LAKEWOOD, Colo. (KDVR) — City leaders in Lakewood are facing pushback over proposed zoning changes that would encourage more duplexes and townhomes throughout the city.
Officials say the primary goal is to create more affordable housing, but some residents argue the changes go too far. One lifelong Lakewood resident said she’s worried the rezoning effort will alter the city’s character and disrupt her quiet suburban neighborhood.
“This will completely change the character of our neighborhoods,” said Regina Hopkins, who opposes the changes. “It will get rid of protections for single-family homes. So somebody who has spent their life savings to buy a property and wants to live in a single-family neighborhood — they do not have that safety net anymore.”
Lakewood’s efforts to rewrite its zoning ordinance follow recent state laws that limit parking requirements and end occupancy restrictions in residential homes. But more than complying with state law, city leaders say the proposed changes are a part of a broader effort to address housing affordability.
“I don’t think it will cause (affordability), but it will create the enabling conditions for affordability in our community,” Katelyn Stenger, who supports the changes, said at a city council meeting earlier this month. “It will allow people who work here and live here and build this community to stay in this community.”
While some residents agree that more housing options are necessary, others are organizing against the plan.
A group called “Lakewood Is for Everyone” is urging the city council to reject the proposed changes. The group has raised concerns about the city’s infrastructure, echoing a warning from the local water district that Lakewood’s systems may not be able to handle significant population growth.
“They shouldn’t be able to go forward with that knowing they don’t have the infrastructure to support that,” Hopkins said.
The city council has been voting on pieces of the proposed zoning changes over the past several weeks and is not expected to finalize the plan until mid-October.
In the meantime, “Lakewood Is for Everyone” has begun collecting signatures as an effort to bring the issue to voters and potentially overturn the zoning changes at the ballot box.
Anthony Sutton is a business strategist and writer with a passion for management, leadership, and entrepreneurship. With years of experience in the corporate world, he shares insights on business growth, strategy, and innovation through management-opleiding.org.
