Lakewood City Council spent nearly four hours Monday night listening to members of the public and then debating what, if anything, to do about a proposed apartment complex adjacent to a city park.
The process clearly exasperated some council members.
“This is a do-nothing council … this council is horrible,” Councilman Rich Olver said at one point.
“I won’t sit idly by and take that from someone who didn’t show up at the annual planning meeting until midway in, someone who does not participate,” Councilwoman Barb Franks responded.
The exchange relates to 4.5 acres at 777 S. Yarrow St., where San Antonio-based developer Kairoi Residential wants to build a 412-unit apartment project with over 500 parking spaces. The company purchased the site with CT Corp. in 2021 for $6 million.
The property houses a large parking lot and vacant office building. Tucked a block away from Wadsworth Boulevard, it backs into, but is not part of, the 132-acre Belmar Park. It offers direct access to the park’s trail.
The project would require demolition of the current building and the removal of 69 trees — and the latter has prompted organized resistance to the project.
The movement gained traction after a woman chained herself to a tree on Oct. 8. Others handed out fliers on the park trail, started email chains and tied red ribbons to the trees slated to be cut. At an Oct. 9 City Council meeting, residents spoke out en masse, saying the structure would destroy a habitat for migrant birds, disrupt parkgoers and animals during construction, and increase pollution and traffic, among other things.
Development proposals in Lakewood are reviewed by city staff, and generally not subject to council approval.
At the first meeting, Councilwoman Anita Springsteen proposed a resolution that would require Kairoi not cut down any trees, keep some of the land dedicated to open space, increase its number of parking spaces and meet with the community before moving forward with any development.
But, Springsteen told BusinessDen it was shot down because she needed to jump through “the proper hoops … which they always make up when it’s somebody making a motion they don’t like.”
So, she added it to the agenda for the Monday night meeting. Dozens of Lakewood residents showed up to speak against the development and in support of the resolution, with some protesting beforehand.
“I’ve never seen this much emotion and attention to a development issue as this one because people are so horrified that we would take the last vestiges of a beautiful park with wildlife known across the country,” Springsteen said.
Related Articles
-
Ex-Burger King in Five Points available again as barbecue chain backs out
-
Inflation slowing investment in Denver-Boulder’s commercial real estate market
-
Will Kroenke finally build a true game-day experience around the Colorado Rapids’ stadium?
-
Leven Deli beefs up with new spot in Wash Park
-
Boulder area scene of high-tech real estate projects — one completed, one in works
One first-grade teacher showed the council a poster her students made that read “Save Belmar Park.” Another resident alluded to the Bible: “I see Goliath sitting before me, and behind me I see David, and Belmar Park will be the slingshot.”
Some called on Lakewood to buy the land from Kairoi and dedicate it as open space, while others said the community should sue the city for approving the plans. “We’re all on the same side,” Mayor Adam Paul said at one point, prompting an audience member to shout “No, we’re not.”
After hours of deliberation, the resolution was not formally voted on because of legal concerns. City attorney Alex Dorotik said the resolution would change city ordinance, although Springsteen argued it wouldn’t change but uphold it.
“If any municipality violates its city code in an effort to stop development, it’s all but automatic that we end up in court,” Dorotik said.
Springsteen, a lawyer herself, told BusinessDen she doesn’t trust the city attorney’s legal advice.
Other suggestions were made, like a non-binding formal proclamation about what the council would like to see at the site. Olver made a motion stating the council didn’t want city staff to accept a fee in lieu of cutting down the trees, but acknowledged staff didn’t have to follow that either. Ultimately, neither were approved.
A few days before the meeting, Kairoi announced it would pause all development plans for two months to hold community meetings. Some council members, like Sharon Vincent, said residents should take advantage of that.
“I find that sometimes developers will do what they can, as long as they hear from the community,” Vincent said.
But Springsteen speculated to BusinessDen before the meeting that it was a cover to let things cool off.
“That gets it to December 20th, nobody is paying attention that time of year,” she said. “We love saving stuff like that for Christmas time because things get passed through very easily.”
She also told BusinessDen that she assumed the council would attempt to avoid voting on her resolution because an election in two weeks will result in a new council, which will be seated the following week.
No one from Kairoi spoke Monday night. An executive did not respond to requests for comment from BusinessDen.
Kairoi lists 12 apartment complexes in the Denver area on its website. The company recently purchased a Sunnyside apartment complex and had a ground-lease deal for a proposed LoDo residential tower terminated.
