Greetings Eiber neighbors,
 
We hope this update finds you safe and well. We would like to update our membership on some items relevant to city policy and development in the Eiber neighborhood.
 
Please feel free to reach out to us by direct contact, or via our facebook page, or by email to secretary.eiber@gmail.com. We look forward to hearing from you!

Current Planning Updates

 Future Update to the City of Lakewood Zoning Ordinance?

The City of Lakewood is seeking a contractor for assistance in analyzing and updating the City’s Zoning Ordinance.
The selected Contractor will collaborate with City staff to facilitate amendments to the existing zoning ordinance. The City desires to produce innovative, user-friendly zoning and development regulations that will:

  • Implement the 2040 Comprehensive Plan;

  • Address contemporary development and zoning needs;

  • Be easily understood by staff, the public and the development community

Areas of key concern to be incorporated into the zoning ordinance include and are not limited to the following:

  • Implementing changes identified as part of the concurrent Comprehensive Plan update process

  • Reduce the number and/or simplify residential zone districts and remove restrictions to increases in residential density;

  • Increase housing opportunities in existing and future neighborhoods;

  • Increase access to attainable housing;

  • Improving equity among Lakewood residents;

  • Removal, simplification, or reduction of parking minimums;

  • Removal, simplification or reduction in the number of dimensional, bulk, and height standards related to development on individual lots;

  • Changes in the number of discretionary approvals requiring a public hearing;

  • Providing graphics and illustrations to supplement, replace, and/or clarify written regulations;

  • Updates to sustainability requirements in coordination with sustainability staff.

For more information within the Request for Qualifications, download the RFQ packet.

Lakewood Strategic Housing Plan

City Council will be considering adoption of the Lakewood Strategic Housing Plan at its regular session next Monday, 2/12/24.
 
The public comment period is open until noon on Monday on LakewoodSpeaks.org. Or you may choose to comment in person at the Council session Monday evening, beginning at 7pm in Council chambers at city hall.
 
You can review a copy of the Council packet and agenda, and leave written comments at LakewoodSpeaks.org. Related documents can be found at LakewoodTogether.org/HousingStrategy.
 
You may recall this document began its development over a year ago with stakeholder surveys, a housing study of market conditions and a presentation to Council at a Study Session in February of 2023. This was followed by a community Housing Survey and, later, an open house. The draft plan was then reviewed by council's Housing Policy Commission over the summer, where several amendments were made as a result of public comments received. Some of you may have commented at that time, and if so, thank you! It had some influence. The draft Plan then sat idle through the November election and council transition. This latest draft was presented to the new council at a Study Session three weeks ago, and is now set to be finally approved by City Council on Monday.
 
Through all of this, the Eiber Neighborhood Association board of directors has been working with other nearby neighborhood organizations to better understand the policy implications of this plan, and we do share some concerns.
 
The Plan is mainly focused on strategies to address the current housing affordability crisis, and it proposes many very good policy ideas. The ENA board recognizes our city is facing considerable affordability challenges, and supports the plan as it applies to affordable housing and homelessness. However, there are subtle statements and proposed initiatives that are intended to stimulate market-rate development as well, based on the economic theory that creating new higher-tier, high-density, market-rate housing will free up successively lower-tier opportunities on down the ladder, eventually resulting in more affordable housing opening up due to this upward migration. We have concerns about how effective this strategy would be, and therefore will not support any policy that relies on this concept.
 
The ENA board has resolved to join other North Lakewood neighborhood organizations in endorsing the objectives of the plan which directly address affordability, but not those aspects that would encourage market-rate development at taxpayer expense. This would include any subsidies, incentives, or waivers that do not directly provide affordable housing or housing security. Our reasoning is that poorly drafted policy based on this concept could result in potential exploitation of our neighborhoods by large private investment interests, and provide little to no affordable housing as a result.
 
