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05/02/13 Legal Update:
On April 30, our amended answer, counterclaim and cross claim was
submitted to the court.
We believe our arguments are very powerful, but don't take our word for it, download the document and read it for yourself.
It is important to note that we have asked the court to award us our costs for maintaining this action, to include our attorney fees, given the
City of Lakewood violated the Colorado Open Meeting Law (C.R.S. 24-6-402)
on two occasions related to the 2090 property ~ once in 1977 and again in 2012.
(To view the JPS Exhibits referenced in our amended answer, click here)
Click here to view older legal updates.
04/18/13
The Yankee Candle Fundraiser brought in just under $1,000 profit.
Thanks to everyone who placed an order!
In addition, click here to read the latest Lakewood Your Hub article about the 2090 property.
04/10/13
On Tuesday April 9th, in Jefferson County District Court, Judge Enquist, in response to the Motion to Intervene filed by HBG and nine named individuals (residents of the City of Lakewood and Unincorporated Jefferson County), granted the Motion to Intervene in the Quiet Title case between Jeffco Schools and the City of Lakewood.
Despite attempts to discredit the Intervenors by several attorneys for the School District and the City, the months of legal motions and briefs, and substantial evidence presented in the Offer of Proof convinced the court that Intervenors had standing to participate in the lawsuit.
Emilie Rusch, a reporter with the Denver Post Your Hub, covered the hearing and was given the following quote to include in her article. “Of course we are excited,” stated Heather Wenger, a neighbor and intervenor in the case. “We now have the opportunity to present evidence, from the City's own files, regarding the Developer's intent for the land. The evidence will also show the City's long held intent to maintain this property for park use by citizens, if the land was not developed for an elementary school within 8 years of July, 1973. This vital evidence was not disclosed to citizens throughout the entire rezoning process. Citizens continually questioned ownership and intent and were told the City had no knowledge. However, as a result of extensive Colorado Open Records Act research, citizens found the real story."
Look for the full article online at http://yourhub.denverpost.com/ on April 16, and and in the print edition on April 18th.
04/7/13
MANY THANKS!
Thanks to Frontroom Pizza and Papa John's (Green Mountain location) for their contributions!
Thanks to our individual donors for your contributions and ongoing support!
Thanks to everyone who placed a Yankee Candle Order!
Thanks to everyone who is using and reloading their King Soopers Neighborhood Rewards Card (to pay for gas and groceries)!
We could not continue our good works without each and every one of you!
03/15/13
KING SOOPERS 5% REWARDS GIFT CARDS UPDATE
Heritage West/Bear Creek Village/Green Mountain Village (HBG) Neighborhood & Community Organization Reloadable Gift Cards have been a BIG success!
Over 100 are now in use, so the income stream to support the quality of life in our neighborhood is increasing every day.
Check the Take Action page for more details.
Purchases made with these cards support HBG's efforts to keep
2090 S. Wright St. FREE from development.
YOUR cost is zero.
How Does the Card Work?
You pay $5 for a card that is preloaded with $5, then you 'load' the Gift Card at the cash register (before making a purchase)
with any amount and spend it like a prepaid debit card. Ask a cashier or self service register attendant to help you out.
Your receipt shows the remaining card balance so you can recharge it before it gets to zero.
You can also check your balance at any cash register, and there is no limit to how many times the card can be reloaded.
To purchase gasoline at a King Soopers gas station or Loaf N Jug, scan your regular Soopers Card before the transaction as usual,
then swipe the REWARDS Card and the balance remaining is shown before you pump the fuel. Pump your fuel and print your receipt.
How Do You Get a Card?
Call Dale Rosene at 720-209-8427 or email your request to jskimel@gmail.com and delivery will be set up.
You must use a card that we provide in order for HBG to get the 5% donation on each purchase.
(a list of all Kroger Corp. participating businesses is on the back of each card).
These are great gifts that keep giving back to your neighborhood!
03/05/13
Fundraising update! We met our latest fundraising goal...
and earned the $5,000 matching donation.
In addition, the LePeep fundraiser brought in an additional $88.50.
