By Karen Gordey

See Part 1 and Part 2 for more background

The Lakewood Planning Commission met on January 22, 2025; the day after the West Metro Fire Department Board of Director meeting.   During this meeting, Anne Ricker from Ricker Cunningham presented “The Bend” to the Planning Commission.  Commission Kolkmeier stated, “Just note for folks, listening and reminder to commissions and folks in attendance today that this is an unusual matter that comes before us.  We don’t typically get asked to make a recommendation as it relates to compliance the comprehensive plan on an urban renewal project.  But it is pretty straightforward.  The specific question that we will be discussing today is whether or not the proposal that is presented is in compliance with the comprehensive plan already adopted by the city of Lakewood.  That is the current plan, not the next plan that is still in process.”

The documents (located on Lakewood Speaks) provided to the Planning Commission were the following:

Where is the Blight Report also known as a Conditions Survey? Why does the Lakewood Planning Commission not know what the actual approval process for Urban Renewal project is? 

The blight survey, while mentioned in the presentation, was not presented separately to the Planning Commission.    On February 3^rd, I submitted a CORA request and subsequently received the blight report.   It is a 42 page document.  The closest document (shown above) would be the first one titled, “9.11.24 The Bend @ Lakewood Urban Renewal Plan revised 12.30.24 corrected 1.8.2025.  However, that document is only 32 pages and is missing the following pertinent information (and therefore is not the Blight Report/Conditions Survey):

The Phase 1 Environmental Site Assessment

Environmental remediation

Institutional Controls

CDPHE findings

Any land use restrictions

Red Flags in the Blight Report

Here are just a few of the inconsistencies:

• Date confusion: The cover page is dated July 2024, but the first paragraph says it was prepared in September 2024. Which is it?
• Page 4 notes a 2017 restrictive notice recorded by GSA: No soil disturbance including digging, drilling, or grading  on the northern section.
• Page 6 references the Lakewood 2025 Comprehensive Plan to justify land use; a plan not yet enacted in 2024.
• Page 23 includes quit claim deed excerpts mentioning pesticides, VOCs, MTBE, and asbestos but, omits TCE, DCE, and other known contaminants that appear in EPA documents and past cleanup reports.
• Page 25 is the most damning: It confirms that no soil disturbance is allowed on the northwest corner and that groundwater to a depth of 100 feet is restricted due to PAH contamination. If the land is not federally owned, a special construction dewatering permit is required from the Water Quality Control Division under Colorado law.

Feel free to look over both documents using this link:  https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1O0eNIOLdCo833C0xGKrvvRAeH9sUeVez and ask yourself why would this type of pertinent information be omitted from the public documents.

Is This Really “Blighted”?

Because the property is predominantly open land, the statute requires at least 5 out of 11 blight factors to justify a designation.

The planning commission presentation claims the land meets 9 out of 11.  A striking figure, considering the area’s size and federal legacy.  The City Council has yet to vote this as a new urban renewal project so it is not yet officially blighted.

Additionally, the deed and the developer both mention an underground storage tank that leaked VOCS and MTBE.  However, do we know where this underground storage tank was located on the DFC?  Historical government documents tell a different story.  They reference TCA, TCE, DCE and never mention MTBE.  Building number at the Denver Federal Center changed over time, so: is the tank even in the location cited?  Is it the same tank?

(Editors note: You can research underground storage tank locations at the EPA website)

If the full report acknowledges multiple land use restrictions, how did the Lakewood Planning Department approve this development, phased or otherwise?

The Missing Piece: Where’s the GAP Analysis?

The gap analysis is supposed to justify public financing tools like TIFs. It reveals whether costs; such as contaminated land, demolition, or regional infrastructure make a project financially unfeasible without help.

But in this case, no gap analysis exists.  A Colorado Open Records Act (CORA) request was made.  Below you can see the response from the city of Lakewood.

