By Catie Cheshire | Westword
As members of Lakewood City Council predicted when they passed a controversial new open-space law last November, the City of Lakewood has been named in a suit claiming that the law is illegal and being applied unfairly to a planned development next to Belmar Park.
In September, Lakewood residents successfully petitioned to eliminate the city’s option to allow developers to pay a fee to build parks instead of dedicating parkland for each development; the council had no choice but to either send the issue to a special election or turn the petition into law. As a result, every project must now dedicate 10.5 acres of parkland for every 1,000 people expected to live at a new Lakewood development.
Kairoi Properties filed the lawsuit in Jefferson County District Court on December 20, asking the court to rule that the law is void when properties cannot meet the new land dedication requirements, since they no longer have the option of paying a fee instead. The real estate company is arguing that its properties in Lakewood are so small that the ordinance makes development impossible.