• 0 Lakewood growth cap puts housing out of reach

    5.00 of 1 votes

    The establishment is manipulating the SGI termination process into a way to garner votes in November’s mayoral race from slow-growth supporters. By dragging out the process for two years they are hoping to placate their opponents. Note how they “spin” the situation in this article in a Colorado political newspaper.   https://www.coloradopolitics.com/opinion/lakewood-growth-cap-puts-housing-out-of-reach-opinion/article_2cb17d0a-3bdd-11ee-9560-136431a7c05a.html   Opinion - Lakewood growth cap puts housing out of reach By Wendi Strom, Colorado Politics, August 19, 2023   In Lakewood, growth and development are important topics, and our City Council is working together to address them head-on. Communities are multi-faceted and encompass many essential elements, such as ensuring safety, affordability for all residents and spaces that embody the Colorado lifestyle. Lakewood is incredibly fortunate to possess all the necessary components for a vibrant, thriving community. We boast parks, businesses, excellent schools and convenient proximity to the majestic Colorado mountains and the bustling City of Denver. As residents of Lakewood, we greatly appreciate these valuable assets.I believe the voters' intent in supporting the Strategic Growth Initiative (SGI) in 2019 was to preserve what we have and love about Lakewood. Unfortunately, the unintended consequences of this have resulted in the city struggling to meet the needs of our constituents. Seniors find themselves trapped in large homes due to economic constraints, while young people face exorbitant prices that make renting or owning a home unattainable. Working families live on the edge, barely hanging on to their homes as they contend with the overwhelming stress of housing insecurity.The average rent for a one-bedroom apartment is staggering at $1,836 per month, and mortgage payments have significantly increased. These costs are challenging for retirees on fixed incomes and first-time home buyers, who may experience sudden or unexpected increases in escrow. With the average home sale price at $580,000 and monthly mortgage payments over $2,000 home ownership is far from affordable for many working families. Growth boundaries restrict innovation and hinder the market's ability to respond to the economy.The current Lakewood growth cap has had negative consequences, leaving the city in a precarious situation. As thoughtful community members, we must consider alternative solutions that address these issues while maintaining the essence of what makes Lakewood a thriving and desirable place to live. Meanwhile, earlier this year, the Colorado Legislature passed a bill outlawing the kind of growth cap implemented by Lakewood voters.My co-councilors and I have been working diligently to find strategies that will meet the needs of our residents and businesses. While facing tough conversations about growth, our City Council has decided to phase out the Strategic Growth Initiative (SGI) over the next 24 months rather than end it abruptly. The delay will give us time to identify innovative policies that simultaneously address growth concerns and provide more affordable housing options for everyone in our community. We aim to strike the best balance between sustaining our quality of life and ensuring affordability.As leaders, we must be open and honest about the challenges and opportunities we face as a growing community, as we represent the concerns and aspirations of our 158,000 residents. It is our responsibility to listen and respond to the needs and expectations of our community members.Though the vote to delay the removal of the growth cap may raise concerns for some, it is the best decision for the City of Lakewood and its residents. We have seen the harmful effects of growth caps in nearby communities, such as decreases in new home construction and marked increases in existing home prices, property taxes, homelessness and commercial property taxes.By approving this 24-month transition, we can create a more detailed and strategic plan that addresses Lakewood's needs better than simply limiting growth. Infrastructure, housing, taxes, water resources, homelessness, fixed incomes and safety are all intertwined with growth.We need a thoughtful approach that includes the voices of those most affected: our residents. We must also have at the table the expertise of professionals in real estate, land planning, transportation, finance and community leaders, to find a sustainable path forward that will benefit the entire Lakewood community.Working together and thinking outside the box can elevate Lakewood to greater success. Our efforts will impact our beloved hometown and inspire the entire state. Let's strive to set a groundbreaking example for sustainable growth, setting the standard for excellence.   What's Your Opinion....

