May 29 Update
The following provides information on the city’s review of wildlife concerns and Lakewood’s required tree preservation plan for the development:
- A component of the site plan that the Planning Commission approved on May 7 is the landscape design standards, which include both existing tree preservation and tree replacement. With the Planning Commission's approval, the developer can proceed with the landscaping items.
- As with any homeowner in the city, the developer does not need the city's permission or a permit to remove trees on the private property.
- As outlined in the declaration(PDF, 224KB) submitted to District Court, staff from the Sustainability and Community Development Department and the Community Resources Department, including the city forester, thoroughly reviewed the feasibility of transplanting mature trees from the property and several other aspects of the development’s tree preservation plan. Please review the declaration(PDF, 224KB) to understand why staff determined that the preservation plan was sufficient to comply with Lakewood’s tree preservation ordinance.
- The city has ensured the major site plan has followed the applicable environmental laws and regulations.
Statement regarding Planning Commission’s May 7 action
At its May 7 meeting, the Lakewood Planning Commission voted 5-0 to approve the site plan for a new residential building at 777 S. Yarrow St. The Planning Commission consists of Lakewood residents, and the task before the commission was to determine whether the development’s site plan meets the city’s zoning requirements. Normally, the determination on whether a site plan meets the zoning requirements is performed administratively by staff, and there is no public input or review by City Council.
In this case, the planning director referred the decision-making to the Planning Commission because of the community concern about the proposed development and to provide transparency about the scope of the authority that the zoning requirements provide in reviewing developments.
The property owner has a property right under the law to develop the property as long as the development meets the zoning requirements. As a result, the Planning Commission’s decision is based solely on whether the site plan meets the zoning requirements. The commission cannot base its decision on personal preferences for the development or whether the community likes or dislikes the development.
The commission found that the site plan complied with the zoning requirements, including in the following ways:
- It met the use standards because this use is allowed within the downtown Lakewood district.
- It met the dimensional and development standards for the zone district in downtown Lakewood.
- It met the parking standards, which require parking to be in a structure, but not on the street or in a parking lot between the building and the street.
- All other zoning standards including conformance with the Comprehensive Plan were found to have been met.
The approval by the Planning Commission is the final approval needed for this development to proceed. The commission’s approval does not involve a recommendation to City Council, and it does not require any City Council action. Site plans are not subject to political review because of the property owner’s property right entitled by law. It is anticipated that building permits will be issued, and construction on the site will commence later this year.
A component of the site plan approval is the landscape design standards, which include both existing tree preservation and tree replacement. With the Planning Commission's approval, the developer can proceed with the landscaping items, and as with any homeowner in the city, the developer does not need the city's permission or a permit to remove trees from the property.
The city understands the concerns surrounding this development, and it remains committed to protecting Belmar Park by requiring the following items:
- 8,600 square foot parkland dedication on the development’s property next to the park that involves a historic pumphouse and preserves the viable trees.
- No trees were ever to be removed or affected in the adjacent Belmar Park.
- $415,200 mitigation fee to compensate for removal of 66 trees on the development’s property. The fee will pay for the following:
- Tree plantings in Belmar Park including immediately adjacent to the development.
- Shrub planting in Belmar Park to support wildlife habitat.
- Planting of trees in Ward 3, where this development is located.
- 174 trees to be planted.
- 2,054 shrubs to be planted rather than the required 179 shrubs.
- 7 trees to be preserved on the development’s property.
Lakewood Planning Commission Meeting
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March 13, 2025: Demolition of the existing building has begun under a demolition permit issued by the city. This work will address issues surrounding the existing dilapidated structure including residents who are unhoused entering the building. The review of the proposed apartment building continues, with a Planning Commission public hearing scheduled for May 7.
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Jan. 8, 2025: A date hasn’t been set for the Planning Commission meeting yet. Stay tuned for future updates.
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March 12, 2024: City statement(PDF, 87KB) regarding the referral to the city's Planning Commission.
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March 8, 2024: Planning director emailed(PDF, 115KB) City Council that this case will be referred to Lakewood’s Planning Commission because of the indication of an appeal as part of the city’s review of the project.
- Feb. 12, 2024: Kairoi submits letter(PDF, 2MB) outlining its commitments on the project as part of the facilitated discussion and a response from the Belmar Commons Homeowners Association is pending.
- Jan. 8, 2024: Low and Stewart Letter to Kairoi(PDF, 162KB)
- Dec. 14, 2023: Dec. 6 meeting minutes(PDF, 326KB).
