Lakewood council signals support to develop Natural Environment and Climate Change program

Planning Manager Spear presented a proposed Natural Environment and Climate Change (NECC) implementation program at the Lakewood City Council study session on Feb. 10, 2025, and councilmembers gave staff a consensus to proceed with developing a more detailed implementation plan.

The proposal would consolidate existing city efforts — including tree canopy and urban forestry work, the city’s 2022 energy and climate change work plan, and newly required elements under state law E2SHB 1181 — into a cross‑departmental program meant to streamline administration, avoid duplication and improve grant competitiveness. "This is a proposal. This is an idea," Planning Manager Spear told the council as she opened the presentation.

Why it matters: The program is intended to coordinate multiple existing policies, studies and funding sources so Lakewood can meet state planning requirements, pursue grants and implement local projects such as urban forest management, heat‑resilience measures and greenhouse gas reduction actions. Spear told the council the combined five‑year price tag for the proposed work would be roughly $1,487,000 if all elements move forward, funded by a mix of grant awards, American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) dollars and the City Tree Fund.

Spear summarized progress on the city’s prior 2022 three‑year energy and climate work plan: of the roughly 15 prioritized actions carried forward from that plan, nine are complete, four are ongoing and two have not started. The items not yet started include a five‑year greenhouse‑gas reduction plan (awaiting state guidance) and a regional electric‑vehicle infrastructure strategy. Ongoing items include regional coordination with Pierce County jurisdictions and an urban forestry/master reforestation plan.

Funding and numeric details provided to the council included: $150,000 of ARPA money already spent on last year’s tree assessment; an identified City Tree Fund balance with eligible uses up to about $475,000; a phased grant that would total about $700,000 to support compliance with E2SHB 1181; and a pending federal energy efficiency community block grant application that, if awarded, would provide about $123,000. Spear said the $1,487,000 total assumes these and other potential sources are available over approximately a five‑year window through mid‑2029.

Spear also cited recent studies the city will draw on, including a 2024 Lakewood Urban Forest Assessment and a heat‑mapping exercise conducted with Pierce County public‑health partners. The assessment estimated Lakewood’s current canopy at about 24.5 percent; the city’s long‑range canopy goal presented in the packet is 40 percent by 2050.

Council feedback mixed support and caution. Councilmember Branstetter said he did not object to organizing the work as proposed but warned that the program should not be read as fixing policy for the next decade. "I don't necessarily want to establish a program now that says we know what we have to do for the next 10 years," he said, urging that the council retain the ability to add priorities from the original list of climate policies as capacity opens. Councilmember Laura Silva asked how the city will handle "color of money" accounting between grants and tree‑preservation funds; Spear replied that grants cannot be used to "double dip" but that bundling activities could allow different funding sources to pay for different program elements.

Several councilmembers and the presenter emphasized the cross‑departmental nature of the proposal: Planning and Public Works, parks, community services, communications, legal and other departments would participate in program implementation. Spear said the proposal is intended to replace the 2022 energy and climate work plan with a broader, consolidated implementation program and that staff would return later this year with a recommended plan for council adoption.

Ending: Councilmembers expressed general support for staff to proceed with further design and funding analysis; Planning Manager Spear and staff will return with a more detailed implementation and adoption recommendation for a future meeting.