  • 1 T O P JeffCo women set to lead the way forward in politics

    0.00 of 0 votes

    Denver may not have been ready to elect its first woman to serve as mayor, but a majority of large Jefferson County municipalities may have female leads by the end of the year. That could be a big step forward for Colorado. The dean of JeffCo mayors, Nancy McNally, has been an integral part of Westminster for decades. She has served as mayor multiple times since the early 2000s and is one of the finest public servants in the state. I have had the chance to work with her on several occasions over the years and have been impressed each and every time. It is no wonder other women have followed suit.In Golden, Laura Weinberg is running for re-election after a successful bid in 2019. Confronted by the COVID pandemic just as she began her term, Weinberg helped protect Golden residents while also ensuring that local businesses had the support to survive. Now Lakewood and Arvada look to join the club. Last week a friend invited me to a fundraiser for Wendi Strom (Lakewood) and Lauren Simpson(Arvada). Lakewood has not had a woman leading the city since Linda Morton left office at the end of the last millennium. Arvada has never elected a woman as mayor. After spending a couple hours hearing their stump speeches and watching them interact with voters, it would surprise me if both do not win in November. Smart, strong, and personable, both seem ready to lead on day one. Strom has two opponents in her race. One a first-time candidate and the other who lost a city council race by six points in 2019. At the same time, Strom rolled to a plurality in a heated four-person race and has been working tirelessly since. It is by no means a sure bet for Strom, but she begins in a position of strength. Monopolizing Strom’s time for the better part of half-an-hour, it became apparent she does not take her electoral strength for granted. She has been engaged in the candidate tango whirling from fundraiser to meet and greet to door knocking and community meetings. It is the kind of work ethic that makes the difference between a strong campaign and a winning campaign. Simpson is as striking for confidence as she is for her ability to engage constituents. She gave a personal and compelling stump speech that would put some of the top politicos in the state to shame. She was at her best when she expressed how the unhoused epidemic had personally affected her life through a family member. She was authentic and empathetic at the same time. Simpson even expressed respect for her city council colleague and opponent in the mayoral race. That is down-right shocking in this day and age. If Weinberg, Strom and Simpson win, four of the largest municipalities in the west Metro region will be run by women. That should be a source of pride and optimism for JeffCo. It should be an example for the rest of Colorado. We have yet to elect a woman to either the U.S. Senate or governor’s office. The highest elected offices held by women statewide have been Attorney General (twice), state Treasurer (four times), and Secretary of State (six times). But none have ascended any higher. Given the leadership shown by women on the local level, that needs to change. The positive effects should be too great to ignore. Not only in terms of role models for other women to aspire, but in tempering the often-polarizing environment the male-led model has created. Obviously it is a trap women can fall into as well — look no further than Colorado’s West Slope congressional  embarrassment and her continual vitriol — but the vast majority have proved the value that diversity delivers. It is not as if Colorado is opposed to the idea, either. In 2016 voters picked Hillary Clinton over Donald Trump by nearly five points. They delivered the vice presidency to Kamala Harris as Joe Biden’s running mate by more than double that margin. Coloradans obviously understand that good women are not just capable leaders, but they can be exceptional. It should be self-evident in 2023, but still it somehow seems to be an illusive truth. Lingering stereotypes and double standards still permeate our electoral process. Often the unintentional and unconscious discrimination is the most difficult to uproot. With leaders like McNally and Weinberg, and candidates like Strom and Simpson, chipping away at those biases, though, they should not stand for too much longer. By simply being excellent in their roles, they will help move our state toward a more inclusive reality.

