April 07, 2026 11:15 AM UTC

Today's Special Election in Lakewood Could Resonate Throughout Colorado

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• by: Colorado Pols

Today is (special) Election Day in Lakewood, Colorado’s fifth-largest city, and the results could have a significant impact on affordable housing efforts throughout the state.

But before we get into that sort of speculation, let’s back up to examine what’s at stake in Lakewood. As Marshall Zelinger reports for 9News:

Lakewood voters have a special election on Tuesday, to decide whether to repeal four zoning ordinances passed by City Council last year or to keep them in place.

The election is the result of a voter initiative to try to undo what City Council put in place to allow more multifamily housing throughout the city.

A YES vote on any of the four questions is a vote AGAINST the zoning ordinance, repealing Council’s decision.

A NO vote is FOR the ordinance, keeping the council decisions in place.

The short version is that  voters are deciding whether or not to repeal four City Council ordinances passed last year that are intended to allow for more multifamily housing developments throughout Lakewood. The changes would allow duplexes and townhomes to be built in areas that had previously been zoned only for single-family homes. Building height limits and setback requirements would remain unchanged.

The zoning changes were also created to comply with new state requirements, such as HB24-1152 (requiring cities to zone for 500 to 750-square-foot accessory dwelling units wherever single-family homes are allowed), and HB24-1304 (prohibiting cities from requiring minimum parking requirements for multifamily complexes constructed in areas considered a “transit service area”).

As State Representative Rebekah Stewart wrote in The Colorado Sun last August, the broader issue is finding a way to address serious housing affordability problem in Lakewood:

More than half of Lakewood renters are cost-burdened, spending over 30% of their income on housing. The average Lakewood home price has jumped from $350,000 in 2017 to $590,000 [in August 2025].

Research shows housing shortages drive up prices — and homelessness. In Jefferson County, unsheltered homelessness has more than doubled between 2022 and 2025…

…The new code loosens overly restrictive rules to allow duplexes and triplexes in more neighborhoods. It’s a strategy shown in other cities to create homes that sell for $300,000 less than the typical single-family home. That price point makes homeownership possible for many more working families.

The update also revises outdated minimum lot size rules that have historically excluded lower-income and more diverse residents. These rules often force people to purchase more land than they need, raising costs and harming the environment. Cities that relax these rules show that while changes are gradual, they make more affordable housing possible over time.

Supporters of the zoning changes (confusingly, the “NO” campaign), include environmental groups; organizations such as the AARP and ACLU; and local elected officials such as Congresswoman Brittany Pettersen (D-Lakewood) and former Congressman Ed Perlmutter (D-Golden).

Opponents of the zoning changes (the “YES” campaign) include a weird coalition of local NIMBYs and MAGA Republicans — the latter of which apparently aren’t sure what Lakewood actually looks like. These folks have promoted a host of misinformation aimed at scaring voters into believing that the City of Lakewood is preparing to bulldoze residential neighborhoods in order to build low-income apartment buildings. Those claims are patently absurd.

Opponents also claim that residents weren’t given enough time to provide input into the zoning changes, but what they really mean is that anti-growth residents didn’t get their way from the City Council (last year’s zoning changes were the culmination of a TWO YEAR outreach process). Lakewood NIMBYs who already have their own housing have regularly fought for local growth caps to keep out anyone else.

If the zoning changes are overruled today, Lakewood would find itself out of compliance with state laws requiring policies to achieve more affordable housing in Colorado. This could reverberate elsewhere, making local governments skittish about moving forward with housing policies that are intended to make cities more affordable for more people.

Change is scary. But so is unaffordable housing.