Lakewood planning commission opens public hearing on 13 proposed 2025 comprehensive plan amendments

The Lakewood Planning Commission opened a public hearing April 2, 2025, on 13 proposed amendments to the city’s 2025 comprehensive plan, including changes tied to state climate law House Bill 1181, middle‑housing code updates to comply with E2SHB 1110, a review of the downtown regional urban growth center boundary, a proposal to remove a minimum accessory‑dwelling‑unit (ADU) size requirement, and a rezoning of Primley Park to allow playground replacement.

Staff said the review covered parks and open space, utilities and capital facilities and that some items required no changes because prior city updates already brought Lakewood into compliance. “Based on the review ... there is actually no action needed on any of these this time,” planning staff member Ms. Spear told commissioners.

The package brought several specific items for commissioner review. On climate and resiliency, staff reported that a 2023 state statute (identified in staff materials as House Bill 1181) requires local governments to incorporate greenhouse‑gas reduction goals and reductions in per‑capita vehicle miles traveled; staff completed an analysis of relevant comprehensive plan elements and recommended no change for the 2025 docket.

On middle housing, staff said the proposed amendment (in the packet as application 2025‑03) would align Lakewood code with state requirements for “middle housing” — defined in staff materials as two or more attached, stacked or clustered homes, including duplexes through six‑plexes, townhouses, stacked flats, courtyard apartments and cottage housing. Proposed language in the packet would require administrative design review for middle housing, require standards that are no more restrictive than detached single‑family rules, allow 0‑lot‑line short plats under some conditions, and restrict off‑street parking requirements near major transit stops. Staff also noted the city will prepare empirical parking studies for parts of Lakewood; those studies must be reviewed by the Washington State Department of Commerce before any local parking rules could be modified. The staff presentation noted the city must have complying rules in place by June 30, 2025.

On the downtown regional urban growth center (application 2025‑09), staff said the city completed the checklist required by the Puget Sound Regional Council (PSRC) and reported an informal notification from PSRC that Lakewood’s center will be redesignated. The only change staff recommended was a small boundary tweak to incorporate parcels rezoned last year to Central Business District.

Commissioners questioned the ADU minimum size (application 2025‑11). Staff said Lakewood’s code currently sets a 1,000‑square‑foot minimum for an ADU structure and that a review of 15 cities and three counties found widely varying practices (many jurisdictions rely on the state building code or set minimums as small as 300 square feet). Staff recommended removing the city’s numeric minimum and relying on the applicable provisions of the International Building Code or International Residential Code to define minimum habitable unit sizes. Commissioners raised concerns about very small units and park models that can be classed as recreational vehicles; one commissioner suggested a 400‑square‑foot floor to limit relocatable park models on single‑family lots.

The packet also included a narrow zoning fix for Primley Park, a roughly one‑fifth‑acre “pocket park.” Staff reported the parcel is currently zoned OSR‑2 (Open Space and Recreation 2), which does not permit playground equipment; staff recommended rezoning the parcel to OSR‑1 so the city’s parks department may replace dilapidated playground equipment. Staff described the change as an administrative correction and said it would not alter how neighbors use the park.

Public testimony at the hearing included a brief comment from Samantha Winkel of LRI Waste Connections, who thanked staff for work on a rezone in the packet. Other public commenters earlier in the meeting raised development concerns that overlapped with later agenda items: Christina Kloss, a Lakewood resident and small business owner, urged the commission to pair any incentive that draws more housing into downtown with rules that require or incentivize ground‑floor commercial space; several residents warned about traffic and impacts to small businesses near Gravelly Lake Drive.

No final action was taken on the comprehensive plan amendments at the April 2 meeting. Staff told commissioners the full docket will return for commission deliberation and possible recommendation to city council; the packet notes the council will hold hearings beginning May 12. Staff also said two of the amendments reviewed at the meeting (climate/resiliency and the regional growth center checklist) required no changes and therefore are not included in the draft resolution the commission will consider when it takes action.

The commission asked staff for additional detail on the comparative jurisdictions used for the ADU analysis and for documentation of the PSRC criteria the regional body applies to center recertification; staff identified the jurisdictions in the packet and pointed to PSRC checklist materials included in the meeting packet.