Early results in one Colorado special election show support for repealing zoning changes made by council members

The voters of Lakewood have spoken, sending city leaders back to the drawing board on rezoning. 

Preliminary results in the city's special election posted around 10 p.m. show all four ballot questions leaning heavily toward repealing the City Council's rezoning changes. Early numbers show the "yes" vote nearly doubling the votes to keep the changes in place.

Lakewood council members approved four separate ordinances last October that, among other things, eliminated minimum parking requirements and limited the size of a home, while lifting restrictions on how many units could be in that home. 

The council's rezoning changes also allowed for multi-family housing like duplexes and multiplexes in every Lakewood neighborhood. 

One of the organizers behind the "yes" campaign in support of overturning the zoning changes said she hopes city leaders take the early results seriously. Cathy Kenter, who helped lead one of three groups that petitioned to get the issue on the ballot, called the vote an opportunity for the city to listen to residents.

One of the organizations opposed to overturning the changes, "Make Lakewood Livable," said in a statement, "I understand if what you believe is that you will lose your home, that you would vote this way. But we have a system of housing and zoning that needs to be updated. It's based on things from 50 years ago, and with this defeat, we will continue to have a housing affordability crisis."

"We look forward to further conversations where broader and more diverse voices are heard, so that the people who are most affected by the housing crisis can participate in working to solve it," the group's statement continued. "It was never just about this election, it was about creating a more compassionate system, and that continues to be an important goal."

According to the city's website, official election results will be posted no later than April 17.

If the "yes" vote holds, zoning rules would revert to what was in place before the City Council approved the changes last October.