it fully complied with existing ordinances and laws. However, the ballot initiative process takes several months, including time for gathering signatures, to move forward with a petition of this kind. As citizens gathered signatures in April and May 2024, their grassroots group gained significant momentum. In response, state lawmakers introduced a last-minute change to pending legislation. A paragraph provision slipped into HB 24-1313, a 62-page bill addressing Housing in Transit-Oriented Communities, in the final days of the Senate legislative session mandated that municipalities offer a “fee in lieu” option to bypass preserving open spaces. It’s no coincidence that the fee in lieu “amendment” passed as the ballot initiative was gaining traction—its success threatened the development industry’s profits by closing a longstanding loophole. This is a pattern of behavior we’ve seen before from the Lakewood City Council, driven by their ties to state representatives and developers, and it’s this pattern that has raised significant public awareness of the City’s disregard for community concerns.

The City seems to believe Lakewood residents will happily and willingly sacrifice their green spaces in favor of overcrowded, high-density developments that prioritize profit over quality of life. But Lakewood residents love their open spaces, and for many, it’s why they choose to live here. They don’t want it to become just another extension of Denver’s metropolitan sprawl. The City’s push for new development, prioritizing growth over the well-being of residents, has failed to balance the needs of both current and future residents it claims to serve. The ballot initiative sends a clear message: Lakewood residents have had enough of overdevelopment and will no longer stand for it.

This petition is a victory for preserving open space, reflecting the community’s desire to protect Lakewood’s character and environment. When City Council ignored the issue, citizens exercised their constitutionally reserved right to petition for change that their elected officials were failing to address. The City urgently needs councilors who listen to their constituents and prioritize green spaces and open areas over developer profits. We must continue this grassroots effort and send a clear message: we will not let this progress be undone. Make your voice heard—email City Council at [email protected].

A photo of Belmar, highlighting the area at risk from encroaching development proposed directly adjacent to it.

Regina Hopkins bio:

Regina is an environmental advocate from Lakewood, CO, with a lifelong passion for preserving the natural world. Her deep connection to plants and animals has grown over the years, fostering a profound appreciation for the planet’s ecosystems. Dedicated to safeguarding the habitats of wildlife and plants, Regina works to protect all living creatures—especially those without a voice. She advocates for sustainable practices and policies to ensure the environment is preserved for future generations.

A Different Perspective

Written by Lakewood News from Karen on .

By Lenore Herskovitz

On November 4 the Lakewood City Council reluctantly voted to pass the Citizens Initiated Ordinance pertaining to park and open space dedication rather than send it to a special election. How and why did we arrive at this point?

Citizen activism has existed almost since Lakewood’s inception in 1969. “The True Story of How Belmar Park Came into Existence” by Stuart MacPhail tells how Lakewood citizens were able to override the wishes of most of the early Lakewood elected leaders and administrative staff regarding the establishment of Belmar Park. A multi-year conflict culminated in a citizen initiated public vote where they were victorious by a 2 to 1 margin.

Belmar Book – A Story of How It Came To ExistenceDownload

In 2003, the mid-Lakewood residents banded together to prevent university incursion into their neighborhood. Through their perserverance they were able to get City Council to pass an ordinance prohibiting university uses in low density residential zoning. That ordinance was challenged in a lawsuit filed by Colorado Christian University in 2021. Prior to that filing, our own City Attorney told the public that the ordinance was discriminatory and unconstitutional and would not be upheld  by the Courts. Yet when forced to defend our law, the City won in both the District and Appellate Courts.

In 2017, a grassroots movement promoted the Strategic Growth Initiative (SGI). In addition to inclusion of a 1% growth cap, the SGI established an allocation program and oversight for projects of 40 units or more. This initiative was stalled in the Courts until 2019 when the judge ruled in favor of the petitioners. In July of that same year, the SGI was passed by voters. In August 2023, the Colorado Congress passed HB23-1255 which repealed existing growth caps enacted in Lakewood, Boulder and Golden. These municipalities were given 24 months to develop a plan moving forward. The Lakewood City Council passed legislation one day before the House Bill took effect to sundown the SGI by August 2025.  Since  the Initiative had a severability clause, the Council could have easily removed the provision pertaining to the growth cap and retained the rest. Such a move would have honored the will of the voters and satisfied the state requirements. Interestingly, the Save Open Space(SOS) petition also includes a severability clause so if one part of it is determined to be illegal by a judge, the other parts could still remain intact.

