Lakewood Informer

Resident generated news about Lakewood, Colorado

Lakewood Informer

Resident generated news about Lakewood, Colorado

LAKEWOOD INFORMER

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Zoning Change Links to Information

Fact Sheet: Proposed new zoning code will: * Convert existing single-family zoning to multi-family and retail *Eliminate occupancy limits CITYWIDE so every home can be used as multi-family * Change height restrictions * Reduce mininmum lot size * Eliminate parking minimums * Sacrifice home rule

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Water district in Lakewood says pipes cannot handle more demand laid out in potential zoning changes

Water district in Lakewood says pipes cannot handle more demand laid out in potential zoning changes

August 29, 2025/

Water district in Lakewood says pipes cannot handle more demand laid out in potential zoning changes By Maggie Bryan, denver7.com LAKEWOOD, Colo. — The Green Mountain Water and Sanitation District (GMWSD), which provides water and sewer service to around 48,000 people in Lakewood, said density changes laid out in the City of Lakewood’s new comprehensive plan would put a strain on the district’s pipes. GMWSD sent a letter to the City of Lakewood on August 22 objecting to the city’s plan and requesting mediation to resolve a range of issues the water district said could lead to unexpected fees for residents. The letter requests the city stop proposed zoning changes that could increase density in certain areas until there is a plan for funding and construction to increase water infrastructure. “With the density changes, we don’t know if we’re able to accept a higher demand of water flow, mainly into our sewer system. The pipes are a certain size. You have to plan for storm events and things like that. So you have to have capacity available in the system to accommodate that,” GMWSD Manager Josh Stanley said. “If you exceed that, then you’re backing up into people’s homes, and nobody likes that.” The water district said it objects to certain goals laid out in the comprehensive plan, which was approved unanimously by the Lakewood City Council on July 28. In the letter, the GMWSD said it has concerns about the plan to eliminate some single-family zoning and mix commercial...

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Residents Fighting Back Against Zoning Changes

Residents Fighting Back Against Zoning Changes

August 28, 2025/

Residents Fighting Back Against Zoning Changes Across the country, cities and states are experimenting with new taxes on so-called “luxury” homes. The pitch is simple: target properties above a certain value, often $1 million or more, and funnel the money into local programs. But the reality is far more complicated—and the impacts often hit ordinary homeowners, not just the wealthy.

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Million-Dollar Home Taxes: A Warning for Lakewood

Million-Dollar Home Taxes: A Warning for Lakewood

August 23, 2025/

Million-Dollar Home Taxes: A Warning for Lakewood Across the country, cities and states are experimenting with new taxes on so-called “luxury” homes. The pitch is simple: target properties above a certain value, often $1 million or more, and funnel the money into local programs. But the reality is far more complicated—and the impacts often hit ordinary homeowners, not just the wealthy. Examples nationwide • Los Angeles voters approved Measure ULA in 2022, adding transfer taxes on sales over $5 million. The city projected $600M annually but collected under $200M in the first year. A UCLA study found multifamily housing production dropped about 18% after ULA • Chicago’s “Bring Chicago Home” referendum failed in March 2024, 52.3% to 47.7%, after voters rejected a tiered transfer tax proposal • Washington State raised its Real Estate Excise Tax (REET) to 3% on the portion of sales above $3.025M • New York State imposes a 1% mansion tax on sales above $1M and an additional graduated surcharge on properties above $2M • New Jersey adjusted its mansion tax in 2025, shifting liability to sellers and expanding applicability • Connecticut charges a 2.25% marginal conveyance tax on the portion of home sales above $2.5M • Santa Fe voters approved a 3% transfer tax on home sales above $1M, but a judge later struck it down as unconstitutional under state law • Honolulu assesses higher property tax rates on non-owner-occupied homes above $1M under its “Residential A” classification • Rhode Island enacted a statewide “property wealth...

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Zoning code second hearing dates

Hearing Dates Changed for Zoning

August 12, 2025/

City Council decided to break up the zoning code into four separate public hearings. There will now be 4 separate ordinances that will have second readings on separate dates. Council expressed the strong desire to have voting completed BEFORE the November elections. These changes are big enough to be an election issue, but City Council is taking that off the table by guaranteeing that residents’ votes will not matter for zoning changes. The new dates for second reading are: The original motion was to delay the second reading and also break up the code into digestible pieces. There was more talk of making the code easier to understand than there was of making changes, but the break-up was mostly agreeable. However, with some Councilors disagreeing with the delay, that was changed to maintain a second reading on the Aug 25 date for the first piece. It is unclear if Council is hearing opposition from residents or whether Council believes people just don’t understand what’s going on. “Education” was mentioned several times. Councilor Low read off many city “touchpoints” that would indicate everyone had been informed enough, and any delay was unjustified. About half the council, including Councilors Mayott-Guerrero and Shahrezaei, argued that people were expecting the second reading on August 25 and may not understand that the dates had changed so that wasn’t an option. In reality, even this first reading was delayed due to pressure against these sweeping changes, so that argument was unconvincing. Several Councilors mentioned that they...

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Picture of Emory Elementary of yesterday and the Action Center of tomorrow

Special Zoning Treatment for The Action Center at Emory

August 12, 2025/

Lakewood is adding a new word to the dictionary — an innocuous move that covers up a dedicated zoning change for the Emory-Action Center swap while also shutting down future resident protests. Lakewood is planning on adding a new “Community Resource Facility” use to the zoning code to enable an “Amazon” warehouse-type low-income distribution center to operate anywhere in Lakewood. This new use is necessary for changes to the Emory Elementary property that Lakewood proposes to sell or exchange with the Action Center, which will convert it into a “Community Resource Facility”. That swap is not mentioned in the May 19th meeting on the zoning code change, even though the swap is what prompted the change in the first place. To listen to that meeting, one would think that there has just been a glaring oversight for the past 50 years, and no non-profits have been able to operate food pantries. Taken in isolation, residents could be forgiven for thinking that Lakewood didn’t have the ability to allow what is clearly already allowed in multiple places. Therefore, once again, residents must dig deeper to understand what is going on. In this case, allowing high populations of low-income support services in every zone in the city, including those previously reserved for schools. (For background, read Lakewood news at https://41444.us6.myftpupload.com/springsteen-files-injunction-regarding-emory/) Travis Parker, Chief of Planning and Community Development, says Lakewood hasn’t had a request for something like this during his time with Lakewood, which may give residents an idea of the scale...

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Housing market

It’s Not Just a Housing Shortage. It’s a Rigged System

August 9, 2025/

From Crash Davis You’ll hear it all the time, especially from pundits and politicians: “The solution to the housing crisis is simple. Just build more.” It sounds nice. It fits on a bumper sticker. But it’s not the full story. Not even close. We’re not just short on homes. We’ve built an entire system where housing has become the best way to build wealth, and where insiders control access to that wealth. I was talking to a friend the other day, and he mentioned a few people he knew who were doing very well financially. Every single one of them had made their money in real estate. That says a lot. Here in Colorado, you see the distortion everywhere. In Lakewood, homes are sitting on the market. The “supply” is technically there, but prices still start around $500,000 and go well past $1.4 million. That’s not a starter home. That’s not attainable for most working families. And it’s not just because we didn’t build enough. It’s because we’ve flooded the system with easy money for decades. It didn’t start with the pandemic. That just poured fuel on a fire that had already been burning since the financial crisis, the dot-com bust, and even before. Every time the economy hiccups, we inject liquidity, drop interest rates, and do whatever it takes to prop up asset values. The result is a distorted market where real estate becomes a magnet for cash, speculation, and institutional investment. Now we’re sitting on the flip side....

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