Week of February 9, 2023
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An edition of the Littleton Independent A publication of
VOLUME 22 | ISSUE 12
Our in-depth look at the housing crisis
South Metro Fire Rescue says no changes to emergency service expected Letter creates confusion BY ELLIS ARNOLD ERANOLD@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Governor stresses more housing is key to Colorado’s economic health BY ELLIS ARNOLD EARNOLD@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
If lawmakers don’t act to make housing more affordable now, “we will soon face a spiraling point of no return.” That’s what Gov. Jared Polis said in January, during his annual State of the State Address. He noted myriad problems linked to rising housing costs. People, he said, “are being forced out of their neighborhoods with no hope of ever living close to where they work.” “That means more traffic, lost
time and money spent on long commutes, more air pollution, and greater economic and workforce challenges,” Polis said. Polis added that rising housing prices are “putting the dream of homeownership out of range for more and more Coloradans.” The governor’s assessment squares with the findings of Colorado Community Media in our four-week series exploring what many experts say is a housing crisis — one that affects practically everyone in the Denver area. Lower-income workers are seeing larger chunks of their paychecks
INSIDE: CALENDAR: PAGE 11 | VOICES: PAGE 12 | SPORTS: PAGE 22
go to landlords. Young families can’t find starter homes they can afford. Retirees don’t see any attractive options for moving and downsizing, meaning their homes stay off the market, helping keep prices high. “Just look west,” Polis said in his address. “In California, decades of poor planning has led to interruptions of drinking water and electricity for entire towns and cities, average home prices over $1 million in major cities and 16lane freeways” with “bumper-toSEE STRESSES, P14
Residents in the south Denver metro area may have felt confused when they received a letter from their firefighting agency about an “amended service plan.” The letter from South Metro Fire Rescue contained legal language and pointed to upcoming public meetings of county leaders who would vote to approve or deny the proposed changes. But residents shouldn’t expect any changes to the services they receive when they call 911 in an emergency, according to Mike Dell’Orfano, a South Metro Fire official. The proposed amendment is “just recognizing that we might be offering the same services, but over the past 55 years, the volume, the expertise, the types of incidents have all evolved,” said Dell’Orfano, the agency’s chief government affairs officer. It also aims to “take a new snapshot at what’s in our fire district: the hazards, the number of cities, the population, all that,” said Dell’Orfano, who described the proposed change as something that occurs “in the background” from an administrative and legal perspective. A lot has changed for South Metro Fire Rescue in five decades. The agency’s original service plan dates back to 1967, when the organization was known as Parker Fire Protection District. The old agency served about 2,000 residents over 105 square miles in portions of Arapahoe and Douglas counties. SEE EMERGENCY, P7
STARTING WITH NATURE Museum exhibit eyes influence of natural world
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