Special Districts, Advisory Commission, Economic Development, and Legislation
Almost a month has gone by... lots to catch up on from Lakewood Informer
Lakewood Special District Election Results
There are several special districts in and around Lakewood, which are often overlooked but control a lot of money, policy, and services. To help keep them in mind, we provide the list below.
Lakewood Advisory Commission Adds Grassroots Leadership
The Lakewood Advisory Commission (LAC) was established to provide research on local issues to City Council. The questions of “how much research?” and “what for?” came up when City Council voted to update the LAC Ordinance. One resulting change was that the LAC can initiate their own research projects, for a grassroots, bottom-up approach instead of top-down. This change has also resulted in the rise of dual presentations to Council, one from LAC and one from city staff, which is a side effect of removing the top-down approach and a demonstration of who controls the flow of information.
Public Input Matters
Lakewood City Council Members have decided to oppose several state legislative efforts: Land Use bill, Right of First Refusal, and Regulating Local Housing Growth Restrictions have now all been officially opposed or strongly opposed by Lakewood. This is almost a reversal of where Lakewood started on these issues, with only two Councilors wanting to oppose and the others in support or monitor positions. One other notable change was the increasing number of people attending committee meetings.
Jefferson County Commissioners Debate SB23-213
The Jefferson County Legislative meeting on April 24 revealed many different viewpoints and issues, ultimately leading the county to take an amend position on the governor’s land-use bill, SB23-213.
Lakewood Supports DRCOG Climate Pollution Reduction Leadership
At the April 5 Denver Regional Council of Governments (DRCOG) meeting, Lakewood City Council Member and DRCOG Representative Jeslin Shahrezaei expressed support for DRCOG taking the leadership role over regional pollution reduction grant.
“A Bold Move”: Lakewood Uses Economic Fund for Safety
At the April 10, 2023 Lakewood City Council meeting, Lakewood has taken the unprecedented step of authorizing money from the Economic Development Fund to demolish and remove a vacant building at 995 Sheridan Blvd for non-economic reasons. The building, the old Holiday Plaza shopping center, has been deemed a public safety concern. By paying for the demolition and removal of this building, Lakewood will gain an estimated 18-24 months of time that the community will not have to deal with the eyesore and associated criminal complaints. The money for the loan will come from the Economic Development Fund, which is restricted by code for the purpose of promoting economic development within the City, but in this case will be used for public safety. The property is intended for mixed-use development.
City Council Priorities for 2023
By Lenore Herskovitz
On January 28, 2023 City Council held their Annual Planning Meeting to establish their strategic goals and priorities for the upcoming year. Two facilitators from Point b(e) Strategies assisted in this process. Their completed report is provided in the PDF at the end of this piece. The last part of the facilitators’ document requests that each councilor set up a rank order of goals based on his/her perception of the needs of their communities. Once the goals were ranked, the final compilation would be presented to the public. The individual rankings were done through Survey Monkey and the results were unavailable to the public. However, through several CORA requests and phone calls I was able to obtain the City’s final report. An email from staff directed me to a new website with instructions to click on each goal to show tasks and status (see https://lakewood.clearpointstrategy.com/)
Reader recommended business
Email us with your business recommendations
