REMI Partnership Study Explores Impact of Growth Cap on the Lakewood Ballot

Higher property taxes, more stress on transportation infrastructure will result from imposed growth caps according to new study

On June 10, 2019, the REMI Partnership released “Building Gated Cities – Policy Brief Understanding the Impacts of 1% Growth in Lakewood.”

Next month, Lakewood voters will face Initiative 200, a proposal that seeks to impose a 1% cap on the growth of the city’s housing. The measure known as “The Strategic Growth Initiative,” was introduced in 2017 and has been tied up in court for the past two-and-a-half years.

Through an examination of established growth caps in Boulder and Golden, the study is able to fully grasp the effects the 1% cap would have on the city of Lakewood. For instance, in the late 1970s, Boulder imposed a 2% annual limit on residential growth. Within just a few years, a gap in affordability was created, slowly widening over time, creating a permanent feature in the region’s housing market.

“The research speaks for itself – limiting growth will have a significantly negative impact on affordability for Lakewood families,” said Elizabeth Peetz, Vice President of Government Affairs, Colorado Association of REALTORS®.

To read the full article, please visit the Common Sense Policy Roundtable website by clicking here.