Burned Lakewood home has sat vacant for years due to Colorado city's zoning laws
A home in Lakewood has sat burned out and abandoned for years, and its property owner says he's unable to do anything about it due to zoning regulations in the Colorado city.
"It's just gone downhill," said Javier Torralba. "They've been breaking into the property, homeless people coming in and out as they please."
In the five years Torralba has lived next door, there have been more than 20 calls for first responders to come to this property, ranging from burglary and shots fired to a recovered stolen vehicle. All but one happened after an April 2023 fire.
"It's just unsettling," said Torralba. "I have two children that I'm trying to raise. They're both under 5 years old, and it's not really easy for me to deal with stuff like that."
That's why Torralba's landlord, Jeremy Shull, decided to step in and purchase it in 2024 with plans to turn the home into another rental property.
"I just wanted to make it where my tenants weren't putting up with that kind of activity next door, it just seemed unsafe."
After purchasing the 1 bedroom, 1 bath structure for $375,000 and pouring more than $10,000 into renovation planning and cleanup, he says he was told by the city he couldn't proceed.
"I mentioned that it had burned, and it had been vacant, and she said, 'Well, wait, how long has it been vacant?'" said Shull. "I said 'I don't know, year and a half, two years.' She said, 'Oh, well, you can't do anything with it, it's now zoned where you have to put at least four units on it.'"
According to a city associate planner, the property had been rezoned back in 2007 to Transit Mixed Use - Commercial, and since the property sat vacant, a minimum density requirement of 25 units per acre kicked in.
"I can't even remodel it," said Shull. "They won't issue a permit to remodel it."
Shull has been buying rental properties in Lakewood for decades but admits he didn't dig far enough before making the purchase.
"I didn't think I would have that issue, because single-family is pretty cut and dry," said Shull. "I've done dozens of remodels on properties in Colorado. I've never had a single-family issue like this."
Now he says he's forced to wait for a developer who might want to purchase the property from him after the real estate market improves.
"It's kind of just a wait-and-see approach right now," said Shull.
Until then, nearby residents like Torralba hope the city might make an exception.
"I would just ask that they would allow them to fix it up," said Torralba. "Not only is it an eyesore, but like I said, it's unsettling knowing that I have to go to sleep at night not knowing what's happening next door from one minute to the next."
A spokesperson for the city told CBS Colorado, "We encourage the third-party representatives and the property owner to contact the city to provide clear information about the property and to thoroughly discuss the options for this property."