Lakewood growth cap set to expire as state law takes effect

Colorado cities are no longer allowed to put a cap on growth and those that already have policies in place now must consider whether to enforce them.

This comes after state lawmakers passed and Gov. Jared Polis signed a bill banning growth caps and repealing existing ones like those in Boulder, Golden and Lakewood.

Before signing this bill into law Polis issued a written statement saying, "Colorado is facing a housing crisis, and we must all work together to create more housing opportunities for every Colorado budget, not limit them."

The voter-approved "strategic growth initiative" has guided Lakewood's development since its approval in 2019.

"People had been going and saying hey this development isn't following the rules they are not providing the open space they are not providing the parking do something," said Cathy Kentner, who lead the push to get the initiative on the ballot.

She says the intent behind it was to address community concerns not to eliminate growth altogether.

"In a lot of ways, I would say most people would say it actually hasn't been limiting enough," she said.

Now the state is stepping in passing a new law that says cities can no longer "explicitly" limit the number of new housing units that are built, preempting local ordinances.

"It is unfortunate that a citizen-led initiative is no longer legally valid," Lakewood Mayor Pro Tem Wendi Strom said.

Strom and the rest of the Lakewood City Council held an emergency meeting Monday night to decide how best to move forward, ultimately voting to let the city's policy expire by 2026 and allowing them time to work on new policies for growth.

"How can we ease into making sure we are providing the needs for our community, as far as housing goes, but also doing it in a way that the residents were asking for?" she said.

For Kentner the decision has raised a much bigger question: "It's really not about growth and development in Lakewood as it is 'do people like me -- a public school teacher, single mom -- do we really have any say?'"