Summary of the following post: The majority of Lakewood Planning Commissioners voted Wednesday, April 16, 2025 against including a stretch of Gravelly Lake Drive in a tax incentive to promote multifamily housing. Their recommendation will go to the City Council for a final decision. There will be more said, this time by the public, at […]
Letter: Ignorance Isn’t Always Bliss: What Those Blue Yard Signs Are Trying to Tell You Before It’s Too Late
Most people in Lakewood care about our community. And if not their community, most people care about what happens up and down their street. A city proposal to give developers a tax break to replace small businesses, tree groves and the abandoned library site with box apartments should get everyone’s attention. It has – to […]
Lakewood at 30: A Century in the Making
The City of Lakewood is about to celebrate its 30th birthday. That makes Lakewood sound like a ‘new kid’ among cities. Yet while Lakewood’s official identity came later in its life, Lakewood’s community roots go back at least a century. How do we know that the community goes back at least a century? This month, […]
Breaking the Silence: Lakewood’s Bold Move on Public Lake Access
It’s time to give the last couple Lakewood City Councils and city staff credit for having more courage than past City Councils. And I say that having served eight years on four different councils myself. (in case you’re wondering about the math – you get a new council every two years after election, even if […]
The most important decision this Lakewood City Council is going to make
One can never predict the future, of course, but the choice of a new city manager is probably the most important decision the current Lakewood City Council is going to make. So you, informed citizen, are going to want to know about it. I’ll tell you what little I know, and then please stay tuned […]
Letter: We pay a price whether or not we pay for local news
This isn’t something I like to dwell on, but it’s important. Back in 1995, when The Lakewood Journal endorsed cityhood, I misled voters. I didn’t do it on purpose, but the outcome was the same. At the time, I assured readers that if the new city proposed changes, good or bad, the public wouldn’t be […]
Letter: Why it’s so hard to have a discussion about land use?
One of the big challenges of talking about land use is that people talk at cross-purposes to each other. It’s almost as if the system is designed to create confusion and ensure money-making projects go through. But it also makes it personally frustrating for people concerned about land use. Let me explain. For Exhibit 1 […]
Apartments or Local Shops for Lakewood? Have Your Say at a Feb. 19 Public Hearing
The City of Lakewood is considering expanding its Multi-Family Tax Exemption (MFTE) program, a policy that could significantly reshape the character of our community in specific parts of Gravelly Lake Drive and unspecified parts of Oakbrook, Springbrook and Tillicum. The Lakewood Planning Commission, which advises the City Council, is holding a public hearing on Feb. […]
Lakewood City Council: The Untold Story of What Happens Beyond Monday Nights
The majority of the Lakewood City Council recently decided to reduce its meetings from four Mondays a month to three. This decision prompts me to reflect on my own experiences as a council member and offer a practical perspective on what it means. We should be fine with it if council members had said, “We […]