The significance of Lakewood's crushing anti-density vote

... Lakewood’s proposed ordinances would have opened districts now zoned “single-family residential” to multi-family use...

Up-zoning is now part of a national movement, driven mostly by the political Left, but also supported by some mistaken libertarians. The professed goal is to make housing more affordable by sweeping away single-family zones and piling people on top of each other...

Densification measures are similar to other “progressive” proposals in this respect: They purport to cure problems that “progressives” themselves created or aggravated—and to do so by shifting burdens onto innocent people.

Gun control is a good analogy. Many areas of the country suffer from crime waves due to lax law enforcement and social programs that shatter families and encourage dependence. But rather than change the policies that caused the problems, “progressives” promote gun control to shift the onus onto innocent gun owners...

When a person purchases a house in an established single-family zone, the zoning is baked into the price he pays. What he pays for is not just a lot and building, but a particular quality of life...

The pro-densification campaign was supported heavily by left-leading individuals and organizations. Among the individuals were the current and immediate past local members of Congress, the city mayor and most of the city council, all three county commissioners, and several state legislators and legislative candidates. Among the organizations were the ACLU, the AARP...

Colorado’s violent lurch to the portside over the previous fifteen years has had many conservatives wondering if they can ever recover the state’s prior pro-freedom and socially moderate political climate...

Several developments caused Colorado’s lurch: The “blueprint” effectuated by four wealthy “progressives.”...

Perhaps the quiet changes already have begun in Colorado...