LAKEWOOD —When it comes to sustainability, Jonathan Wachtel is committed to making Lakewood a nationally recognized leader through the Sustainable Neighborhoods Program.
Wachtel, sustainability manager at the city of Lakewood, with hopes that the neighborhoods would become dedicated to making their communities more eco-friendly, more sustainable and more community-oriented.
“It’s self-determining,” Wachtel said. “So the neighborhoods drive the program, and we just assist them. We try to help them build a communication infrastructure, and they basically form teams around different projects — and over the years they’ve accomplished quite a bit.”
Neighborhoods earn program credits, like points, by conducting community projects. Once they reach a certain credit threshold, the neighborhood is recognized in front of the mayor and City Council. They need to earn credits every year to continue to be certified.
Currently, there are five neighborhoods — Eiber, Belmar, Lake Lochwood Village, South of Sixth, and Southern Gables — in the program.
“We help them identify sustainable projects that they could do, and we help identify assets in their neighborhoods and potential partnerships that they could achieve,” Wachtel said.
Since its inception, the program has helped neighborhoods focus on five main areas: air, water, land, energy and people.
Outcomes include increased recycling, reduced energy usage, literacy programs, alternate forms of transportation, more exercise and more community engagement.
One of the first two neighborhoods accepted into the program, Belmar (Eiber was the other), has made significant strides since its acceptance in 2012.
“We’ve been able to live a satisfying life by using fewer resources and less space,” said Doug Wells, member of the Belmar sustainable neighborhoods group. “It’s just been better for the community.”
One of the main areas Belmar focused on last year was transportation.
“The group was the reason ,” Wachtel said.
Wells, who was one of the members behind this effort, is thrilled about what car2go does for the community.
“I can walk 20 feet out my door, grab a car, drive it downtown and dump it,” Wells said. “It’s green and convenient.”
Recently, the Belmar group was involved with , at 500 S. Reed St.
The $28,794,863 project is a 130-unit building that is committed to sustainability.
“We have the biggest solar array of any residential area in the state,” said Ryan McCaw, sustainability and grant programs manager at Metro West.
The project’s 161 kilowatts of solar will power 49 percent of the four-story building’s needs; 155 kilowatts of solar is on the roof.
The building also contains community gardens for its residents as well as eco-friendly materials throughout its layout.
McCaw thinks the building is a step in the right direction for Belmar, and Lakewood in general.
“Lakewood wasn’t a sustainable-focused city, but with new people coming in, it’s starting to diversify,” McCaw said.
And the residents of Lakewood are responding.
“It’s neat that Lakewood has adopted a sustainable program and has adapted to challenges, such as congestion and global warming, by using our resources to better it,” said Lakewood resident Gary Harty, who was recently at the grand opening celebration for CityScape.
All of the positivity and commitments from neighborhoods are what Wachtel was hoping for when he began the program
“For a small amount of money, we’re getting an incredible amount of return,” Wachtel said. “In 2014, if you just look at the value of the projects that were done by the neighborhoods, it’s incredible. We put about $15,000 into supporting the neighborhoods, and they gave us an outcome of an estimated $80,000 in direct benefits to our community.”
Catherine Elsby: celsby@denverpost.com
