Lakewood City Council voted 11-0 late Monday against rezoning an 11-acre parcel that is home to a 131-year-old farm, effectively blocking an effort by Richmond American Homes to build a 77-home community adjacent to Bear Creek Greenbelt.
Several council members cited the historic value of the Schnell Farm, which was awarded a place on the National Register of Historic Places more than 20 years ago, in voting against the rezoning. It’s likely the farm, barn and outbuildings on the property would have been demolished had the project moved forward.
“I really struggle with the historic part of this,” Mayor Adam Paul said of the property at 3113 S. Wadsworth.
Councilwoman Dana Gutwein was also bothered by the potential loss of a piece of the city’s history.
“I have concerns you can take down historic sites and there’s no protection,” she said.
The National Register of Historic Places designation does not confer any protection on a building and Lakewood’s historic landmarking program, which has the power to preserve a historic structure, only works with a property owner’s consent. Despite Monday’s vote to derail Richmond American’s rezoning request, there is nothing the city can do to save the historic farm if the Schnell family decides to demolish it themselves.
James Weichselbaum, a Lakewood real estate agent who represents the Schnell family, told the council he was confounded by the fact that most of the neighbors who spoke out against the rezoning live in much denser neighborhoods than what was being proposed.
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He noted the irony of the Schnells, who started the farm in 1888, watching endless homes sprout around their farm over the years.
“Whatever happened to personal property rights?” Weichselbaum said.
The decision in Lakewood echoes a couple of historic preservation fights that are ongoing in Denver, involving Tom’s Diner on Colfax Avenue and the Olinger Moore Howard-Berkeley Park Funeral Chapel, which has stood at the northeast corner of Tennyson Street and West 46th Avenue for nearly 60 years but could soon be turned into 58 townhomes.
Several residents who spoke out against the rezoning Monday night said they hope they can raise money or attract investors to buy the farm so as to preserve it.
