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Lakewood council adopts 2025 comp‑plan amendments, revises ADU rules and park designations
Summary
On June 2 the Lakewood City Council adopted ordinance 8-31, approving a set of 2025 amendments to the comprehensive plan, future land‑use and zoning maps and municipal code changes including new co‑living definitions, a change to accessory dwelling unit minimums and clarifications to park/open‑space zoning.
Lakewood City Council on June 2 adopted a package of 2025 amendments to the city comprehensive plan, zoning and municipal code, approving ordinance 8‑31 after two council amendments.
The package updates multiple sections of the Lakewood Comprehensive Plan and Lakewood Municipal Code. Planning manager Tiffany Spear told the council the amendments respond to state law changes and local clarifications, and include updated definitions for co‑living housing, a change to the city’s accessory‑dwelling‑unit rules and corrections to open‑space and recreation (OSR) map designations for several parks.
The ordinance carries several specific edits the council highlighted during debate. Council members amended a staff proposal for accessory dwelling units (ADUs) so the city will not impose an arbitrary minimum unit size but will instead require ADUs to meet building‑code dimensional and safety standards in Title 15. Council member Laura Sella framed the amendment as a technical fix: the previous local minimum effectively prevented many smaller units; the adopted language defers square‑foot minimums to building code requirements.
Spear also told the council the co‑living housing changes implement a 2025 state requirement that cities adopt rules for certain shared‑housing models. She said adopting local definitions and limits makes the rules clearer and lets Lakewood preserve local controls for where boarding houses and co‑living uses are allowed. “This is a way to prevent co‑living housing units from being outright permitted in single‑family zones,” Spear told the council.
Council members discussed park rezonings included in the ordinance. The changes reclassify portions of Harry Todd Park and Primley Park to align mapped park boundaries with parcel lines and to clarify whether parks are intended for passive (OSR‑2) or active park uses (OSR‑1). Council member Bokey said the mapping corrections fix GIS and parcel delineation problems and do not change current park programming. The council also amended the downtown parcel designation to OSR‑1 to allow more active uses there if future master planning calls for playgrounds, benches or spray features.
Council members emphasized the ordinance is largely housekeeping to align the code with recent state bills and local plans while preserving the city’s ability to tailor rules to Lakewood’s zoning map. The motion to adopt ordinance 8‑31 as amended was moved and seconded by council members and the measure passed; the council recorded no additional roll‑call challenge to final adoption.
The council and staff noted the items were the product of prior public hearings and planning‑commission review; staff included a written responses section in the packet addressing public comments and edits requested after the May hearing.
The council voted to adopt ordinance 8‑31 as amended; staff will publish the corrected code sections and update the city zoning and future‑land‑use maps to reflect the changes.
