Lakewood resident requests waiver to leave concrete slabs in greenbelt as private firebreak

A Lakewood resident asked the city during initial public comment on April 14 for a waiver after installing concrete slabs behind their Green Mountain property as what the resident described as a permanent firebreak.

Amster Howard, who said they live in the Green Mountain area, told the council that neighbors have been mowing a 10‑ to 12‑foot strip behind homes as a precaution after past fires and that the resident installed concrete slabs to serve as a year‑round fire break. Howard said a park ranger told them the slabs violated the open‑space Fire Mitigation Plan and that the resident was seeking an exemption.

Howard said the slabs were intended to reduce the fire risk from dense vegetation and that West Metro Fire District personnel told them the slabs would be better than the city's proposed mowing approach. Howard asked specifically for “a waiver for this property because I have provided the superior firebreak behind my property.”

City staff told the speaker the public‑comment period is not a back‑and‑forth exchange and that someone would follow up with them after the meeting; the transcript records the clerk saying the city had the speaker’s information and someone would follow up.

The transcript does not record a council response or a decision on a waiver request during the meeting, and does not include details such as the exact code section cited, the process for requesting a waiver, or whether staff had already begun an administrative review; those details were not specified in the portion of the record provided.