Community

Emory Questions Left Unanswered

By Lakewood News from KarenPosted on October 30, 2025Posted in Community, Development, Entrenched Bureaucracy, Jeffco, TransparencyTagged action center, contract, Emory, financial, partners, questions, rush, transparency, zoning

The October 27, 2025 City Council meeting demonstrated how determined Council is to approve the Emory sale and Action Center purchase. That date was the first opportunity to approve the multiple transaction after the new zoning was passed – zoning which was required for the new operations. Despite having an injunction in place to stall the vote, Council did everything possible except the actual vote itself. They claimed everything was known, disclosed and proper. They laughed and smiled as if the injunction was a joke. However, despite their claims, below is a list of over 70 lingering questions.

The votes on Emory have been delayed from October 27 to October 29 and now until November 3 while Council desperately tries to vote as soon as possible even while the case is in court and under injunction. The difficulty lies in how to restore trust and enable a public process to answer questions that have been handled behind the scenes for two years.

Canstruction Food Event Subverted for Emory Purchase Propaganda

By Lakewood News from KarenPosted on October 27, 2025Posted in Community, Development, Jeffco, TransparencyTagged action center, Canstruction, Colorado Gives, done deal, Emory, food bank, Kaiser Permanente, shell game

Lakewood’s shell game to buy Emory for the Action Center has shone a light on deals made before the public has a chance to weigh in. City leaders tell residents they can speak at the public comment period that was months away, and then they use the time before public comment to cement their plans away from public eye. More proof? An upcoming event taking place at Emory Elementary, hosted by Kaiser Permanente to benefit the Action Center. Chances are good that this was originally planned to be a celebration event for the Action Center that has now devolved into an event “with nonprofit partner.”

This is not just a regular Canstruction event. This is special for the Action Center at Emory.

Springsteen Wins Injunction on Emory

By Lakewood News from KarenPosted on October 21, 2025Posted in Community, Homeless, Jeffco, TransparencyTagged action center, Emory, fiduciary duty, injunction, jeffco-schools, market analysis, millions, springsteen, transparency

Anita Springsteen, former Lakewood City Council Member and attorney, has won an injunction filed against Lakewood. The injunction will pause two upcoming votes on Emory, wherein Lakewood is acting as an agent for the Action Center. It is unclear what, if any, benefit Lakewood will gain through this deal, but it is very clear the city will lose millions. At the same time, the Action Center will gain millions of dollars of property that it could not get without the special privileges of the government middleman. The injunction will pause the vote until after the previously scheduled October 28, 2025, court date.

West Texas Choir Season Opens With Lakewood Native

By Lakewood News from KarenPosted on October 18, 2025Posted in CommunityTagged A&M University, choir, Keegan Massingill, Lakewood native, student, West Texas

Wishing Keegan Massingill, a sophomore music technology major from Lakewood, Colorado, the best of luck in the new choir season at West Texas!

Gas Express in Lakewood Voted CO’s top independent gas station

By Lakewood News from KarenPosted on October 4, 2025Posted in CommunityTagged American River Wellness, Gas Express, independent, Lakewood

From American River Wellness

Poll of 3,016 drivers.
Gas Cafe One Stop, Crested Butte emerged 2nd favorite + Coal Mine Gas Express, Littleton came in 3rd.
Infographic showing the top locally-owned gas stations across the country.

For drivers, not all gas stations are created equal. Sure, the big chains are reliable – but it’s the independent stops that often leave the biggest impression. These are the places with personality. A hand-painted sign. A grill out back. A cashier who knows your name or recommends the best local shortcut. Maybe the pumps are a little old-school, but the coffee’s strong, the snacks are weirdly perfect, and there’s a cat sleeping under the lottery tickets.

In an era of polished convenience stores and corporate uniformity, these roadside gems are becoming rare – and more beloved than ever.

Three locally-owned Colorado gas stations were named among the best in the country:

#35. Gas Express, Lakewood
Gas Express is a well-regarded neighborhood fuel stop offering a full range of fuel options, including regular, mid-grade, premium, and diesel, alongside a variety of snacks and drinks, with quick, easy access that makes it a practical everyday choice for both locals and commuters. Customers frequently praise its friendly, accommodating staff, clean restrooms, and handy setup.

Spavia Day Spa Opens in Belmar on Oct. 10

By Lakewood News from KarenPosted on October 3, 2025Posted in CommunityTagged facial, massage, press release, relax, spa, Spavia

New Day Spa Opens October 10 Offering Resort-Inspired Amenities and Lifetime Savings with Spavia’s Best Membership Offer Ever

LAKEWOOD, Colo. – Spavia Day Spa, the premier health and wellness spa, will open on Friday, October 10, at 7273 W Alaska Dr, Lakewood, CO 80226, inside Lakewood’s Belmar Shopping District, a prominent destination for shopping, dining, entertainment, and residences in Downtown Lakewood.