This is especially alarming because contamination at the DFC is well documented – and (contamination) has even been used to justify TIFs in other cities (like Castle Rock and the Gates property at Broadway & I-25).  Additionally, I am not sure why the Lakewood Planning Department would think the Federal Government would do a gap analysis on private property for a potential Lakewood Urban Renewal project.

Finally, one final question is what portion of the land is the development planning on giving the city for parkland dedication?   Per the latest ordinance, hazardous land cannot be given to the city.  This means that the landfill area with the “no ground disturbance restrictions” cannot be dedicated for parkland.  Yet another reason to do a gap analysis to determine what amount of money this will cost the developer, city, taxpayers etc.

Water Woes: The Lawsuit You Should Know About

Lincoln Properties has been trying to obtain a commitment to water and sewer service from the Green Mountain Water Board (GMWSD)  since approximately July 6, 2023.  Because a decision has not been made, Lincoln Properties has filed a lawsuit against the Green Mountain Water Board.  In court filings from Jefferson County District Court, Lincoln claims that the district has withheld service, or at least failed to act, on its application for water and sewer hookups since July 6, 2023.

GMWSD did receive a 74 page environmental report from Trihydro in August of 2024. However, no new testing has been conducted since the board could not decide how to proceed, including no testing for the 26 chemicals in the consent decrees.  I attended the April 8, 2025 board meeting and spoke during public comment.  In short, I explained I am not anti-growth but rather I am for common sense growth.  Lakewood will not go back to being the bedroom community we were years ago. 

The northern piece of the property has a build restriction and the entire property has a groundwater restriction. There are additional questions that need to be answered:

1. Is the plan to build lot line to lot line like other recent projects in Lakewood?
2. Is it possible it will be disturbed during Phase 1?
3. Has the southern portion of the land been tested for 26 chemicals in the consent decrees?
4.  Is the northern portion clearly delineated at the surface on this property?  In other words, when the earth-moving equipment gets on site will they inadvertently disturb the northern portion of the land because they are unsure where the northern portion is?
5. If no, are there plans to fence off the northern portion?  Plans to cover the land with something so that the soil is not disturbed in any way?
6. Has the northern portion specifically been tested for the 26 chemicals (12 of which are known to cause cancer) that were listed in the consent order back in 1996 and 1997?  If not, why not?
7. The developer has said well if we come across something we will stop what we are doing.  The problem with this statement is that unless there is a 50 gallon drum or something is discovered the presence of chemicals will be invisible.  Why take that chance?

It will be interesting to see how the GMWSD court case plays out.  City Council is meeting on this topic during a study session on April 21, 2025 which is a virtual meeting.  Per the agenda and the accompanying materials, they will be learning about metro districts and TIFS.  Additionally, the builder is seeking guidance from the city on availability of sewer services from the city.   How much is that going to cost the taxpayers of Lakewood?

As you can see, there are a lot of unanswered questions that need to be answered.  Maybe it is safe to build and maybe it is not. The community deserves these answers now versus 10 years or more down the road.  Will City Council listen to their constituents or just rubber stamp yet another project?

Please Note, the author did send an email on April 7^th to the Mayor and City Council requesting to talk about this project.  No one has yet to respond.

Important Upcoming dates:

April 21^st at 7pm – Virtual Study Session with City Council and the Lakewood Reinvestment Authority (LRA)

May 8^th at 6:30 pm – Screening of the movie “Half Life of Memory, Rockleys Event Center 8555 W Colfax Ave, Lakewood, CO 80215.  This event is free!

May 12^th at 7 pm – City Council Meeting, 400 S. Allison Parkway, Lakewood, CO, 80226.  7pm  Public Hearing for the 1.) Creation of Urban Renewal District 2.) Creation of Metro District 3.) Approval of parkland dedication including improvements in-lieu of a site greater than 15 acres.

---

For professional level aerial photography, contact Lakewood local, StratusDrone at [email protected]

---