Please take an opportunity this week to look at the Housing Plan on LakewoodSpeaks, and add your comments to the discussion, or join us at Monday's council session. Also, feel free to reach out to us at secretary.eiber@gmail.com.

Aspen Heights Lakewood Luxury Apartments

Aspen Heights Lakewood, the large luxury apartment project at 13th and Wadsworth in Eiber, recently suspended development due to financial difficulties. See this Denver Post article.  It has been reported that the partnership is having trouble securing additional financing, and that there is some internal disagreement amongst the partners. Our research has revealed that there are contractor liens against the property exceeding $1M dating back to June of 2023. The partnership is reportedly working to resolve their financial constraints. The city has been in contact with the partnership, but no additional information has been released. The current permit is set to expire in June of this year.
 
Aspen Heights Partners LLC (AHP) is primarily a multi-family development company based in Austin TX. They are held by TriPost Capital Partners LLC, a New York-based private equity firm formed in 2014. In Austin, AHP recently partnered with Grand China Fund - a Beijing-based private equity firm - to develop a large student housing complex there. Another AHP project in Austin - the repurposing of a vacant health center into housing - has been cancelled by the city of Austin after six contract extensions dating back two years (KVUE Austin). AHP had initially proposed to provide 25% affordable units, then downgraded that proportion to 7% affordable, before finally determining any affordable housing would be infeasible for the project. AHP also manages single-family Build-to-Rent properties, an emerging investment-held development strategy that’s reshaping communities around the country.
 
The saga of Aspen Heights Lakewood continues, and they may pull this one off, but it does shed light on the risks to which the city and our community can be exposed from large investment interests and private equity funding.

City of Lakewood Comprehensive Plan Revision Process is Underway

You may have seen the flyer in the current issue of Looking@Lakewood, or received an email from the city, asking four questions about how you "Envision Lakewood" to be in 15 years. Envision Lakewood 2040 is the theme for the latest revision of the Lakewood Comprehensive Plan, due to be developed over the next year or so. By Colorado statute, all municipalities must update their comprehensive plans every 10 years. The 2015 Comp Plan "Moving Forward Together", set the stage for the planning and development we have experienced the past eight years in Lakewood. It also introduced the city's sustainability program, multi-modal transportation plans, parks and recreation, and other planning efforts.
 
The ENA Board will be monitoring this process closely. We hope to be invited to collaborate with the city and other neighborhood organizations throughout this process, but the city so far has been rather reserved. Over many months preceding the 2015 revision, representatives from neighborhood organizations across Lakewood were involved in advisory group sessions, which were very productive and, among other things, helped establish what boundaries do exist today between high-density development and stable neighborhoods. We hope our North Lakewood communities will be given an opportunity this time around too, and we are asking city council to encourage city management to not just reach out by survey, but actually engage in productive dialog with the community.
 
Please take this opportunity to respond to the survey, as simple as it is. A good response, with thoughtful ideas, can do a lot to help guide this planning effort in its early phases. The survey is open through the month of February. You can fill out an online survey at https://www.lakewoodtogether.org/compplanupdate, and also sign up for email updates.

Comprehensive Plan Community Engagement – Feb 9, 5pm, LUMC

Our sister neighborhood organization Sustainable Eiber is hosting a community meeting with the City of Lakewood’s Planning Department, to present more about the city’s Comp Plan process. Come join Sustainable Eiber on Friday, February 9, 5pm at Lakewood United Methodist Church at 1390 Brentwood.

Accessory Dwelling Units (ADU) Policy Information

The Eiber Neighborhood Assoc would like to bring to your attention a couple items that are being considered right now by Lakewood’s Planning Commission, before forwarding on to City Council. We believe these items represent potential consequences to the character and vitality of our neighborhood. We’ve attempted to condense this rather complex topic into a few key points below, and encourage you to give this some thought and provide your opinion to the Planning Commission on LakewoodSpeaks.org or in person at an upcoming meeting. We also ask you to consider contacting your City Council representative with your opinion as this proceeds to Council in the coming weeks and months after the election.
 
