u/303Kelly

Forbes piece out today on Lakewood's April 7 special election

TL;DR:

• Lakewood (165k people, politically moderate Denver suburb) passed missing middle zoning reform after 2 years of community input
• Opponents gathered signatures to force a rollback vote using classic NIMBY misinformation — "bulldozing neighborhoods," apartment buildings everywhere, etc.
• The reform is actually extremely modest: duplexes and townhomes allowed where only SFH were permitted, height limits unchanged, 50% green space required per lot
• Cities that have passed similar reforms (Minneapolis, Auckland) have seen rent stabilization and no increase in demolitions

The reason this matters nationally: Lakewood is not San Francisco or Austin. It's a middle-income, politically mixed suburb — exactly the demographic where reform usually dies. If it survives here, it's a replicable template. If the rollback wins, it'll be used as ammunition against zoning reform in moderate communities everywhere.