Thank you for your support!
03/02/13
The hearing to determine if we would be allowed in the case was held on Friday, 3/1/13. The judge continued the case, asking that JPS disclose their future plans for the site and she ordered all to parties present their evidence to her. The next hearing will be held on April 9th at 8 AM. Therefore, while we are not officially in the case yet, we get the opportunity to present all the key evidence which demonstrates Lakewood's interest and ownership in the property.
02/03/13
Buy Your Weekly Groceries and Support Open Space!
The King Soopers Neighborhood Rewards Program is a great way to save local open space while shopping for items that you already buy!
Get a card and then every time you shop at King Soopers (or any Kroger brand store) and pay for your items with the card ~ King Soopers will donate
5% of your purchase price to our community.
The Take Action page contains all the details.
Thank you for your continued support!
01/21/13Jeffco Public Schools (JPS) voted on 1/17 to surplus 12.7 acres of land, adjacent to D'Evelyn High School, to allow it to be sold to the Rocky Mountain Deaf School (RMDS). Now that RMDS has an appropriate site for their regional facility, the facts regarding 2090 S. Wright Street can finally come to the forefront without the emotion. You can find more information at: http://dpo.st/13DNcjL
The fight for 2090 is; however, far from over.
The land is still vulnerable to development due to the recent city-wide rezoning AND because the school district refuses to concede, despite the mountain of evidence, that they are not the rightful owner of the property. Tara Schupner's latest article on RMDS closed with this information: "While RMDS moves forward with building its new school, Jeffco Schools isn't done with 2090 [S.] Wright St. Jeffco Schools will continue to seek quiet title to the property with an eye to selling it, [Cindy] Stevenson [superintendent of JPS] said."
Therefore, the lawsuit to determine ownership is ongoing. Our case continues to strengthen as we continue to research and find documents. The lawsuit is also costly; therefore, fundraising is a top priority.
Please also consider a generous donation, which can be made via check or PayPal. See our Take Action page for details, and don't hesitate to contact us if you have questions.
Thank you for your continued support!
01/05/13One of our 2090 Supporters wrote and posted an article in the online Your Hub regarding 2090 S. Wright St.
Click here to read the article, which was posted on 1/4/13.
01/03/13
In December 2012, the city-wide rezoning was approved by the City Council, with 8 council members voting for and 3 against.
(Click here to review the Ordinance and maps.)
2090 S. Wright St. will change from Planned Development to Planned Development/R-1-6, which includes many allowed uses in addition to parkland/open space. Once a judgement is made in the Quiet Title complaint, the property could be developed (or sold and developed) by the declared owner (i.e., the City or Jeffco Public Schools).
The initial hearing is currently scheduled for March 1, 2013.
Our case is strong and we have realistically high hopes of being allowed into the case by the court.
Please consider a generous financial contribution to help cover the ongoing legal expenses.
Thank you very much for all you have done to protect this valued part of our neighborhood from development!
12/10/12
Two more articles regarding 2090.
Article by Hub Reporter, Article by another 2090 Supporter.
12/5/12
Check out our newly created Legal page for the latest information on the Quiet Title Complaint that Jeffco Schools filed against the City
in an attempt to gain clear title of 2090 S. Wright St.
Click here to read the lastest Hub article written by a 2090 Supporter.
11/26/12
New City-Wide Zoning Ordinance Has Far Reaching Impacts,
Including 2090 S. Wright St.
Did you know that the Lakewood City Council is currently scheduled to vote a City-wide Zoning Ordinance into law on December 10th?
This effort will result in sweeping changes that impact every land, business and property owner (residential and commercial).
A few examples:
~ Much of the language is written in a manner that leaves it open to wide interpretation. This creates a lawyer's dream and a citizen's nightmare.
~ The powers granted to the Director of Planning are too broad, especially the far reaching power of interpreting the aforementioned language.
~ Changing all the Zone Districts means that some uses that were not previously allowed in a particular area, including bars, restaurants, adult entertainment, marijuana dispensaries, expanded home occupation areas, live/work conversions, urban agriculture, accessory dwellings, are now allowed. This will most certainly lead to neighborhood disputes when corporations and individuals exercise those options, often at the expense of surrounding homeowners (e.g., noise, restricted and spill-over parking, traffic, loss of views, safety, privacy, etc.).
