Lakewood Informer

Resident generated news about Lakewood, Colorado

Lakewood Informer

Resident generated news about Lakewood, Colorado

sustainability

One-Sided Presentation To Limit Lakewood Gas Stations

By Lakewood News from KarenPosted on Posted in UncategorizedTagged , , , ,

The Planning Commission presented evidence of health and environmental harm from fueling stations and car washes. No evidence from the other side was presented. With only one side represented, it is no surprise that the Planning Commission unanimously recommended to restrict gas stations in Lakewood, while at the same time increasing electric charging stations. Council comments generally reinforced that view and city staff will be drafting new ordinances to implement these recommendations. The Planning Commission discussed the issue at three public meetings. In the presentation, this sounds like all sides were heard. However, inviting comment or being open to comment is not the same as researching or actually hearing the other side. No industry representatives made comment or presentation and no information was brought forth to represent their side. Only one person made comment on LakewoodSpeaks to support the market economy. This led to a one-sided, forgone set of recommendations from the Planning Commission. An example from the presentation of what the Planning Commission found to be a compelling argument: “Within 10 years 80% of all fueling stations will be unprofitable (due to the switch to EV cars), leaving stranded assets that will need environmental remediation” – cited by Planning Commissioner Kip Kolkmeier Does Lakewood have a profit standard for businesses to open? No. Does Lakewood bear any responsibility for environmental costs if remediation is needed? No. Is EV car use on track to eliminate gas cars? No, not without government force. None of that was mentioned. Planning Commission recommends eliminating gas stations in all mixed use zoning, which they claim are designed for pedestrian, cycling and mass transit use. This statement does not align with ordinance but is a move the city seems to encourage, whether explicitly stated or not. Most public policy discussions that encourage walkability do not explicitly say cars will be eliminated (*Originally worded to be sound harsher) Purpose of Mixed-Use Zone: “Provide a well-designed site circulation system with a strongly defined pedestrian and vehicular network, good connections to adjacent land uses and efficient connections to transit stops.” Per Lakewood Zoning Ordinance, Article 7. Planning Commission also recommends increasing electric charging stations, for which there is no business case for proven profitability or need. This argument also proves the misleading nature of “mixed use zoning is for pedestrian, cycles and mass transit.” Lakewood may consider requiring charging stations as a prerequisite to approving future gas stations. This move will introduce additional market distortions with affects that were not studied at all. Gas stations already have the option to add any charging stations they feel have market demand. Lakewood staff will be drafting new ordinances to implement these recommendations, while conducting further research. Lakewood Following Denver Once again, Lakewood is following in Denver’s footsteps. See some of the other side of the argument from Joshua Sharf, Complete Colorado: “Never mind your guns, some Denver City Councilmembers are coming for your gas stations. The Denver Post reports that, concerned by an alleged “sudden proliferation of gas stations,” Councilmembers Amanda Sawyer and Paul Kashmann, among others, have decided that gas stations – apparently uniquely among Denver’s many retail businesses – are taking too much space away from other priorities such as housing.  In response to this deadly threat to housing density, they are close to proposing a zoning change precluding new gas stations from being built inside a quarter-mile buffer zone around existing stations.” Read more…

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Increased Housing Density Coming to Your Neighborhood