Stop the Lakewood Zoning Code Fiasco

By Lakewood News from KarenPosted on August 4, 2025Posted in Community, Development, SustainabilityTagged affordable housing, code change, fiasco, Minneapolis, single-family, subsidies, zoning

From Jim Kinney Friends and neighbors, I hope you all have had a chance to study the draft City of Lakewood Zoning Code being pushed forward by what appears to be the majority of City Council, the Mayor, and the City Manager and the Director of Planning. The new code is being “sold” as the answer to fix the problem that our City needs affordable housing. Minneapolis was the first city in the nation to abandon the single family zoning category, in about 2018, thinking that action was the answer to magically have the city filled with affordable housing. The article, Counterpoint: Upending Single-family Zoning Isn’t the Answer: Like many zombie ideas, the idea that zoning changes will magically provide abundant affordable housing just doesn’t die, was written by Linda McDonald, of Minneapolis, who is a former City Council member and is one of the founding members of the citizen group Minneapolis For Everyone. The following quote is taken from her article (my highlighting). “In addition, the Urban Institute found no evidence that more low-cost housing was built, or that lower-cost housing became less expensive when zoning was reduced. This isn’t surprising. The real reason new housing is so expensive is that the costs to build — lumber, copper, labor, etc. — have been increasing much faster than inflation. The private marketplace simply cannot produce deeply affordable housing, the housing critical for truly low-income persons. In Minneapolis, there has been an increase in deeply affordable housing, but only because the city has provided hundreds of millions of dollars in subsidies.” The draft Lakewood zoning codes proposes abandoning single-family zoning to solve the City’s lack of affordable housing. It has already been shown this approach has very little effect producing affordable housing. Tell City Council, the City Manager and the Director of Planning to abandon these draft new zoning codes, that abandoning single-family zoning is not the answer. If there is a reason to rewrite our current City Zoning codes, it is not to remove single-family zoning as the answer to magically adding abundant affordable housing. Educate yourself. Stand up and speak up. Council is planning on voting to make these disastrous draft codes our City law on August 25, 2025. In democracy,Jim Kinney

Now or Never Event

By Lakewood News from KarenPosted on August 4, 2025Posted in CommunityTagged conservatives, Datko, HD28, Heidi Ganahl, Larry Allen, Republican, Rob Witwer, Westfax Brewing

From Republican House Districts 28 and 30 Join us for a night to connect with local conservatives to discuss schools, elections, how we lost Colorado and how we win it back Who will be speaking Where & When Westfax Brewing: 6733 W Colfax, Lakewood 08.26.2025, 6:30PM – 8:30PM See pricing on the flyer

Why shouldn’t we pave over Graham Park?

By Lakewood News from KarenPosted on August 4, 2025Posted in Community, Development, Sustainability, TransparencyTagged Graham Park, historic, open space, Shahrezaei, Sinks

From Eve S Build! Build! Build! That is the priority of the Ward 1 Council members. I live within a mile of Graham Park and this is the first I have heard of this new Build project. Who asked them to build at Graham Park? Have they done any environmental impact studies? How many trees will they cut down? Graham Park is located at 2345 Routt St. in Ward 1. See Graham Park Improvements | Lakewood Together. Before ruining this park, Lakewood should be required to study the impact of redevelopment on the native and migrating species that have been surviving on this small green space. This research should be done across all seasons so migrating species of insects and birds are not excluded. The existing trees should be examined and their uses should be included. The Lakewood forestry experts do NOT value old growth trees, but these are essential to many insects. Chickadees and raccoons build nests in the rotten spots of old trees, but Lakewood regards big, old trees as worthless. The city removes them and replaces them with non-native saplings. At Belmar Park Lake, the city ignored the requests of many residents to consider our wildlife and our ordinances. Among other negative decisions, they declared that roof tops fulfill the “open space” requirements. The Council members love concrete and asphalt and they hate all natural creatures and plants. Lakewood said: “2025: Funding is allocated in the 2025-2026 budget for the removal of the Graham House and to incorporate passive-use park improvements at Graham Park.” Why do Jeslin and Glenda hate our natural areas so much? Why do they want to pave over every square foot that can be used by wildlife? Ward 1 meeting is scheduled for August 9 at 9:30 am at Holy Shepherd Church at 920 Kipling.

“Rooted In Littleton” Provides Blue Ribbon Example

By Lakewood News from KarenPosted on July 20, 2025Posted in Community, Development, Transparency, Word GamesTagged Colorado, densification, densify, denver, desnity, Lakewood, littleton, Rooted in Littleton, survey, zoning

Littleton residents claim to be amateurs in the political sphere but you won’t believe it when you see how they have successfully organized against density-driven zoning changes. Rooted in Littleton got density changes postponed in January and kept fighting to recently gather enough signatures for a petition. Their website reads: “We are passionate about preserving the small-town charm and beauty of Littleton. Our deep roots inform the perspective that good things grow slowly and knee-jerk responses to large social issues don’t produce lasting results. Let’s not let increased density usher in a new era of increased traffic, crime and big city-problems in our little town.” Does that sound familiar? They have many of the same objections to densification as Lakewood residents, such as the attempt to “to erode our home-rule rights with a top-down, one-size-fits-all approach that could strip our community of its uniqueness.” Check out their website for excellent material that could be used as a blueprint for others fighting this issue: Survey Have you ever felt that Lakewood presents data on “housing density and housing shortages in 2024 [that] was insufficient and skewed toward City Council insiders”? That’s what Rooted in Littleton wrote but Lakewood residents have also been making that point for months. The argument really gained traction after the Belmar Park fiasco. (See these articles from savebelmarpark.com: Lakewood’s Housing Affordable Surplus, Lakewood’s 10-year Housing Surplus, Denver Has Enough Housing.) Instead of just complaining about it, Rooted in Littleton organized a survey of their own and provided it for the public. Unsurprisingly, they found that 45% of Littleton residents felt that densification is NOT the best solution The survey they conducted showed that “76% of the survey participants said they want a voice in all major housing legislation, especially as it relates to adding duplexes, triplexes and multiplexes in currently zoned single family residential neighborhoods.” They also found that a majority of people DO NOT believe in the “benefits” of the proposed densification, as shown below: This group is truly inspiring. I can’t tell you how many times I have heard Lakewood residents share the same sentiments that Rooted in Littleton share: Lakewood residents love Lakewood for the existing characteristics. Just like Rooted in Littleton likes their city. Check out their website and spread the word if you know people in Littleton.