Fear Sells, Complexity Doesn’t: Lakewood’s wealthy minority overrides the democratic process to kill housing reforms (opens in new tab)

Lakewood, Colorado was doing everything right, but it still wasn’t enough for local NIMBYs. The town residents overwhelmingly supported pro-housing candidates for the council, councilmembers who drafted zoning ordinances to bring the town into compliance with Colorado law. Their modest reforms would have helped boost local housing production and kept them eligible for state infrastructure grants. But despite dedicated work from local organizers, voters in April repealed the reforms in a remar...