By Lakewood News from KarenPosted on Posted in UncategorizedTagged , , , , , , ,

The City of Lakewood is looking for a consultant to write new zoning codes to: Current efforts to density have caused Lakewood to develop problems with traffic, stormwater drainage, parking and more. Existing developments have not been designed for high-density. The city has not offered any solutions to these problems. In fact, parking is such a problem that Lakewood is studying requiring parking permits for residents – paid for by residents – rather than mandating increased parking in development plans. This proposal will intensify that problem and increase the amount of resident-funded parking permits throughout Lakewood. Lakewood appears intent on exacerbating existing problems by allowing more densification to solve another problem… affordable housing. It must be noted that parking, traffic and stormwater management are key functions of the city government, whereas housing is traditionally regarded as a market-based function. There are two citizen-led initiatives in Lakewood news demonstrating that current densification is not in line with the city’s existing ordinance to maintain the existing characteristics of existing neighborhoods: a new development near Belmar Park and on Whippoorwill near Youngfield. City ordinances are a series of laws that rule Lakewood’s development. However, Lakewood staff can interpret these rules through the lens of the city’s Comprehensive Plan. The existing Comprehensive Plan states (pg 3-12): “The City will continue to support the diverse image and character of the community by maintaining the existing characteristics of neighborhoods with existing single-family residential zoning; creating appropriate transitions between commercial, multi-family, and mixed-use development and single-family zoned areas; and encouraging contextually appropriate infill and redevelopment projects.” For the last several years, Lakewood has de-emphasized the existing characteristics of neighborhoods and transition zones in favor of other factors, which has caused conflict with resident groups, such as those mentioned above. Lakewood is currently developing a new Comprehensive Plan to show the direction of the city for the next fifteen years. The densification proposal coming out before the 2040 Comprehensive Plan is finalized shows that Lakewood anticipates knowing what the results will be, regardless of any input the community provides. The proposal reads: “The Contractor will identify goals, recommendations, and implementation strategies, to ensure the new code is consistent with the 2040 [Comprehensive] Plan.“ Since this proposal calls strictly for plans to densify, it appears that the Comprehensive Plan may have to be adjusted to match densification, rather than vice versa. The Planning Commission will serve as the community input for this project. See the full proposal here:

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Will Lakewood Follow Denver into Lawsuits over Green Remodeling

By Lakewood News from KarenPosted on Posted in UncategorizedTagged , , , , , ,

Denver and Colorado are being sued for rules on climate goals and greenhouse gas emission standards that the City of Lakewood is considering adopting. Denver and Colorado both approved a building performance standard that would force builders, landlords and homeowners to meet emission goals through green remodeling and electric appliance retrofits. Lakewood also has building performance standards through its Article 13. Lakewood takes four times as many climate mitigation and adoption steps as other cities, leading to Lakewood being named a leader in climate action. Lakewood is one of only 119 cities around globe to take steps like building standards. Rule 28 in Denver and Colorado goes even further by requiring “benchmarking” performance since 2021. Based on building performance, it is now time for required cuts, leading to a lawsuit by the Colorado Apartment Association, the Colorado Hotel and Lodging Association and others. The cuts will require costly remodeling. In August of 2023, Lakewood staff recommended the city join Denver and Colorado in the benchmarking program, described below, that only about 30 cities throughout the nation have adopted. However, these policies are not market-tested and they are extreme enough that Denver and Colorado are being sued. If Lakewood leadership adopts the additional staff recommendations, or agrees to recommendations from the LAC on Green Remodeling, the city may find also find itself in the news and in legal jeopardy. Colorado apartment landlords sue to block Denver, state greenhouse gas cuts that they find crushing   State and local governments don’t have a right to require expensive renovations and appliance swaps to cut greenhouse gases, group suit says – by Michael Booth4:08 AM MDT on Apr 25, 2024 Is Being a Leader a Good Thing? In a “you say potato…” moment, the lawsuit in Denver shows that one person’s leader is another person’s extremist. Not everyone agrees that going where these climate policies lead is worth it. While the debate rages over climate science, policy makers rarely point out that there are two sides to the story, in order to promote their narrative. Climate policies have real-world economic consequences that could make housing even more expensive. Lakewood already has an Enhanced Development Menu that requires new development to meets a point scheme, based on the Menu options, that achieves climate goals of rolling back emissions in compliance with state goals. Development is thereby prohibited unless it meets climate goals. The policies Lakewood is currently advocating align with Colorado’s Rule 28 that monitors energy usage for buildings not already covered by the state. This process is called benchmarking, which Lakewood staff describe as “the regular monitoring and reporting of an individual building’s energy consumption to track changes over time and monitor progress towards increased efficiency and decreased GHG emissions.” While the process may sound routine and innocuous, this program must be put in place before the government can have access to private energy-use data. Once in place, the data can be used to set the bar and start imposing usage limits, incentives, conversions, etc. Lakewood is specifically talking about the switch from gas-powered to electrical tools and appliances. The Colorado and Denver rules currently only apply to commercial and multi-family units but the policy puts them to the left of cities like Boulder, as seen in the map below. In fact, Denver is second in the nation only to San Francisco. Being on the forefront of the climate change debate gets Denver in the news but it also attracts lawsuits. And Lakewood is recommending these same actions. Lakewood is taking things a step further and seeking similar solutions for residential homes, the details of which can be found at the city website, with more from the Lakewood Informer news site. Back in August, Lakewood staff were enthusiastic about Lakewood becoming another purple dot on the map below, which would show their leader/extremist tendencies, depending on your viewpoint. Will that change once the lawsuits start?

