Repost from Regina Hopkins Lakewood’s leaders keep telling us everything is fine: “No elimination of single-family zones.” “Protecting neighborhoods while planning responsibly for the future.” “No threat to infrastructure.” Sounds nice, right? Too bad it’s all a scrambled spin of words, designed to trick you into thinking there’s no problem while they hand the city to developers. Here’s the truth: The Single-Family Lie. Yes, you can still build a single-family house. But the exclusive protection for single-family neighborhoods is gone. No other Front Range city has done this — not even Denver. Developers now have free rein to drop duplexes, triplexes, apartments, warehouses, and more right next door. For all intents and purposes, this is the elimination of single-family zoning as we’ve known it. Don’t let their dressed-up words fool you. The McMansion Distraction. The City waves around “new limits on McMansions” like it’s a gift to residents. It’s a classic bait-and-switch: distract you with something that sounds good while quietly removing the rules that keep neighborhood character and open space intact. Meanwhile, developers are encouraged to pack density into every block.