The repetitive statements claiming “We hear you” become meaningless when it doesn’t translate into action.

The previous three examples of successful community activism can be categorized as David vs. Goliath battles. City officials and big money opposing residents. Citizens mobilize when they feel their representatives are non-responsive to their concerns. The repetitive statements claiming “We hear you” become meaningless when it doesn’t translate into action. For years there have been rumblings about how to balance open space and housing. Residents are justifiably upset because major decisions regarding developments are made behind closed doors and by the time the public is informed it is too late for their input to affect any change. These issues resurfaced last fall when details were revealed about Kairoi Residential’s plan to build 412 luxury apartment units adjacent to Belmar Park. Citizens began showing up at Council meetings on a regular basis to raise questions about traffic, safety, and environmental impact. The feedback they received was the typical “go away”. Although Councilors  were sympathetic, there was nothing they could do. A fee-in-lieu policy allowed developers to buy out of land dedication and that’s exactly what they did. It was discovered that the Director of Community Resources was supposed to re-evaluate the amount of the fee on an annual basis. She had not followed through since 2018 – a major oversight which needed to be rectified. To the public’s knowledge, no one was held accountable for this.  The citizens, frustrated by the lack of Council action, decided to organize and try to resolve these problems. The result was the formation of the SOS Green Initiative. Over the next 6 months community members volunteered to collect thousands of signatures on the petition (eventually close to 6500 were verified after submission to the City Clerk). In April 2024 Council held a Study Session to try and make modifications to the park dedication and fee-in-lieu policies. The meeting included recommendations from Norris Design and Duncan & Associates who had been hired by the City in the fall of 2023 to do an assessment of our fee-in-lieu and parkland dedication policies. No ordinance was proposed. There was a comment submitted on Lakewoodspeaks by Marianne Nagel and several others which introduced specific recommendations regarding calculation of fees, etc. that were less extreme than those in the SOS petition yet Council expressed no interest in adopting them. It is unfortunate that our elected officials and staff didn’t meet with the organizers of the Initiative and Marianne Nagel and her group to collaborate on creating an effective ordinance that incorporated the best of each plan. It should be noted that in June, the Director of Community Resources finally increased the amount of the fee-in-lieu (effective July 1 this year).

The Council members were aware of the contents of the Initiative for months before the November 4 meeting and could have addressed their concerns before it was submitted. Instead the Council waited and used the special meeting to denigrate the efforts of their constituents. Two of the most vocal opponents were Councilor Rein and Councilor Low. Their hyperbolic vitriol was egregious. Councilor Rein was the only representative who stated definitively that the ordinance was”illegal”. This was surprising because he is an attorney and should be well aware that legality is not determined by City Councilors or even City Attorneys, but by judges in a court of law.

Councilor Rein felt the public would lose trust in their elected officials if they  sent an “illegal” ordinance to the ballot box in a special election. Actually, misleading constituents increases the distrust that is already prevalent. Councilor Stewart stated that the Initiative could be in violation of the recently passed HB24-1313. That piece of legislation could also be challenged in Court just like any other law. It is perfectly legitimate for Councilors to raise their concerns about the legality of this ordinance but it appeared that they were inviting a lawsuit by declaring its inevitability.

Councilor Low’s opening statement was that the SOS was “bad on so many levels”. He continued to spew criticisms without ever offering any alternate solutions. He offended the petitioners by suggesting that the signature gatherers had purposely misled the public to gain their support for the Initiative. Not long before he made this unsubstantiated claim, one of the volunteers had spoken about his experiences while collecting signatures. He stressed how he explained the content of the petition to signers before they put pen to paper.

Council was also worried about the potentially detrimental impact the Initiative would have on building affordable housing. Many citizens were unhappy with the number of high density market rate apartments that will dominate the area  from Westland to Quail St. Councilor Shahrezaei stated that there are some areas that are meant to absorb some density. She failed to acknowledge that the criticism addressed specific developments which combined would contain more than 1000 units without including any affordable residences. Even more disturbing, a proposed project from Kairoi that offered 850 market rate units would displace a King Soopers creating a food desert.

This part of Colfax does not have a park within a 10 minute walk. It is surrounded by endless rows of apartments. Does this represent Lakewood’s plan for strategic housing?

