This post was authored by Alexandra Haggarty. Alex is a summer clerk at Otten Johnson, and a rising 3L at the University of Colorado Law School.
This post is an update on three earlier posts about a citizen initiative to limit residential growth in Lakewood, Colorado.
With a near 53 percent majority, voters in the City of Lakewood approved Ballot Question 200, capping growth of residential unit construction by one percent annually and requiring city council approval of projects with forty or more units. The city joins Boulder and neighboring Golden in responding to Colorado’s population growth by capping development.
Proponents of the initiative argue that it will preserve Lakewood’s culture and environment. Specifically, the initiative was pitched as a way to preserve open space, protect single-family development, ensure that infrastructure and services are not overburdened, and curb alleged problems of unmanaged growth, such as crime and urban decay.
Continue Reading
