Another backroom deal, Belmar Park advocates not backing down even with city not getting facts and laughing at us
There are a couple articles below that wrap up the disappointing conclusion to the site plan review for 777 S Yarrow Street.
But don’t lose sight of the meeting Monday, May 12, for THE BEND, to grant URA and metro district status to the development going in at 4th and Union that residents will not only pay for, but will be liable for.
The Bend: A Government Financing Trade Deal
Lakewood may be forcing a property owner to blight their own land in a backroom trade deal wherein staff pledged a positive vote from City Council for a metro district. The deal would give The Bend development city financing in exchange for metro district status.
In January 2025, a representative for The Bend developer made the following public comment:
“The city is actually only allowing a Metro District to be put in place if the URA (Urban Renewal Area) passes so that it is a vehicle for this infrastructure and tax increment financing. They actually would not pass our Metro District standalone. They’ve made that very clear.” – Allie Meister, Lincoln Properties, at Green Mountain Water Board Meeting, min 40:13.
This deal illuminates why Lakewood is rushing through a URA and metro district public hearing on the same night. Staff presentations have repeatedly touted the advantages of doing both the URA and the metro district at the same time. They claim these are complementary structures.
But they are not complementary. Rather, these are essentially overlapping structures that could finance the same set of infrastructures. Apparently, financing public infrastructure is a profit center.
Overlapping financing is duplicative. Even worse, for The Bend, neither metro district nor URA is appropriate. The Bend is not a “serious and growing menace” to the public health, safety, morals, and welfare, which is the statutory reason for Urban Renewal. The Bend does not provide public services, which is necessary for a metro district. The metro district will only be used for financing. Therefore, the most appropriate government assistance, if any, would be a Business Improvement District (BID). BIDs are the more accountable, less powerful, way to achieve development financing but no one is advocating for its use.
Instead, developers prefer to form metro districts. This initially involves the developer loaning money to the new metro district. Then the metro district issues a bond, with interest, to pay back the loan. Since the developer and the metro district are the same people (different legal entity), the developer has now gained itself government immunity, as well as millions of dollars of interest payments. In many cases, the interest payments never end – they only continue to grow. This outcome isn’t possible with a BID.
UPDATE: Disappointing but Not Surprising – We Need Your Help Now More Than Ever!
From Save Belmar Park, Inc., – a Colorado non-profit
What happened at the May 7th Lakewood Planning Commission hearing was deeply disappointing—though sadly, not unexpected. After several speakers delivered well-researched, thoughtful, and heartfelt presentations, the audience erupted in applause. The public’s support for protecting Belmar Park was undeniable.
So how does a small group of City officials override the will of the residents?
Despite an overwhelming outpouring of public opposition—including emails, social media comments, and a nearly 10-to-1 ratio of anti-this-development comments on Lakewood Speaks—the Commission still voted 5–0 in favor of the 411-unit Kairoi apartment building. And they did so even after being presented with a powerful, evidence-based case showing that the proposed development directly contradicts Lakewood’s own zoning code, comprehensive plan, and parks master plan.
This vote was a slap in the face to the community. It disregarded common sense, environmental preservation, and the very planning documents the city is supposed to uphold. The proposed zero-lot-line, six-story building is incompatible with the surrounding two-story Belmar Commons townhomes, overwhelms local infrastructure, and threatens the ecological balance of Belmar Park.
Our next step is filing a lawsuit under a 106A appeal, which will go before a Jefferson County district court rather than more city insiders. We believe we still have a strong chance at a different outcome—despite the city’s push to bulldoze trees—because the proposed development blatantly contradicts Lakewood’s own zoning laws, comprehensive plan, and parks master plan, giving us solid legal ground to challenge it in court.
Relevant facts withheld from Planning Commission regarding unpermitted demolition
From SaveBelmarPark.com
Greetings Supporters of SaveBelmarPark.com,
The 777 S Yarrow project was approved by Lakewood’s Planning Commission by a lockstep vote of 5-0 on May 7, 2025.
Despite in-person and online expert testimony and informed and articulate personal testimony from hundreds of citizens who raised a wide range of serious issues and potential violations of the Zoning Ordinance that will never be addressed or mitigated by the current proposal, the commissioners still approved the proposal.
If it is possible for a planning commission to be replaced by artificial intelligence software, this might be a good place to start a proof of concept. Maybe even remote-controlled rubber stamps would suffice.
At one point, ‘Mr.’ Buckley asked about the grading in the park. As you may know, the city claims the park will not be touched. That is a false claim. As the city engineer admitted, it is necessary to grade park property so the developer does not have to build a retaining wall. You are not supposed to build a retaining wall within 10 feet of the property line in Lakewood. So it would not be feasible to require the developer to stay on their own property since they would have to modify their site plan to build a retaining wall with a proper setback.
So Mr. Buckley asked what the grade change difference would be and was told only 2 feet. No big deal, right? However, the developer’s site plan shows the floor of the building at 5,528.75 feet. The park path adjacent to the graded area is at 5,518. Guess what? That is more than a 10 foot difference in elevation. Not 2 feet. The fire road is at 5,524 which is a 6 foot difference. But none of that matters. Because facts don’t seem to matter to the Planning Commission. They can simply be ignored and replaced will false statements such as telling the public that the park won’t be touched. Problem solved.
This type of deceptive behavior is rooted in the history of land development. Look at Stanford University. When Leland and Jane Stanford passed away, they left 8,000 acres of land to the university with the provision it could never be sold.
Yet visitors to Palo Alto, CA who visit the Stanford campus are amazed at all the development on that 8,000 acres that supposedly could never be sold. How did developers and the university get around that seemingly ironclad restriction? Enter the 99 year lease! Stanford leases their land which has allowed all manner of development including residential, retail, you name it. Just as if it had been sold. Maybe Leland Stanford got railroaded on that!
Similarly, May Bonfils did not envision the abuse and exploitation that would occur with her property at 777 S Yarrow Street after her passing.
(And coincidentally, Planning Commissioner Overall is a Stanford grad.)
Lakewood is Laughing At Us
The May 7th Planning Commission meeting was a travesty of a public hearing. Lakewood cared enough to give residents an outlet for their grievances. No one cared enough to enact a single change. And sometimes they outright laughed at us.
Watch the video below from the end of public comment, starting at min 2:58:25. One resident got up and publicly read an article from the Lakewood Informer. Watch the city staffer seated in the background unsuccessfully hiding her laughter during this reading. All of which was proved to be true. All of which city staff ignored and the entire Planning Commission dismissed — just like so many other valid resident points.
https://rumble.com/v6t7rw9-lakewood-laughing-at-us.html
