Reminder 2026 - This petition asks Lakewood to protect wildlife via open space buffers in addition to protecting Belmar Park.  While much attention has been given to protecting Belmar Park, the City of Lakewood has ignored your signatures on both asks of this petition.

Even though this petition was included in public input regarding the new and extreme rezoning of the entire city, Lakewood City Council totally ignored the need for wildlife buffers and totally ignored all of the 7,600+ signatories to this petition and adopted their rezoning while giving all of you a giant poke in the eye.  

Because Lakewood has moved forward with radical rezoning of the entire city that totally ignores the request for wildlife buffers, we recommend all Lakewood voters Vote YES on all four ballot questions on April 7, 2026 to Repeal Radical Rezoning. 

To volunteer or donate to the YES campaign to Repeal Radical Rezoning, please visit the Lakewood Citizens Alliance. 

If you think this is about affordable housing, please remember Lakewood did not include any requirement for affordable housing in their radical rezoning!  This is really about developers monetizing the public commons without regard for protecting wildlife, open spaces, habitats or parks. 

Also see this webpage!

Emphasizing The Need for Wildlife Buffers:

This petition includes the request that the City of Lakewood, Colorado amend the city's municipal land use code to include the provision used by the City of Fort Collins, Colorado regarding buffer zones to protect natural habitats and features.  This provision is expressed in Article 3.4 of Fort Collins' Land Use Code.

Many cities across the United States have implemented natural area or habitat setback requirements to protect sensitive environments. These regulations are becoming increasingly common as communities recognize the importance of preserving ecological balance and biodiversity.

Some notable examples include:

Fort Collins, Colorado: Requires setbacks for developments near natural habitats and features.

Redmond, Washington: Has specific setback requirements for residential zones to protect natural features.

San Diego, California: Implements setbacks to protect coastal and riparian habitats.

These measures help ensure that development projects do not negatively impact critical wildlife habitats, wetlands, and other sensitive areas.

If the Fort Collins Land Use Code were applied to the Belmar Park project proposal at 777 South Yarrow Street, a setback of 300 feet would be required.

We encourage future candidates for Lakewood City Council to publicly support this amendment to Lakewood's land use code. 

The Parallel Need to Protect Belmar Park:

Belmar Park in Lakewood, Colorado is an unprotected bird sanctuary.

Click here to join our email list 

Visit our website at:  SaveBelmarPark.com

The photo shows a Great Blue Heron nest in Belmar Park, Colorado by Dr. Michael Pardo.

The future of the park's bird and wildlife habitat is now uncertain due to a proposed 800,000+ square foot apartment building adjacent to the park's eastern boundary and riparian habitat.  This is more than 13 football fields.

Over 230 bird species have been observed at Belmar Park according to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology Ebird.com.

48 bird species of conservation concern (BCC) in or near Belmar Park are listed by the Avian Knowledge Network RAIL database.

Belmar Park is listed as an Ebird Hotspot.

Belmar Park is within the Central Flyway migration corridor of North America.

Birds are disappearing:

 

 

 

 

• 2.9 billion adult breeding birds lost in North America since 1970.  
• Half of Colorado's birds are in decline. 
• Habitat loss including due to development is the #1 driver of bird population declines.
• 2 out of 3 North American bird species face extinction.
• Healthy bird populations help keep away invasive insects like emerald ash borer which is closing in on Lakewood, CO.

Benefits of acquiring this parking area via Eminent Domain:

• Preserving the parking lot is the only way to preserve the important existing buffer zone separating Belmar Park that may help mitigate wildlife impacts.
• Preserves many of the 66 large trees used by  bird species that would otherwise be cut down.
• Preserving as many of these trees as possible is the only way to preserve their canopy habitat because Lakewood does not require science-based basal area tree replacements as recommended to City Council by the Audubon Society.
• Preserves optimal public parking spaces for Belmar Park visitors that would otherwise be lost.
• Obviates the plan by the City of Lakewood to pave undeveloped public land in or near Belmar Park for parking. 

The existing paved parking area has been used by Belmar Park visitors for decades and provides the closest access to the park.  The previous owner of 777 S Yarrow allowed the public to use the parking lot to access Belmar Park.  

The new owner, Kairoi Residential, intends to construct an apartment building including the area previously available for public parking.  The proposed apartment building includes no affordable housing units or mixed use retail or commercial space.

What Can I Do?

1) Join our mailing list.

2) Write a letter to the editor of the Denver Post

3) Attend Lakewood City Council meetings and express your opinion(s) regarding Belmar Park during the public comment segment. 

You can attend and comment either in-person at city hall or remotely.  See link below for next meeting date and remote access instructions.

List of upcoming meetings including City Council meetings  

4) Contact your Lakewood City Council representative and ask him/her to support the Eminent Domain action.

Contact Info Page for Lakewood City Council 

Look up your Ward number

5) If you have contacts with any environmental or wildlife organizations, encourage their attorneys to get involved and ask if they will inform their members about this petition.

Questions?  Email me at: join@savebelmarpark.com 

Why Eminent Domain?

Lakewood City Council previously voted down a thoughtful package of mitigations at their October 23, 2023 meeting.  The package they rejected was even vetted by a supportive city council member who is also a practicing attorney in Colorado.  City council members did not offer to adopt any counter proposal or to amend the mitigation package. 

The position of Lakewood City Council is that there is nothing they can do. Therefore, using Eminent Domain is a reasonable option because they are vested with that power and because they insist they cannot do anything else. 

Even after an Eminent Domain action to preserve the parking lot, approximately 2/3 of the property at 777 S Yarrow St would still be owned by Kairoi Residential or subsequent owners or partners.

It has also been reported that Kairoi is under contract to purchase the property across the street at 777 S Wadsworth.  They could build another project up to 12-stories there under the current zoning.

How to Avoid Habitat Impacts:

The US Fish and Wildlife Service advises: “The best way to avoid habitat impacts is to avoid placing development in or near important bird habitat.” https://www.fws.gov/story/threats-birds-habitat-impacts

A key purpose of the Lakewood Zoning Ordinance as stated at  17.1.2(C) is to 'protect and enhance the natural environment'.  

Constructing an apartment building over 13 football fields in size within 100 feet of riparian bird habitat ignores both the US Fish and Wildlife recommendation and this primary purpose of the Lakewood Zoning Ordinance 'to protect and enhance the natural environment'.

Clearly, preserving this historic parking area via Eminent Domain for use by park visitors serves multiple beneficial public interests.

Therefore,  we request that Lakewood City Council acquire the existing parking lot on the north, west and south sides of the Irongate property at 777 S Yarrow Street in Lakewood, Colorado 80226 for an estimated area of at least 78,000 square feet via Eminent Domain instead of paving a proposed new parking lot on undeveloped, unpaved city land in or near the park itself.

Funding Options:

Both 777 S Yarrow and Belmar Park are in the West Alameda Corridor Reinvestment Area (WACRA).  

According to the Executive Director of the Lakewood Reinvestment Authority (LRA), the reason Belmar Park is in the WACRA is so that WACRA funds may be spent to improve the park.  However, no such funds have ever been spent by the WACRA on Belmar Park in over 25 years that the WACRA has been in existence.  

Preserving the existing parking area would directly benefit Belmar Park and would be an appropriate use of these funds that have not yet been used for the benefit of the park in over 25 years.

Funds from the developer might also be redirected to this improvement instead of paving a new lot on undeveloped public land on the north side of 777 S Yarrow.