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.
"Voters in Colorado’s fifth-largest city on Tuesday approved a cap on residential construction that will be among the strictest in the metro area," reports John Aguilar.
Voters approved Question 200 with 53 percent of the vote, thus capping "the construction of new homes and apartments each year to no more than 1 percent of the existing housing stock in the city and would require City Council approval of large development proposals," according to Aguilar. According to Question 200, the "City Council must give explicit approval to any project that has at least 40 units."
Question 200 had a long route to the ballot box, clearing multiple legal hurdles before appearing before voters. The public approved the law despite most of the money spent on the campaign was devoted to defeating the measure.
Lakewood Mayor Adam Paul opposed Question 200, but most of the soundbites in the article are sourced from residents celebrating a victory.
Also voicing support for the vote, an opinion piece written a few days after voters approved Question 200 makes the case that the slow growth measures implemented by Question 200 will equal an effective climate action plan. Gary Wockner, the author of the opinion piece, hinges the argument on this paragraph:
Simple back-of-the-envelope math tells you that if you have less human consumers, you will have less population-caused GHG emissions. By slowing population growth, Lakewood will slow its GHG emissions — every city in Colorado could do the same thing, as could the state.
Wockner's argument in support of slow growth as a climate change mitigation measures has been directly refuted in the past.
FULL STORY: Lakewood voters pump brakes on home building, pass slow-growth initiative in special election
Pennsylvania Mall Conversion Bill Passes House
If passed, the bill would promote the adaptive reuse of defunct commercial buildings.
World's Largest Wildlife Overpass In the Works in Los Angeles County
Caltrans will soon close half of the 101 Freeway in order to continue construction of the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing near Agoura Hills in Los Angeles County.
U.S. Supreme Court: California's Impact Fees May Violate Takings Clause
A California property owner took El Dorado County to state court after paying a traffic impact fee he felt was exorbitant. He lost in trial court, appellate court, and the California Supreme Court denied review. Then the U.S. Supreme Court acted.
AI Traffic Management Comes to Dallas-Fort Worth
Several Texas cities are using an AI-powered platform called NoTraffic to help manage traffic signals to increase safety and improve traffic flow.
Podcast: Addressing the Root Causes of Transit Violence
Deploying transit police is a short-term fix. How can transit agencies build sustainable safety efforts?
Minneapolis as a Model for Housing Affordability
Through a combination of policies, the city has managed to limit the severity of the nationwide housing crisis.
City of Costa Mesa
Licking County
Barrett Planning Group LLC
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Mpact Transit + Community
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Tufts University, Department of Urban and Environmental Policy & Planning
City of Universal City TX
ULI Northwest Arkansas
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.