Littleton Independent 012022

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Week of January 20, 2022

ARAPAHOE COUNTY, COLORADO

A publication of

LittletonIndependent.net

VOLUME 133 | ISSUE 26

Momentum grows for more affordable housing New housing ordinances proposed to council during study session BY ROBERT TANN RTANN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

The push to build affordable housing in the City of Littleton gained momentum during a Jan.

11 study session between the city council and the Housing Task Force. Eric Veith, the task force’s chairman, made a strong endorsement for the city to take up a new housing ordinance that would outline guidelines and requirements for developers seeking to build income-restricted housing in the city. “If we’re going to maintain a community that is affordable for

people … like firefighters and schoolteachers, then we need to start figuring out different ways to provide housing,” Veith said. The proposal comes amid a backdrop of rising housing costs statewide, leading local governments, advocacy groups and would-be home buyers to declare an affordable housing crisis in Colorado. For metro cities like Littleton, population growth and historically restrictive zoning laws have

Littleton schools study could help in fight against youth suicide Research links school culture to well-being, underscores need for resources

SEE HOUSING, P13

King Soopers strike comes to Englewood, Littleton Littleton mayor endorses union on social media

BY ROBERT TANN RTANN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

A two-year study focusing on the relationship between social environments and youth suicide could provide a “partial roadmap” for schools and communities looking to improve the promotion of mental health, according to its lead researcher. The Littleton Public Schools (LPS) district was part of the national study. The findings of the Social Worlds and Youth Wellbeing Study are detailed in a 66-page report, published in October, that caps two years of research at four LPS high schools. Leading the study is Dr. Anna Mueller, a professor of sociology at Indiana University. Mueller said schools are at the forefront of suicide prevention but need bolstered

caused a deficit in housing, Veith said. “A lot of our challenges housingwise as a city can just be traced back to a lack of supply,” he said. The issue is nothing new for council members. A need for more housing, including in-come restricted homes, was identified in 2017 after the city partnered with Root Policy, a research firm that

BY ROBERT TANN RTANN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

Sociologist and researcher Anna Mueller, who led a study on teen suicide prevention that focused on Littleton schools, speaks during an LPS forum in 2018.

SEE SUICIDE, P2

INSIDE: VOICES: PAGE 12 | LIFE: PAGE 14 | CALENDAR: PAGE 17 | SPORTS: PAGE 20

FILE PHOTO BY DAVID GILBERT

Workers at King Soopers stores in Englewood and Littleton joined thousands of others across the Denver area starting Jan. 12 in what is expected to be a three-week strike across 77 stores. Since the start of the strike, workers have picketed outside the stores, saying they will not return to the job until the grocery giant commits to improving employees’ wages, health-care benefits and store safety practices. The strike comes after the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 7, a union that includes King Soopers employees, rejected the company’s “last, best and final offer,” which the union said fell far SEE KING SOOPERS, P27

THE FRIENDLY SKIES

Young Eagles all about kids and aviation P14


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