  • 0 Lakewood’s growth cap is going away

    4.00 of 1 votes

    Lakewood’s growth cap is going away. It’s the first big change as Colorado Democrats push for density.          by Andrew Kenney, CPR News, August 7, 2023 Lakewood just became the first city in Colorado to change its development policies in response to pressure from Democrats in the state legislature — but not without an intense public debate.A new state law forbids cities like Lakewood from enforcing what it calls “anti-growth” policies. Lakewood city leaders responded on Monday by starting to undo the “strategic growth” law that has dominated city politics and reshaped Lakewood’s growth in recent years.The council voted 8-3 to put an expiration date on the city’s growth law, setting it to disappear in two years. The change appears to put the city in compliance with the new state law, but it leaves Lakewood with the question of how it will manage the loaded question of growth as a new chapter of city politics begins.Lakewood’s “strategic growth” law was approved by local voters in July 2019 during a special election as a way to control the construction of apartments and other housing in the city. At the time, the measure won about 53 percent of the vote, with more than a third of Lakewood voters participating.“I can’t believe you’re even considering acknowledging that the state can override a vote of the Lakewood people,” said Cathy Kentner, a leader of the 2019 effort to pass the growth law and a candidate for mayor. Council Member Mary Janssen said the council was bowing to a “gross overreach” by Gov. Jared Polis.For others, the end of the growth cap can’t come soon enough. Council Member Jeslin Shahrezaei said the city should be getting rid of the cap sooner, not extending it, arguing that the law’s stifled the housing supply. “We’re in a housing crisis and I'm just having a real tough time moving through another two years [of growth limits],” she said.Lakewood’s local growth law adds an extra layer of approvals and sets limits on how much housing can be built per year throughout most of the city. Now, that era may be coming to an end. The Lakewood City Council on Monday voted to put an expiration date on the law, allowing the growth limits to disappear in two years.The local action was a response to HB23-1255, a law passed by the state legislature that takes effect this week. The law says that cities cannot “explicitly” limit the number of new housing units that are built. That could apply to Lakewood’s law, which allows only a certain number of homes to be built each year throughout most of the city. With Monday’s vote, the Lakewood growth law stays into 2026 — taking advantage of a grace period offered by the state law.The council’s divided politics were on display during the meeting    Mayor Adam Paul and other council members wanted to hold a closed-door executive session, which they said was necessary to get legal advice in private. A minority of the council blocked that option, saying they wanted full transparency.Some council members wanted the city to challenge the state ban instead of surrendering. “By [fighting for the growth law], we put ourselves solidly behind the clearly stated wishes of our voting public,” said Councilman Charley Able.Supporters of the Lakewood growth law say that it was only meant to shape development, not stop it. Some argue that it has not harmed the housing supply, since the city has not actually grown fast enough for the cap to take effect. They also pointed out the law makes allowances for affordable housing, which no developer has taken advantage of.“It’s not anti-growth, it has never been anti-growth, and if it was anti-growth, there wouldn’t be anything being built — and we have things being built all the time,” said council member Rich Olver. Instead, he said it was a way to slow a “runaway train.”The law has had a clear chilling effect on housing construction, said planning director Travis Parker in an earlier interview. The city isn’t hitting the growth cap because developers, fearing bureaucratic uncertainty, simply aren’t proposing projects in the affected area, he said. About 220 building permits were approved last year in the areas affected by the growth law, which covers the vast majority of the city. Practically all of the units approved in the growth-cap zone have been single-family homes, Parker said, including areas that might have seen more intense development, such as Wadsworth Boulevard, Union Boulevard and Academy Park.“Absolutely, all of the multi-family zone areas that aren't blighted have seen a virtual standstill in [residential] development since 2020,” Parker said.Meanwhile, development has continued at a faster pace in the city’s few redevelopment zones — largely along Alameda and Colfax Avenues — where more than 600 units were permitted last year. Lakewood resident Brian Holman said that if the city wants to address the issues at the heart of the growth fight— open space, affordability, traffic — it should try more specific approaches, like building parks and transit. “We can’t solve these issues caused by growth by simply limiting it within our own city borders,” he told council.At the request of council member Anita Springsteen, the council added language disputing the idea that their local law was anti-growth, even if the city is now on track to abolish it. Council members Able, Janssen and Springsteen voted against ending the growth law.What about Boulder and Golden?Boulder has famously had a similar law for years, but city staff said that it’s effectively obsolete and no longer has an effect. A city spokesman earlier said that it would probably be abolished at some point.     What's Your Opinion.....

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    1 Coloradans For Metro District Reform

    0.00 of 0 votes

    Here is some additional input from a member of Coloradans For Metro District Reform  about three positions regarding the proposed new Cardel Metro District: Representative Taggart from Mesa County, Green Mountain Water and Sanitation Board and a citizen.Green Mountain Water and Sanitation District, which values transparency has commented on one important aspect of the proposed Service Plan – the lack of sanitation from an appropriate source – and Cardel’s misrepresentation that Green Mountain is one of the anticipated sources of sanitation service: ” We object to being named as the possible service provider for any new district.”  (Excerpt from their letter to Lakewood linked here: https://files.greenmountainwater.org/Document%20Center/News/Board%20Statement%20re%20Indigo%20Ridge_signed.pdf) This is important because as the Lakewood staff report shows, the Service Plan application “shall” be denied if the district cannot provide “sufficient service with its boundaries”.  By its own terms, the service plan cannot provide an essential service – sanitation.  They’re still working on it.  So, until they get sewer service, their application “shall” be denied under CRS 32-1-203(2).  They can always come back when they’re ready. Here is the Service Plan’s reference to the problem of no sewer: ” It is anticipated that sanitary sewer service to the property within the District will be provided either by Metro Water Recovery (formally known as the Metro Wastewater Reclamation District) (“Metro”) or Green Mountain Water & Sanitation District (“Green Mountain”) pursuant to one or more intergovernmental agreements among them, however the final means and parameters of such service have not been finalized as of the date of this Service Plan.”   “The City will not approve any Approved Development Plan unless and until sanitary sewer service to the property within the District is obtained.”  (p. 6) A citizen who recently retired from the Green Mountain Water and Sanitation District Board of Directors also commented.  Here is the “Lakewood Speaks” site with the public comment:  https://lakewoodspeaks.org/items/3104   Whats Your Opinion....

  • 0 Rooney Valley / Indigo development - Proposal to grant a “metro district”.

    0.00 of 0 votes

    [Read Book inside for full story] Rooney Valley / Indigo development - Proposal to grant a “metro district”. As you know, the establishment’s strategy is to keep everything “secret” until the last minute so citizens don’t have a chance to know what’s going on and protest. Their standard practice is to wait until the 10 day minimum deadline to let the cat out of the bag. True to form, at the close of business Friday (10 days before the 7/24 Council meeting) the city officially notified citizens of the details of a scheme to help Rooney Valley development by granting the developer a “metro district” so they can raise money through bonds. [Read Book below]