Lakewood Planning Commission backs citywide zoning update, approves map change for Milestone site

The Lakewood Planning Commission voted unanimously on May 21 to recommend City Council adopt a comprehensive update to the city's zoning ordinance and to change the zoning for the property commonly called the Milestone site at the southeast corner of Alameda Avenue and Kipling Street.

The commission voted 5-0 to remap the western portion of the Milestone parcel from Mixed Use Employment Urban (MEU) to Mixed Use Residential Urban (MRU) and to reclassify the eastern portion from R2 (two-family/small-lot residential) to the new Low Form Residential C (RLC) designation. Commissioners also approved a slate of text amendments and policy changes affecting accessory dwelling units (ADUs), parking rules, lot-size and height limits, and incentives for affordable housing.

Why it matters: The ordinance rewrite remaps thousands of parcels citywide and changes zoning rules intended to allow more types of housing "missing middle" housing such as duplexes, cottage courts and small multifamily buildings. The Milestone amendment was among the most contested items in public testimony: neighbors urged lower-intensity development and townhomes, while the property's representative said market realities make multifamily more feasible.

Public comment and developer position

Dozens of residents attended and testified during a lengthy public-comment period. Gary Harper of the Alameda Homes neighborhood called…