Lakewood staff recommends climate advisory team after unexpected state grant
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Summary
City staff told the City Council on Jan. 12 that Lakewood has been awarded Department of Commerce funds and is proposing a climate advisory team to guide urban forestry, greenhouse gas inventories and resilience work tied to House Bill 1181 compliance through 2029.
Tiffany Spear, planning and public works division manager, told the Lakewood City Council at its Jan. 12 study session that the city unexpectedly has been awarded funds from the Department of Commerce and is recommending formation of a climate advisory team to help steer a broadened Natural Environment and Climate Change (NECC) work plan.
The advisory team, as described by Spear, would include subject matter experts, representatives of utilities and businesses, educational institutions and Lakewood residents and would advise staff, the planning commission and the council on priorities across the next several years. The team would help prioritize actions left over from the 2021 climate action plan, guide the greenhouse‑gas inventory methodology and serve as ambassadors for an urban forestry launch that will include tree plantings and sales.
Why it matters: state law (referred to in the presentation as House Bill 1181) requires certain local planning updates by mid‑2029. Spear said portions of Lakewood’s comprehensive plan and elements are already compliant following 2024 periodic updates, but additional work—especially on transportation, ADA transition planning and electric vehicle infrastructure—is scheduled for 2027–29 and will require continued engagement and technical review.
Spear said the Department of Commerce funding broadened the previously scoped work. "We actually were notified that the city will be receiving funds from the Department of Commerce after all," she said, noting that the extra grant money lets the city expand beyond the earlier focus on tree mitigation and ARPA‑funded items to include community tree sales, municipal planting and stormwater mini‑grants to support depaving and on‑site vegetation changes.
Council members focused the ensuing discussion on how the advisory body should be structured. Council member Branstetter urged creating a council‑appointed advisory board made up of Lakewood residents with published minutes and regular public meetings, saying that formalizing membership would increase community trust and visibility. "I would propose that… we should reach out and have a board of residencies that's… formally appointed," Branstetter said.
Spear responded that the staff recommendation aimed to include Lakewood residents and workers and that identified partner organizations would be represented by people who live or work in Lakewood. She said the approach can be adapted to meet both the council’s transparency preferences and the statutory timeline for compliance.
What happens next: council members said they broadly supported moving forward but asked staff to return with a draft ordinance and options for board size and membership criteria. Staff also expects to run public outreach in spring and to begin scheduling advisory‑team meetings if council approves the approach.
Source and next steps: city staff will prepare a formal ordinance and membership plan for the council’s consideration in a future meeting; the NECC work plan includes near‑term urban forestry rollouts in 2026 and technical transportation and EV planning slated for 2027–29.
