Voters in Lakewood, Colorado, have a chance to enact anti-development policies that would place new limits on the number of new housing units that could be built in the city, while also placing new controls on the approvals process.
Lakewood voters will vote in a special election on July 2 to decide the fate of the Strategic Growth Initiative, which would limit annual residential construction in the city to 1 percent of the existing housing stock in the city.
The City Council could have enacted the law without voter approval earlier this week, but opted to send the matter to voters instead. As detailed in an article by John Aguilar, the initiative has a long and litigious history, dating back to June 2017. Cathy Kentner, a Lakewood resident, first proposed the initiative. Jefferson County Republican Party Vice Chairman Steve Dorman has sued several times to slow the progress of the initiative. A charter amendment approved in February was also necessary to get the initiative to this point.
Kentner claims that the initiative is necessary because "developers don’t provide adequate infrastructure to help alleviate congested roadways impacted by new growth. The initiative would require that the city council vote to approve or reject projects of 40 or more housing units instead of letting the city’s development department handle them alone."
FULL STORY: Lakewood’s long-stymied growth control measure going to voters in special July 2 election
Opponents Winning the Fundraising Battle Ahead of Anti-Development Measure in Colorado
Fundraisers have been busy in an effort to defeat the anti-development measures included in Question 200, which will appear before voters in Lakewood, Colorado in July.
Strict Growth Limits Set By Colorado's Fifth-Largest City
Residents of the city of Lakewood have approved a ballot measure that caps annual residential development and requires City Council approval of all developments over 40 units.
Colorado Erases Local Growth Limits
Colorado legislators passed a law earlier this year that preempts local limits on the number of building permits issued every year.
The state-sanctioned urbicide of Austin
People don’t kill cities. Freeways do.
US to reduce Colorado River water deliveries to Mexico
A new Colorado Treaty amendment reduces Mexico’s Colorado River water allocation by 250,000 acre feet.
New Jersey’s second-largest city bans standalone data centers
Jersey City will continue to allow co-location facilities, such as those meant for research institutions that store their own data.
Amtrak not solely to blame for New Jersey commuter rail's unreliability, report finds
A new study from the Garden State Initiative found that NJ Transit’s budget grew 20% across a 4 year period, but reliability declined significantly over the same period.
EPA erases limits on planet-warming pollution from power plants
Under Monday’s plan, power plants would still have some limits on how much mercury, arsenic and other contaminants they can emit.
Phoenix announces new on-demand transit service, more frequent RAPID buses
Both new services will launch in October, and are part of Phoenix's Project Effective Access Solutions for Easing Congestion.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
Eagle County Government
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
Nashville Planning Department
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
Journal of the American Planning Association