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

Good Planning Under Bad Leadership
Planners must sometimes work under bad leadership. Here are suggestions for responsive planning in challenging political environments.

Legendary Parking Guru Donald Shoup Dies at 86
Urbanists are mourning the loss of a dynamic voice for parking reform and walkable cities.

Amtrak Cascades Line Breaks Ridership Record
The route linking Portland, Seattle, and Vancouver, BC served nearly one million riders in 2024.

Over 71K Office-to-Apartment Units in the Pipeline for 2025
Adaptive reuse projects are continuing to bring thousands of new housing units onto the market as demand for office space remains low.

How Houston Can Be a Model for Housing Reform
The city builds more new housing than almost any other and has dramatically reduced homelessness, yet low-income families struggle to find affordable housing.

Delivering for America Plan Will Downgrade Mail Service in at Least 49.5 Percent of Zip Codes
Republican and Democrat lawmakers criticize the plan for its disproportionate negative impact on rural communities.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
City of Brookings
City of White Salmon
Harvard GSD Executive Education
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service