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Lakewood staff present overhaul of public-works code and engineering standards; resident warns changes could weaken encroachment enforcement
Summary
City staff previewed a multi-title update to Lakewood Municipal Code and the Engineering Standards Manual to modernize design standards and align with state/regional rules; a resident said draft language could limit enforcement against longstanding right-of-way encroachments.
City planning staff presented a high-level preview of proposed updates to Lakewood Municipal Code Title 12 (Public Works), Title 13 (Utilities), Title 18 (Land Use) and the Lakewood Engineering Standards Manual (ESM) at the Jan. 7 Planning Commission meeting, describing the package as a consolidation and modernization of technical standards and permitting procedures.
Miss Silva, assistant director for planning and public works, said the project aims for clarity and alignment with state and regional standards, including a three-tier stormwater review, updated right-of-way permit requirements, clarified sewer connection rules (with Pierce County and Lakewood Water District identified as sewer providers), and the transfer of low-level technical design details into the ESM. She told the commission the planning commission would hold a public hearing on the draft on Jan. 21, with city council review and a goal of adoption and implementation in spring.
During public comment and the formal hearing, Lakewood resident John Burns raised a specific enforcement concern: he said the previous code language declared objects already in a city right-of-way without written permission illegal and that the draft had removed or weakened that provision. Burns argued the new wording'which he quoted as reading, "any such objects now placed within a city street right away without written permission is declared illegal"'would make enforcement more difficult because many encroachments are longstanding and not newly placed.
Miss Silva acknowledged existing code provisions that address right-of-way maintenance and enforcement but said staff reorganized language so policy-level provisions stay in the code while technical standards move to the ESM. She recommended residents report maintenance concerns through the city's Lakewood 311 system.
City Engineer Westinotte answered commission questions about operations and maintenance: he said the city contracts street sweeping services, performs catch-basin cleaning on a two-year cycle (half the city each year), runs an annual chip-seal and patching program and that some sidewalks and wide-path facilities are maintained by the city while most sidewalk maintenance up to the property line remains the owner's responsibility.
No final code action was taken at the meeting; the commission opened and then closed the public hearing after in-person remarks and will continue formal deliberations at the Jan. 21 meeting.