There was much consternation about the lack of affordable housing and accusations that the Green Initiative would be detrimental to future development. However, City Council itself has inhibited the creation of affordable housing by delaying the advance of inclusionary zoning for 2 years. In 2022, the Development Dialogue Committee was set to discuss inclusionary zoning which would have required developers to include a certain percentage of affordable units in their residential  projects. The committee was disbanded by a vote of Council. Councilor Shahrezaei said this committee was redundant because the Housing Policy Commission (HPC) would be dealing with this topic. But the HPC  chose to prioritize short term rentals for more than a year. They finally started addressing the issue at the beginning of this year. How many  affordable units were lost during the period of the delay? On November 4 Councilor Mayott-Guerrero asked Travis Parker, Chief of the Sustainability and Community Development Department, how many affordable units we have in the City. He was unable to answer, saying he would look into it. The messaging seems to be that there is a housing shortage, but it is more accurate to say that there is a shortage of housing that people can afford. Yet we continue to cater to developers who only provide market rate residences. The huge building at 1221 Wadsworth went into foreclosure. It contained more than 300 units. Did the City or Lakewood Housing Authority attempt to buy this at its reduced price before someone else did so? This property is adjacent to the light rail and a perfect location for the type of housing we so desperately need.  Perhaps another  missed opportunity. There is only a finite amount of land so how we use it is critical. We need open space, parks and trees. We also need the kind of housing opportunities that people want. This extends beyond apartments.

Councilor Nystrom offered suggestions moving forward. She said the City should be consulting with environmental engineers to do assessments. She suggested xeroscaping for property enhancement. Councilor Nystrom actually spoke in support of the citizens saying they “should not have to protest, put petitions out there or hire lawyers. “ She encouraged  her fellow councilors to engage with their constituents to resolve these problems and acknowledged that they needed to do better keeping the public informed about developments.

Residents “should not have to protest, put petitions out there or hire lawyers.“ – Councilor Nystrom

The City uses distraction to cover for their inaction. What is sorely absent is any attempt to coordinate and collaborate with the public to create meaningful legislation.

Rather than obliterating the entire Initiative, they could have worked with community representatives to improve it. Modify what is too extreme. Make additions to soften the impact on affordable problems. Insert buffer zones. Instead of demonizing the petitioners, learn from them. They were delivering a message. Build what is wanted and needed, including a path to affordable ownership in addition to rentals. Residential developments must include some open space or parkland.

A final plea to City Council: Replace condemnation and condescension with collaboration and cooperation. Learn from prior mistakes. An Italian proverb says: Each time history repeats itself, the price goes up.

1515 Whippoorwill Update: Letter to the City from our Attorney, email follow up from the Mayor 

Written by Lakewood News from Karen on .

From Applewood Heights Community Organization

Despite a 5 1/2 hour Subdivision Public Hearing on 8/21, regarding the development site and both the community and the Planning Commission sharing the same concerns surrounding the safety of the access through W. 15th Place, lack of street connectivity, and making our driveway unsafe to access/unusable in winter, the developer (Metro West Housing Solutions) submitted their 5th rendition to the major site plans to the City without addressing the safety concerns that the community and the Planning Commission had. The City has returned their redlines to the developer without addressing the concerns of the Planning Commission or the Community.  

On October 14th, we filed a formal request with the City Attorney to have the Major Site Plan review to be turned over by the planning commission as today the City doesn’t have a public hearing for major site plans and it does not go before the Planning Commission. Site plans are simply approved by the Director of Planning. Attached is the letter that was sent by our attorney to Travis Parker via the City Attorney. We are still waiting to hear back from Travis Parker to see if it will be approved to go before the Planning Commission. We will keep pressing on this as we feel that with this being a complex site location, this should be put in front of the Planning Commission. 

2024.10.14 WP MSP Evaluation LetterDownload

We also attended the City Council meeting which helped us to gain some traction with the Mayor and City Council. After the meeting, the Mayor and a number of City Council members have reached out directly to us. Below is the email written to us from Mayor Strom. While we don’t know what changes they are proposing, it is a step in the right direction. 

“It has become public knowledge that City of Lakewood staff have provided design services to Metro West [Housing]. This kind of interaction only exacerbates the existing conflict of interest between the City of Lakewood and Metro West, which is the housing organization of the City of Lakewood.” From MST Evaluation Letter above

On Thu, Oct 24, 2024 at 12:26 PM Wendi Strom <[email protected]> wrote:

Jonna and team,

Thank you for staying in touch on this, and for everyone’s time spent in reaching out to your Councilors and coming to speak to City Council recently.