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Give us your TABOR refunds, says Lakewood

By Lakewood News from KarenPosted on Posted in UncategorizedTagged , , , , , ,

Guest Post by Alex Plotkin A city that for over a decade has not only refused to do economic development (in a true sense), but has lost jobs and is now planning to use taxpayer dollars to subsidize developers, under the guise of “economic development.” A city that, for over a decade, has done nothing to improve the path conditions along Alameda Avenue, in Ward 4.  Nor have any improvements have been made to alleviate the traffic increases at Union and Alameda. To be fair, the city did spend an untold amount of money to add “roundabouts” on Green Mountain Drive.  Perfectly placed to create a road hazard with any amount of snow. A city that has been lecturing the citizens about how the citizens should be planting trees, to cool the city, you know?  The same city that is now allowing an-out-of-state developer to destroy a much-beloved park at Belmar, while chopping down dozens of decades-old trees. A city where for years now the recreational fields at Carmody Park are in an awful shape.  Fields where parents actually pay a fee to have their children play. They “fixed it” this year: And this is a park that has favorable political sunshine on it. A city, where instead of maintaining the hiking and biking trails damaged by runoff, a sign is placed, telling you to be careful.  You should see what the head of parks gets paid, though. A city, where the City Council goes in to executive sessions, to decide on even more perks for a City Manager, while the needs of thousands of residents are ignored and the city is millions over budget: A city, where the citizens are lectured about how they should not be driving, to save the environment and stuff.  While the city has failed to champion any sort of real economic development, so that thousands of people would not have to drive out of the city for work. A city, where the citizens are told not to drive, while the aforementioned City Manager gets paid for mileage, just to go to work.  A City Manager that lives in the city.  Gets paid to drive to work.  Do you? Here is an exert from City Manager’s contract: The taxpayers, it seems also get to pay for the privilege of the department heads using the medical benefits, after they leave.  Do you get a perk such as that with your employer? The City Manager also has a retirement perk that seems more geared for a CEO than a “public servant”. In just one year, the city spends about $100,000,000 just on staff alone.  To be fair, some of that is police, which the city’s council has been hamstringing from even enforcing the laws that exist. Here are the compensation numbers, just for the “department heads” (as of two years ago – you may want to see the updated ones for 2024): As you walk around the neglected parks and drive on Kipling where the road surface has been in need of repair for years and most of the lights are out on some of the sections, may be think about asking the city what has it done with the tens of millions it receives every year, before even getting to the TABOR refunds?  Perhaps start off by looking at the expenditure trends of the planning and city manager’s departments? So when Lakewood asks for your TABOR refund (for parks and police of course), ask the city – why are millions spent on just the planning and the city manager’s offices alone and why is the city millions over budget every year?  The cuts should have happened years ago, with money saved then be used for the parks, police, economic development and road and infrastructure maintenance.  But, instead, the city is now spending thousands of dollars of your money for marketing research to see how to manipulate the residents in to allowing the city to keep millions more from the TABOR-mandated refunds.

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