- Dec. 6, 2023: The first facilitation between the Kairoi Residential development team, adjacent neighbors, and the city occurred on Dec. 6 and was productive.
- Nov. 27, 2023: Kairoi Residential, the owner and developer of this private property, will begin a facilitated discussion during the first week of December with neighbors of 777 S. Yarrow St. Please see the facilitated discussion section for more information. The members of the discussion group will decide what their meeting schedule will be. During this process, the developer has paused the proposed development, as was announced in an Oct. 18 a letter to City Council(PDF, 113KB).
The four acres at 777 S. Yarrow St. is privately owned land that has an older dilapidated and abandoned two-story office building surrounded by a parking lot. The office building has been there since the 1970s, and it is adjacent to Belmar Park. The office building’s parking lot abuts the park, and visitors to Belmar Park have used the office building’s parking lot as the parking location to access the park for decades.
The proposed development of this property does not involve or include any parkland, and this property was never part of Belmar Park and has always been private property. The owners of the office building and the surrounding parking lot recently sold to another private owner. Any statement that parkland has been sold is incorrect. The zoning on the property has remained the same with the sale of the property, and it allows multistory buildings such as this proposed development as part of downtown Lakewood.
Due to the development’s proximity to an existing multifamily residential complex and the park, community members have voiced concerns about the possible impacts of this project.
There are 1,400 housing units within 500 feet of the park. Developments adjacent to the park include the following:
- Two-story multifamily town home complexes on the east, west and north side of the park.
- Duplexes and single-family homes on the east and south of the park.
- Belmar Library on the east side of the park.
- Lakewood’s Public Safety Center on the north side of the park.
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The facilitated discussion is a way to conduct in-depth discussions between parties to find jointly acceptable resolutions to issues causing a conflict.
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The discussion for the proposed development at 777 S. Yarrow St. will encourage dialogue between Kairoi and the immediate neighbors to have residents’ concerns discussed and better taken into consideration. This kind of negotiation can’t be conducted at a public meeting, and public meetings are not designed to resolve conflicts.
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Lakewood has hired a professional facilitator to conduct this process. The facilitator does not act as a judge or arbiter, but rather acts as a neutral third party to keep the discussion productive.
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Kairoi, Belmar Commons HOA and Lakewood have been asked to provide up to three representatives for this facilitated discussion.
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Residents from across the city and even those who live outside Lakewood have expressed concerns about this proposed development. The representatives participating in the facilitated discussion are informed of those concerns, particularly because an email and other campaigns have been conducted to convey those concerns.
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Prior to convening as a group, all the representatives have the opportunity to meet privately with the facilitator to discuss the issues and familiarize themselves with the process.
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All representatives will be provided with stipulated facts concerning 777 S. Yarrow St., including information related to history, zoning, and currently proposed site plans.
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A meeting agenda will be created and shared with all of the representatives.
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During the meetings, all representatives will have an opportunity to discuss the issues with the assistance of the facilitator.
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If some consensus emerges that all representatives in the discussion wish to include in a written agreement, they may do so.
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At the end of the discussions, the facilitator will share meeting notes that will be made available to the public.
As with any homeowner in Lakewood, this privately owned property has property rights. In this case, those property rights include allowing the owner to develop a multistory building for residential use in Lakewood’s downtown. The right to develop the multistory building is known as a “use by right,” meaning this use is tied to the property as an inherent property right and requires no rezoning or review by City Council to develop it with that use.
Also similar to homeowners in Lakewood who have a “use by right” on their properties, there is not a process where adjacent neighbors have a say in how a property owner develops the property under this “use by right.” These are the same property rights that you as a homeowner in Lakewood have on your property.
This property has had this property right to build multistory uses for a long time, and courts have been quite clear that elected officials and cities can’t impinge or impede a private property owner’s property rights allowed under a “use by right.” Courts have viewed efforts to do this as a “taking” of property rights.
Because development is occurring under the existing property rights, the proposed development will occur solely through the administrative process managed by the Planning Department. That means the Planning Department will review the development to ensure it is meeting the city’s regulations for setbacks of the building, heights, green space requirements, landscaping, etc. This administrative review process typically takes numerous rounds, and in this case is expected to continue for several months. Kairoi Residential has agreed to pause the submittal and review process for two months.
Please see the answers to frequently asked questions for additional information.