Though I’ve not lived in your area of Lakewood, I’m aware of some of the history and safety concerns surrounding this stretch of road and agree with you that the added the number of vehicles (and trips) to this space as a result of this project would likely only make things worse for your neighborhood (and the new residents that would ultimately be moving in). 

I am working closely with Mayor Pro Tem Shahrezaei and city staff to address these concerns and with the hope of coming up with a solution that will not pose heightening these risks upon your neighborhood community.  While I do not have any solutions to report right now, I want to let you all  know that we hear you, that I agree that safety is the number one issue, and that work is being done to try to improve this project. 

Thank you for advocating so tirelessly for your neighborhood, I know this has been a long road.  We’ll share more when we have it.

Warm regards,

Wendi Strom

Mayor, Lakewood Colorado

Lakewood Council green-lights citizens’ petition with its disingenuous vote

Written by Lakewood News from Karen on .

From Save Open Space – Lakewood

At a 9/4 meeting, Lakewood City Council spoke with its usual forked tongue, voting for a citizen led green initiative to expedite delegitimizing it

Monday, November 11, 2024—-At the November 4 Lakewood City Council meeting, residents witnessed the culmination of more than a year’s intensive effort by hundreds of volunteers to hold their city accountable to its progressive environmental ordinances.    

The only item in the hearing was a petition, created by Save Open Space – Lakewood (SOS – L) and signed by more than 6000 voters, which, if approved, would eliminate the option given developers to pay a fee to the city and instead require them to provide the full, current standard of 10.5 acres of parkland for every 1,000 occupants.

For over ten years, the predominantly pro-development Lakewood City Council has allowed all developers to pay the city a fee in lieu of donating land for parks and open spaces.  This has led to monstrous, soul-less apartment buildings with no green space that remind observers of Russia, not Lakewood. 

More than half of those who spoke extolled the benefits of open space and their concerns about the impending mammoth luxury apartment building adjacent to Belmar Park. 

By law, the council either had to vote for the petition at the meeting, or send it to a special election.

Following three hours of resident testimony and council deliberation, eight out of 11 councilors declared the initiative to be in conflict with state statutes. By voting to approve it, they said they could expedite a legal challenge.  They added that if they were to defer to a special election, it would be expensive and voters would become distrustful of them if litigation would eliminate their vote following the election.  

Jim Kinney, a Lakewood native, former policy analyst at the Bureau of Reclamation, and former member of the Lakewood Commission for an inclusive Community, believes that “It may not be true that the initiative is illegal due to wording. The issue of whether the state can tell a home rule municipality what to do in the area of land use remains untested in court. It may be that it isn’t the initiative the council just passed that is illegal, but the requirements in state law that are illegal!”

Councilor Paula Nystrom noted at the meeting, “We’re in an untenable situation, but there’s a reason we got here. Citizens shouldn’t have to protest, gather signatures, hire lawyers, or jump through hoops just to have their voices heard. This should be a situation where citizens are notified when something is being planned, and then they have an opportunity to speak out and make suggestions.”

Nystrom added that “we need to be consulting with environmental planners and environmental engineers…we cannot keep cutting down mature trees and expect our air quality to get better and expect citizens to be mentally healthy.” 

During the hearing it came to light that, behind its frequently closed doors, the city plans to allow Kairoi Residential, the developer of the huge building at Belmar Park, to also build 850 high density, luxury apartment units at Quail and Colfax while tearing down a grocery store and creating a food desert.

Last year, Cathy Kentner, a Lakewood music teacher, former city planning commissioner and longtime community activist, founded SOS – L which created the petition. According to their web site, “Save Open Space – Lakewood is a grass-roots initiative created and promoted by Lakewood residents who seek change in the status quo of rubber stamping development projects without consideration of the future impacts to residents and our natural environment.”

Kentner says, “The reason grass-roots initiatives exist is because elected officials have been unresponsive to the reasonable requests of their constituency.  It is a last resort that involves countless hours just to have a small chance of being heard. The fact that this council continues to be unresponsive is, therefore, not surprising.

“What is surprising is that their ignorance has led them to the assumption that they can act as judge, jury and executioner by claiming that a citizen initiative is ‘illegal’ before ever going through due process.  I am confident that, should this ordinance be challenged in court, it will hold up given a proper defense. But the question remains:  Will there be a proper defense when the fox is guarding the henhouse?