Click here to check out the latest draft of the new Zoning Ordinance and
click here to read a Hub Article on the matter.
Additional Information specific to 2090 S. Wright St.
If the City-wide rezoning is approved, as currently written, the 2090 S. Wright St. property, which is within the Hutchinsons Green Mountain Village (HGMV) Planned Development (PD), will be rezoned from PD/Municipal Purposes to PD/R-1-6. This is basically the same zoning designation that Jeffco Public Schools applied for and then subsequently withdrew.
The current zoning allows for uses that are compatible with the surrounding neighborhoods, such as open space or a park. The R-1-6 zoning, which according to the draft map is being applied to the entire HGMV Planned Development, allows for incompatible uses such as: Group Homes, Office Space, Religious Institutions, Transportation Facilities, Public or Private Schools, and Utility Facilities, to name a few.
One of the reasons people purchase homes in or adjacent to planned development is because the "plan" protects them from uses that are incompatible with the surrounding neighborhoods. The proposed rezoning to R-1-6 changes the Planned Development/Municipal Purposes zoning to allow incompatible uses.
Please help us by telling everyone you know in Lakewood about this issue.
Then write to your Council Members to 1) demand that the Council rezone 2090 S. Wright St. as Parkland/Open Space, and 2) ask the Council to delay the City-wide Zoning Ordinance vote until well after the holiday season, to ensure that every citizen has ample time to study the draft Ordinance to see for themselves what it contains and how it impacts them, their neighborhood and the City as a whole.
You can also submit your thoughts regarding the new Zoning Ordinance directly to the City Planning and Zoning staff using the form on this page: http://www.playyourpart.org/shareyourthoughts/Default.aspx
11/15/12Hub Article: Citizens Intervene to Protect Lakewood City Property
11/10/12
In response to Jeffco Schools Quiet Title action, and the City of Lakewood disclaiming its interest in 2090 S. Wright St.,
we have filed the following with the District Court:
ANSWER, COUNTERCLAIM, AND CROSS CLAIM and a
MOTION TO INTERVENE
Given all the new information we discovered through multiple Colorado Open Records Requests, we believe our case is quite strong.
Additional information will be posted as it becomes available.
11/5/12
We have been very active lately as a result of a fruitful Open Records request. In the mountain of information, we found multiple documents showing that the attempted rezoning of 2090 S. Wright St. was a concerted effort by Jeffco Schools, RMDS, the City of Lakewood and the Colorado Department of Education BEST Board to quietly surrender Lakewood's ownership of 2090 to the School District.
Click here to download a letter from the Attorney General's office to the City of Lakewood re: 2090 S. Wright St.
They hoped we would not find out. Then they wished we would quietly give up and surrender.
Instead, we have been alert and tenacious, knowing in our souls that something was very wrong with our government's handling of this issue.
Yesterday we sent a letter to the School Board and we attended their public meeting to make sure they know that we know about the Quiet Title action they filed in district court and that we won't rest until this land is turned over to Lakewood and the Open Space signs go back up.
Make sure your voice is heard by writing to all the School Board members, the Mayor and the City Council regarding your concerns.
10/2/12:
Our battle to save 2090 S. Wright Street from development continues.
Click here to download the latest flyer.
The audacity of our public officials to tell the citizens that the School District owns the land while the School District is filing a lawsuit to claim ownership is astounding and very disturbing.
Please send emails to keep the pressure on our public officials and send the flyer to everyone you know in Jefferson County. It is especially important to keep pressure on the School District ...
Let's make a lot of noise and raise the heat on them.
See Take Action page for email addresses.
9/23/12:
Phone message goes out to thousands of Lakewood residents.
