The Rocky Mountain Deaf School received the Lakewood City Council’s go-ahead to build a new school at the council’s June 25 meeting, with an 8-3 vote to rezone the land.
Voting against the rezoning of the 10-acre plot at 2090 S. Wright St. were council members David Wiechman, Ramey Johnson and Pete Roybal.
Because a legal protest has been filed, the council had to pass the ordinance to rezone with a two-thirds majority.
After two and a half hours of public comment, dominated by neighbors and members of the 2090 Coalition, and nearly two hours of council discussion, it was determined that Jefferson County was in possession of the land, not Lakewood, which was a key issue for many of those opposed to the rezoning.
Ownership of the land has been the most disputed part of the process, with both parties claiming different owners. A reverter clause and unclear history of the land put have made it unclear who currently owns the property,
“Beyond shadow of a legal doubt, it’s not open space. This is privately owned land, owned by the Jefferson County School District,” said Mayor Bob Murphy. “That is the foundational question we’re dealing with. Once we establish that, it gives the owner of land the right to apply for rezoning.”
Those who opposed the rezoning cited mistakes that were made by the city, particularly the fact that signs were put up on the grounds saying it was Lakewood Open Space, which the planning commission found were put up in error. The overarching theme from the opponents was that they were not given enough time and information about the process, which has bubbled over into the tension that many neighbors are feeling.
“Some of the emotion you’ve picked up on tonight is pure frustration with the process,” said Heather Wenger, a member of the 2090 Coalition. “We felt like the process is closed due to quasi-judicial process. We felt like we haven’t been heard.”
Since the quasi-judicial process does not allow the council members to talk with each other or other parties about the issue, frustration at not being heard has been common not only for those on either side, but by the council members as well.
“This is the toughest thing we have to do,” said Councilman Adam Paul. “I guarantee you I read every bit of correspondence I received. There’s a lot of emotion here, but we have to separate the emotion and just look at the facts.”
Though the council passed the rezoning, the matter is not yet at an end.
The 2090 Coalition is already prepared to take the issue to court, and is raising money for a legal fund.
“The property does not belong to Jeffco Schools, plain and simple,” said Greg Kelly, a member of the coalition. “They know that and we know that. That fact is clear and can be honored now or in a court of law, but it will be honored.”
Rich U posted at 4:10 pm on Sat, Jun 30, 2012.
Congratulations to Lakewood City Council for approving (8-3, achieving the required super majority) the rezoning at 2090 S. Wright Street from PD elementary school to 2-R for schools, churches, residential, etc.!
And to the Planning Commission for their 7-0 vote on same!
This issue seemed to me to be a slam dunk - originally zoned for a school, with a "large" street built to supply traffic to the school, so building a deaf school (RMDS)on the site makes good sense.
Of course the neighborhood objected - they nearly always do. And in this case, the site sat vacant for nearly 40 years before the Jeffco School District decided to sell it to the deaf school. In that time, neighbors MISTAKENLY began to assume that they had some ownership and/or that it would always stay vacant.
And there was a minor grey area (now major to the neighbors): the 1973 Official Development Plan (ODP), a zoning document, included a clause that said the land, if not used for a school within 8 years, would revert to City ownership, "for municipal purposes" (NOT necessarily a park!). And a school was not built in that period. But in 1977, four years after the ODP, the land was deeded by the developer to Jeffco Schools with no restrictions, no reverter clause, and no City ownership. The City never owned the parcel, so the property cannot "revert" to the City since the City never owned it.
Clearly some vagueness/confusion/possible errors were made. But that was about 35 years ago. And the only recorded deed for the land was to Jeffco Schools, so obviously they own the site.
Just because its been vacant doesn't mean it has to stay vacant. What about property rights, after all? The owner has rights to use the land, or sell the land. The city/neighbors do have interests in the use of land. But they don't have CONTROL of land that they do not own.
In my opinion, these neighbors are clearly NIMBY's, and I think they should be embarrassed to be such. Neighbors say - not this site! Somewhere else! Not our park! But this vacant grassland is not and has not been a park; it is just a vacant lot, 10 acres adjacent to an existing actual 27-acre park, with more parkland right across the street, another 15 acres. The subject site is open, native-grassed, and weeds, with about 2 trees on it, and reasonably level in comparison to the nearby ravine. There is a ravine park system here, providing for residents and wildlife. The school site, at 2090 S. Wright St., is ADJACENT to a large park, not part of that park.
An area originally designated for a school is to get a school. Lots of time passed. The land is still there, a large street goes to it, Jeffco Schools owns it, and it makes sense for them to sell it to a school for deaf kids. And, it should be noted, the school is only sized for 100 students total, starting with 55 students. A typical elementary school has maybe 400 to 500 kids. The street is more than capable of handling the traffic.
Again, congratulations to the Yes votes on council!
Rich U
mtsmts posted at 4:20 pm on Thu, Jun 28, 2012.
This is a joke. The 2090 people are just a bunch of wining "not in my backyard" fools. Well it's not their backyard and if they want to waste more of their money and tax payer dollars then I guess they have the right. I will however have a good laugh when it gets thrown out of court.
mtsmts posted at 4:18 pm on Thu, Jun 28, 2012.
This is a joke. The 2090 people are just a bunch of wining "not in my backyard" fools. Well it's not their backyard and if they want to waste more of their money and tax payer dollars then I guess they have the right. I will however have a good laugh when it gets thrown out of court.
daBears25 posted at 9:14 am on Thu, Jun 28, 2012.
Give it up 2090 coalition. You lost in the planning commission meeting and you lost at the Lakewood City council meeting.
Your actions are similar to a child being told no.
The fact is Jeffco Schools owns the land. When you buy a house/property, it is your responsibility to find out who owns that vacant parcel of land.