“Opposition to this initiative has come mainly from out-of-state, big money developers who don’t care about the quality of life in Lakewood.”

Save Belmar Park, formed in September 2023, is one of many neighborhood groups that have had similar experiences with Lakewood and developers. The objective of the SOS – L initiative is to bring all of these groups together to work toward their common goal of protecting Lakewood’s natural environment.

Kentner’s presentation to city council was based on debunking the illegality claim and other F.E.A.R. (False Evidence Appearing Real) -based statements that were presented as facts during the meeting.

Vivian Elementary Recommended for Developer Sale

Written by Lakewood News from Karen on .

Information provided by Lakewood resident Anthony Farr. Thank you!

Vivian Elementary is recommended to be sold to Carlson Associates Inc. Carlson plans to develop into 34 homes on 6,000 sq. ft. lots. Carlson will work with the City of Lakewood and Jeffco Public Schools to have 3 acres of land set aside for a city open space. The purchase price is under the appraised value and under the posted cost of recent renovations that residents paid for through bonds. The final sale approval will be made November 14. There will be no other public involvement.

Pros and cons from two proposals for the school
Proposals from the school board presentation

Two developers did not pursue buying this property after hearing that Lakewood would demand parkland dedication. So Jefferson County Schools did not receive top dollar bids. The recommended bid came in under appraised value.

The sale of the property is managed by JLL Investor Center. This same firm who is recommending buyers also recommended which schools to close, along with a school disposition committee.

The City of Lakewood approved negotiations to buy the Vivian Property in what was likely an illegal executive session that did not notify the public of their intent to buy parkland from one school but not the other. Terms for the sale to Lakewood have not been disclosed or finalized.

Vivan Elementary neighbors started a petition to get the city to save the property as a park. As of November, they gathered 1,126 signatures.

This is large number of residents but ironic, given that Lakewood City Council recently derided the 8,000 signatures gathered as part of a recent park land petition. Council, including Councilor Mayott-Guerrero, said the 8,000 signatures wasn’t enough to listen to. In the Vivian case, the city acted on a much lower number.

Contract details from the school board presentation:

Contract highlights. Purchase price of $2,549,250

According to the 2024 Financial Report, the school board paid $1,868,804 for completed renovations in 2020, just four years ago. However, the Jeffco Builds webpage shows a total budget of $2,251,226 – more than the potential sale price of the property.

Vivian Elementary Recommended for Developer Sale

Written by Lakewood News from Karen on .

Information provided by Lakewood resident Anthony Farr. Thank you!

Vivian Elementary is recommended to be sold to Carlson Associates Inc. Carlson plans to develop into 34 homes on 6,000 sq. ft. lots. Carlson will work with the City of Lakewood and Jeffco Public Schools to have 3 acres of land set aside for a city open space. The purchase price is under the appraised value and under the posted cost of recent renovations that residents paid for through bonds. The final sale approval will be made November 14. There will be no other public involvement.

Pros and cons from two proposals for the school
Proposals from the school board presentation

Two developers did not pursue buying this property after hearing that Lakewood would demand parkland dedication. So Jefferson County Schools did not receive top dollar bids. The recommended bid came in under appraised value.

The sale of the property is managed by JLL Investor Center. This same firm who is recommending buyers also recommended which schools to close, along with a school disposition committee.

The City of Lakewood approved negotiations to buy the Vivian Property in what was likely an illegal executive session that did not notify the public of their intent to buy parkland from one school but not the other. Terms for the sale to Lakewood have not been disclosed or finalized.

Vivan Elementary neighbors started a petition to get the city to save the property as a park. As of November, they gathered 1,126 signatures.

This is large number of residents but ironic, given that Lakewood City Council recently derided the 8,000 signatures gathered as part of a recent park land petition. Council, including Councilor Mayott-Guerrero, said the 8,000 signatures wasn’t enough to listen to. In the Vivian case, the city acted on a much lower number.

Contract details from the school board presentation:

Contract highlights. Purchase price of $2,549,250

According to the 2024 Financial Report, the school board paid $1,868,804 for completed renovations in 2020, just four years ago. However, the Jeffco Builds webpage shows a total budget of $2,251,226 – more than the potential sale price of the property.

Ward 4 Report with Police Chief and Venezuelan Gang Activity

Written by Lakewood News from Karen on .

