At monday night's City Council meeting, the Council voted 9-2 (with Vicki Stack and Doug Anderson in objection) to create what the City is calling the "TMU zone district." TMU is a new "transit-oriented" zone area that is being overlayed not only on Colfax, but also on Union Blvd. It rezones in MASS, all parcels that lie within its boundaries-whether or not owners are in agreement. The purpose of the TMU is to encourage development along the areas where Lakewood anticipates the RTD light rail. Included in this massive rezoning are hundreds of homes.

Many residents are opposed to the TMU zoning. The light rail will happen whether or not Lakewood rezones property. However, with the TMU zoning, it allows developers easier access to develop properties that are currently single family homes and small businesses. The City of Lakewood is attempting to create a "new Lakewood" because evidently they are not happy with the one we currently have.

One has to ask, who is driving this "vision" of new age urbanization? Are Lakewood's quiet neighborhoods and small streets not good enough for Mike Rock and his City Council? For what purpose are we driving ourselves out of our own City to make way for high-packed density housing, more apartments, and less open space?

From an uneducated perspective, many Lakewood citizens do not perceive the consequences of this zone change. For example, they are not aware that open space parks are not included as a conforming use in this zone district. Rather, this district encourages high density, as stated by planner Smantana at the public hearing monday night.

It also begs the question: who is this zone district for? Currently in Lakewood, the apartment/condo market is so low that financers are selling entire buildings to cut losses. Lakewood is a community (WAS a community) of single family homes, a few scatered multi-family units, and a fair amount of horse property. The Lakewood that will be actualizing with TMU is one of high traffic, high density, and lower average incomes.

Vicki Stack and Doug Anderson opposed this measure Monday night. They voiced strong opposition to the "pressing the thumb down" on the community to recreate Lakewood to the standard of Mike Rock. They also noted that RTD has nothing to do with this, that RTD will happen regardless, and that this is only an attempt to quicken development, benefit large investment companies with the capability of purchasing large areas, and force a substandard quality of life for those people who do not want to sell out.

Is anyone else worried about what's happening to our city? Be aware, also, that YOUR property could be subject to this rezoning. Consider what would happen if your neighborhood is rezoned, your next door neighbor sells out to a mega developer who builds an office building next to your house. Would you want to live there anymore?

Many residents attended the public hearing monday night in opposition to this. It fell, as usual, on deaf ears. Many residents simply wanted a modification of the district, a clarity around the abiguous nature of the language. That, too, was ignored by Mayor Burkholder and the majority of Councilors.

Such is the consequence of the passage of this zone district on Monday night. A clever way to reurbanize and recreate a City that those in power do not hold dear. Remember this article in 2 years, when our streets are packed with traffic, our single-family living is gone, and our City is no longer what we used to know as Lakewood.