"Hi, my name is Jessica and I’m a Lakewood neighbor--and I just wanted to thank you and the 8,000 citizens that signed the recent City petition to stop another bad land deal. It didn’t make any sense to build a school on our open space when so many schools are closing and vacant. Because of our petition, CITY COUNCIL OVERTURNED THEIR VOTE TO DEVELOP 2090 S WRIGHT ST. You would think that we the people have spoken. But Jeffco Schools is still trying to grab this land away from Lakewood. Since the petition, Jeffco Schools has quietly filed a lawsuit against our City to try to get a judgement that they own 2090 S Wright St. This land doesn’t belong to them--and they know it. This is a piece of Lakewood open space. We need your help to say NO to GRABBING our land assets. Please go to 2090coalition.com and ask the Mayor and Jeffco Schools why they are still letting this happen. Thank you for helping keep our government accountable."
See Take Action page for email addresses for Mayor and others.
9/21/12
Lakewood Open Space Still Under Threat
9/11/12
Use the following link to watch the 9 News story that ran yesterday at 6 PM, which was expanded and slightly revised from the 4 PM story, and
be sure to read the article below the video which contains additional information.
9/10/12
The Lakewood City Council voted to rescind the rezoning of
2090 S. Wright St. and Jeffco Public Schools has
withdrawn the application to rezone 2090 S. Wright St.
Sadly there is no time to celebrate.Jeffco Public Schools has filed a Quiet Title action in an attempt to gain clear title to the property.
If they succeed, this could mean that a smaller school or other development might ultimately be approved for 2090 S. Wright St.
We will continue to focus on saving this property from any development.
Donations are still needed to help fund legal actions that will be required to
stop JPS from selling or developing this property and to ensure that
the City of Lakewood represents the citizen and protects the City's assets.
the City aggressively defend against this blatant land grab!
8/29/12
City Clerk declares Initial Sufficiency for the Petition of Referendum
Click here to read: Proposed Alternate Site for RMDS is a Win for All
8/27/12
Check out the latest Sentinel article on the 2090 S. Wright St. property.
8/12/12
Click here to download the Don't Rezone 2090 S Wright St flyer.
(Note: We are no longer collecting signatures)
8/11/12
Check out a 9 News Article on the 2090 S. Wright St. property.
8/10/12
We have met our goal! Thank you 2090 Supporters! We did it!
Over 8,000 signatures were submitted to the City Clerk's office on Thursday afternoon because of your hard work and dedication.
Through the petition process, the citizens of Lakewood have spoken and they have spoken loudly – demanding the right to vote, for themselves, whether 2090 S. Wright Street should remain open space or be rezoned for a regional charter school and a whole host of other possibilities.Despite the small number of vocal opponents, who employed tactics that attempted to impede our Constitutional right to petition, the true feelings of the community are now clear: Lakewood citizens signed the petition by the thousands.
Our volunteers and professionals can rest assured that their hard work has paid off. The petition was submitted Thursday, August 9 at 2pm to the city clerk and now we eagerly await the validation process.
After the petition is validated, the Lakewood City Council must decide between reversing their decision and bringing this issue before the voters. Either way, it is the citizens of Lakewood who have won.
In addition, on Monday, July 23, our group of concerned citizens filed a Rule 106 action to contest and overturn the rezoning of 2090 South Wright Street. This suit was served on the three principles in the rezoning action: the City of Lakewood, the Lakewood City Council and the Jefferson County School District because for months, citizens pleaded with the Mayor and the City council to reject this illegal rezoning ordinance, but have been ignored. Elected officials and city administrators did not represent the citizens of Lakewood when they tried to quietly extract the City’s interest and approved the improper rezoning request by Jeffco Public Schools.
We are part of the process and cannot be ignored.
Our message is clear:
We demand government transparency and true representation
by our city officials.
7/27/12
Click the 2 links below to read information on Lakewood Hub
Rezoning not clear-cut
Rezoning of 2090 S. Wright St. is Illegal
*All meeting dates, times & locations are subject to change; be sure to confirm specific dates with these individual's or organizations. Click here to view Ward meeting information on the City website.
Location:
***
Attending:
Location:
(720) 336-0653
openspaceinfo@2090coalition.com
2090 Coalition - PO Box 44 - Morrison, CO 80465
