LAKEWOOD, Colo. - After more than a year of protests and thousand of petition signatures, a community group hoping to change the city's rules for developers was successful.
Starting Saturday, that new citizen led initiative goes into effect.
Under current city rules, a developer who does not want to dedicate some of the existing green space on a property they bought to the city for park land, must then pay a fee in lieu of the dedication. Those fees are then used for improvements to other parks and open spaces in Lakewood.
Critics have said they're concerned over the protection of green spaces if major developers can afford to just pay the fees each time.
"Personally, I do think it's really important to be mindful of protecting green spaces for the environment. For the sake of the wildlife the other people that live in this community," said Regina Hopkins, a member of the "Save Belmar Park" community group.
The citizen led initiative removes the option for developers to pay the fee-in-lieu. Enough signatures put the issue before the City Council in early November.
At that point council members could either send the ordinance to the voters or approve it themselves. In an 8-3 vote, it was approved.
Community members behind the citizen led ordinance call it a major win for open spaces. But even the council members who approved it, called it something else.
"This is an illegal ordinance. This ordinance is illegal under both State and Federal law," said Dave Rein, Lakewood City Councilmember for Ward 4 prior to the vote.
In an effort to encourage more affordable housing projects, State Legislators passed HB24-1313 "Housing in Transit-Oriented Communities" which requires: "A local government shall provide the private property owner the option of paying a fee in lieu of dedication" when it comes to parks, trails and other open spaces.
Council members flagged the issue but the legality of a citizen led ordinance can't be questioned until it's on the books.
"No discretion rests with administrative officers to pass upon the validity of an ordinance proposed by The People. Such ordinance being clothed with the presumption of validity and its constitutionality will not be considered by the courts prior to its adoption," Lakewood City Attorney Alison McKenney Brown read from case law, "After it is adopted, it can be questioned by anybody who feels harmed by it. So at this point, whether it's legal or not is is not something that we can discuss."
In the end, several council members begrudgingly supported the measure to allow for a legal discussion to take place.
"Because this citizen initiative will face significant legal challenges for numerous reasons, I believe it would have been wasteful to spend anywhere from $175,000 to $350,000 of taxpayer’s funds on a special election, when the outcome will ultimately end up being decided in court. I think it would also be a misrepresentation to residents to have them vote on an initiative when that vote is likely to become moot," said Lakewood Mayor Wendi Strom in a statement sent to Denver7.
The new ordinance goes into effect on Saturday. Lakewood City Planners have been notified that a lawsuit will be filed regarding the new ordinance "very soon."
"I also want residents to know that we are listening to them. The city has been working all year to revise the parkland dedication requirements because of their concerns. The fee in lieu nearly doubled starting in June to $432,727 per acre, and additional revisions are also in the works. It has taken some time for this because of the in-depth review that staff and City Council have been making around the whole process," Strom continued in her statement.
The effort behind the new ordinance came after controversy over a proposed plan to build an apartment complex next to Belmar Park.
"We're still going to proceed forward and challenge it, if it needs to be challenged. We want the city of Lakewood to uphold the its ordinances and protect what the ordinances are designed to protect," said Hopkins.