Guest post from Joan from Lakewood

On Wednesday, October 14, Ward 4 residents met with City Councilmen David Rein and Rich Olver in the fellowship hall of the Lutheran Church of the Master at Alameda Parkway and Jewel Street. This meeting was to have Lakewood Police Chief Philip Smith address some of the concerns that have been expressed at a previous meeting about shoplifting and auto property crimes.

Police Chief Philip Smith gave some personal background. He has been in law enforcement for 41 years, serving in both north Boston and Roswell, New Mexico. He stated that he had a PhD. (His PhD is in Global Leadership with a concentration in Organizational Leadership). His dissertation was Bahamian Police Leadership and Organizational Culture Through a Transformational Leadership Lens. Chief Smith’s expertise lies in Transformational Leadership Theory, Organizational Leadership, and Organizational Culture. He received the degree from the Indiana Institute of Technology (confirmed by John Romero
Public Information Officer Lakewood Police Department) and is confident in his leadership and staff. He expressed how many service calls that the police handle and how often the police service is not recognized because the citizens in general do not interact with the police on a day to day basis. He noted he is putting more police presence out into the community which has lead to a decrease in crime (I can attest that I personally witnessed this as often during the day I note a police car parked in the parking lot between the Walgreens and the Key Bank on the NE corner of Wadsworth and Alameda)

Police Chief Smith then gave a narrative of the incident that happened near the Home Depot parking lot near Alameda and Pierce on 10/14/24 at approximately 1:15 pm. There were shots fired and one man was shot in the finger. Chief Smith also confirmed that one of the people involved was a Venezuelan gang member with tattoos and clothes identifying him as such. The shooter was arrested and taken into custody.

Chief Smith went on to say that only .007% of Denver’s migrants were of Venezuelan origin but were responsible for 30-40% of the crime.

Chief Smith stated that most of the service calls were in the northern and eastern boundary regions of Lakewood and a large number were domestic violence calls.

At this point Chief Smith’s main message became “Don’t tolerate the Crime. Call Us.” Which led to an interesting discussion about the 911 dispatch system. This system seems to be overwhelmed from time to time and calls are being “lost.” If this is happening Police Chief Smith needs to know.

Police Chief Smith shared some of his vision for the future including the integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and drones to help make the department more efficient. He talked of a pilot program called Draft One which is connected to the body cameras and makes a hard copy report from the tapes. Hopefully this will reduce the paperwork that agents do by 66%. The drone program is still in the planning stages but his hope is to have a drone do a first response assessment allowing the police on the way to a call to see what is needed. This should minimize some of the over-response in some situations.

Lastly, he addressed some of the problems with the camping restrictions and the window washing vendors in the streets of Lakewood. He stated that recently the ban for camping had been toughened from 72 hours to remain in the same spot to 48 hours. He also stated that the city attorneys are concerned about ACLU lawsuits with removing the window washers.

On the whole Police Chief did a nice presentation although there was a question regarding UCR vs NIBRS and how that was affecting the crime rates and officers (Frankly this was a bit over my head) that was left unaddressed.

Thank you Councilmen Olver and Rein for keeping your promise to bring the Police Chief to a public forum.

Economic Development Fund Used for Homeless Initiatives

Written by Lakewood News from Karen on .

The money for new pallet homes, or transitional housing units, will come from Lakewood’s Economic Development fund. The 2025 budget also shows the city expects to spend $9.5 million on land purchases for unspecific purposes, also from the Economic Development Fund. Lakewood is waiting to start the transitional housing program until land can be purchased somewhere. The city budgets $300,000 for pallet homes. These homes will be a new program that Lakewood will provide funding and support for, but may be owned and run by an outside organization with limited oversight. The Economic Development Fund has traditionally been used to develop economic opportunities in Lakewood, but in 2023, Lakewood re-interpreted the ordinance to include safety and general upkeep of the city. Previous discussion on the transitional housing program did not include a business analysis of any economic growth potential this program would provide.

The $9.5 million for land purchases could be used for transitional housing land (for pallet homes), in whole or in part. By approving the budget, the city will have funds to allocate for purchases as it prioritizes.

State of the Economy

The budget presentation shows that median household income rose by 10% but the Jeffco employment rate is down by 1%, marking the need for more economic opportunities.

From the Lakewood budget presentation 8:50 min mark

Lakewood predicts just under 1% growth in sales tax which reflects the state of the economy.

From the Lakewood budget presentation 20:30 min mark

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