There is a Planning Commission regular meeting scheduled for Wednesday Nov 8, at 7pm in Council Chambers or virtually on LakewoodSpeaks.org to discuss the two topics below; Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) policy change, and development of an Affordable Home Ownership policy.
 
Agenda Topic: Proposed changes to the zoning ordinance regarding Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs)
 
Briefly, as part of a greater effort to address housing affordability, city staff is currently reviewing the city’s regulations regarding ADUs. In its current form, the zoning ordinance expects an ADU to be a relatively diminutive accessory structure, basement apartment, or addition, commonly referred to as an in-law apartment. Especially in older parts of the city with large lots such as Eiber, developed earlier in the last century, there already exist many secondary residences which were converted from old orchard sheds or chicken coops to provide housing for vets returning from WW II. Those structures predated the city of Lakewood by decades, and were grandfathered in when Lakewood incorporated and established its early zoning regulations. 
 
When the ADU class of structure was formally introduced into the zoning ordinance a decade ago, the stated intent was to accommodate the pre-existing uses mentioned above and, going forward, to provide a means for elders to age-in-place or for retirees to supplement their income with an on-site rental, among other benefits. In order to mitigate impacts to the character of existing neighborhoods, regulations were developed to limit the size of ADUs, and require that the property owner reside on the property, either in the primary residence or in the ADU. These regulations were intended to discourage non-resident owners from using the property as simply a two-unit income property, and through their absence allowing the property to suffer from neglect as rental properties often do.
 
Today, with renewed attention being placed on housing affordability, ADUs are now being viewed as a convenient option for adding density to what are currently single-family residential (R-1) zones. To encourage more ADU development, the city is suggesting eliminating many of the current restrictions. Below, we’ve noted the changes to the zoning ordinance that are being considered by the Planning Commission along with a brief interpretation of what we believe these changes imply.
 
You can find the full text of the draft resolution at https://lakewoodspeaks.org/items/3304. You can also provide your comments via this site.
 
The Items listed below are the subsections of the ordinance that are being changed, along with our analysis. Other subsections in the ordinance are not discussed here.
 
Item 2 
Current language: “Waivers or variances shall not be granted for an accessory dwelling unit.”
 
Proposed change: “Waivers are allowed only if approved in conformance with Section 17.2.6.4(A).”
 
ENA Interpretation: This change would allow for waivers to ADU regulations, whereas waivers are not possible under the current language. Section 17.2.6.4(A) authorizes the Planning Commission to grant Major Waivers, and the decision of the Commission is final. There is no Council oversight in this scenario.
 
Item 4. 
Current language: “Accessory dwelling units shall not be permitted on lots smaller than 9,000 square feet, regardless of the zone district.”
 
Proposed change: This regulation will be removed. 
 
ENA Interpretation: All single-family properties – i.e. R-1 – would be permitted to build an ADU, regardless of property size.  Note that this might not apply to neighborhoods represented by HOAs, which have their own covenants.
 
Item 5 
Current language: “The owner of the property on which an accessory dwelling unit is located shall occupy either the primary or accessory dwelling unit. Prior to approval of an accessory dwelling unit, the owner shall record a covenant with Jefferson County stating that the owner agrees to restrict use of the primary and accessory dwelling units in compliance with this sub-section. The covenant shall run with the property.”
 
Proposed change: Language above will be removed and replaced with “A permit for an ADU shall only be issued to an owner occupant or their designee.”
 
ENA Interpretation:  Taken literally as it is re-worded, the owner is only required to occupy the property in order to obtain the permit. However, they can later vacate and rent it out, or they can sell it to someone who would rent out both units. By altering the wording, and dropping the covenant requirement, there is nothing that can be used to enforce owner occupation after the permit is granted. 
 
