Two Denver suburbs take different paths as residents face housing crunch: ‘We can manage it, but just barely’

Two suburban cities south and west of Denver find themselves on distinctly different tracks in addressing a long-vexing problem — the high prices and elevated borrowing costs that box out young families and renters of all ages from buying a home.

In Lakewood, elected leaders spent the summer overhauling the city’s zoning code and land use rules. Their goal: to encourage the building of more varied housing types, and by extension greater density, in the city of 156,000, with the ultimate aim of lowering overall home prices.

In Littleton, a similar pro-density effort had sparked a furious backlash earlier this year. Now a citizen-initiated measure is bound for the Nov. 4 ballot and, if passed, it will restrict a large chunk of the city from having anything but single-family homes — a stark