The developer of a hotly contested, legislated and litigated apartment project next to Belmar Park must pay Lakewood $1.5 million in development fees, a judge has ruled.

Kairoi Residential, of Texas, is constructing a 411-unit apartment complex on 5 acres of private property at the park’s eastern edge. That has led to years of protests and, in 2023, a change to a city statute that required developers to set aside some land for parks.

That, in turn, drew a lawsuit from Kairoi, an injunction pausing enforcement of the new statute, and then a vote by the Lakewood City Council to undo the statute. Now, developers can pay the city a fee in lieu of dedicating parkland, as they could before the change in 2023.

So, in May, the Lakewood Planning Commission voted 5-0 to approve of Kairoi’s projec

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