Item 6b - Dimensional Standards
Current language: “The maximum height of a detached accessory dwelling unit shall be 30 feet.”
 
No change proposed, but this regulation is relevant to the items that follow. The height allowance was originally intended to accommodate ADUs over a detached garage.
 
Item 7a - Single-family Dwelling Design Requirements:
Current language: “An accessory dwelling unit shall not exceed 700 square feet of gross floor area and shall contain no more than one bedroom.”
 
Proposed change: “An accessory dwelling unit shall not exceed 1400 square feet of gross floor area.”
 
ENA Interpretation: The 700 sq ft and bedroom limitations intentionally limited the scale of a back yard ADU. Relaxing the size restriction, in combination with the height allowance above, effectively permits a full-size (e.g. 2 or 3 bedroom) second house to be built on any R-1 property in the city. In other words, this wording essentially eliminates all R-1 zones of any size, and in a practical sense renders them R-2.
 
Secondary effects of these changes impact sustainability, including: reduction of permeable surface area which adds runoff to the watershed; increase in the heat-island effect; reduced opportunity for sustainable uses such as gardening or solar; impacts to neighboring back yard privacy; increases in demand on open space due to loss of back yard recreation opportunities; and reduced opportunity to keep large animals and urban livestock.
 
Item 7d - Single-family Dwelling Design Requirements: 
Current language: “Accessory dwelling units located above garages or located on a second floor may be accessed by a separate external stairway. However, a new stairway shall not be located on any street facing façade.”
 
Proposed change: Remove second sentence prohibiting stairways on street-facing facades. 
 
ENA Interpretation: The new stairway can be located on the front of the home or garage leading to the new dwelling unit. This includes a stairway to the basement of a home for entry to the basement rental area. Note that historic districts expressly prohibit this type of modification to maintain the historic integrity of a structure. There is generally no such limitation on side or back faces of a structure.
 
Item 7e - Single-family Dwelling Design Requirements:
Current Language: “Parking shall be provided in accordance with Article 8.” [Article 8 defines minimum and maximum parking requirements for all zone districts, among other things. Article 8 can be found at this link.]
 
Proposed change adds to the language to read: “Parking shall be provided in accordance with Article 8 if off street parking is legally or practically unavailable. Off street parking will be deemed unavailable if the property is located on an arterial or collector street, or if the property is located on a block on which the street is determined to be less than 28 feet wide, or if there are official traffic control signs posted in front of the property prohibiting parking where otherwise permitted.”
 
ENA Interpretation: It’s unclear what the wording of this change implies. It would make more sense if on-street parking were unavailable for an arterial or collector, or a narrow street. The reference to off-street availability is confusing. We are researching this item. Tune in to the Planning Commission meeting to hear the discussion. Recent controversy over parking city-wide makes this a hot-button topic.

Agenda Topic: Affordable Ownership
This is an ongoing discussion by Commission regarding a proposal to create a new zone district which (among other things being considered) would allow smaller lot size and duplex development as a use-by-right. This implies that, in such a district, there would be no public process required (e.g. rezoning by Council) to develop a duplex on a single family property, with certain restrictions to sell at a price dictated by Area Median Income (AMI), a common gauge for affordability.
 
ENA Interpretation: It remains to be seen just where this district might exist within Lakewood. It seems certain though, since Lakewood is already mostly developed, that such a district would have to replace existing R-1 zones. This new zone would also be smaller in size, suggesting that larger R-1 properties could be subdivided into multiple “R-tiny” properties, more than is possible today; i.e. higher density. It should be noted that the R-2 zone designation already exists for duplexes, so the value of this proposal is questionable, other than dictating a market price for such a property.
 
If you’ve read this far, you probably have a valuable opinion about this topic. Please go to LakewoodSpeaks.org and select the appropriate agenda item to provide your comments to the Planning Commission, or contact the ENA if you have questions. 
 
Thank you for your attention!
Eiber Neighborhood Association