Lakewood housing briefing: city has zoning capacity, but growth pace may not meet state targets
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Summary
Staff said Lakewood has the zoning capacity to support more than the city’s assigned target—10,242 units without rezoning and an additional ~8,408 units from recent law changes—but cautioned actual development depends on landowner decisions, market incentives and permitting pace; staff also reviewed AMI, homelessness counts and housing mix.
At the Feb. 18 meeting the Planning Commission received a housing background briefing covering area median income, affordability trends, homelessness data and the city’s capacity to accommodate state growth targets.
Staff explained AMI (area median income) and said Lakewood’s median household income (~$70,500) is roughly three‑quarters of the HUD Tacoma metro AMI. A slide staff described showed single‑family home prices rose about 120% from 2016 to 2025 while incomes increased about 60% in the same period, producing widening affordability gaps.
On Lakewood specifics, staff said population is about 64,500, the city has a relatively high share of mobile‑home units (about 2,000 units), and roughly half of first‑time buyers would qualify as able to afford a purchase under a 30%‑of‑income rule. Homelessness counts presented showed 404 unique clients in 2017 and a recorded high of 618 through 2023 (2025 data were only through Sept. 30).
Staff highlighted buildable‑capacity numbers from 2022 zoning work: “We had capacity to have an additional 10,242 units built within the city without having to change any zoning or any boundaries of the zones,” staff said, and added that subsequent state law changes and code updates had increased theoretical capacity by about 8,408 units. Lakewood’s assigned target is 9,378 additional units by 2044. Staff framed the central question: the city has planning capacity on underutilized lots, but will property owners sell or redevelop to meet those targets?
Commissioners asked whether the city has simplified permitting and whether staffing or process changes could speed production; staff pointed to online permitting and process streamlining but noted state and other regulatory requirements still affect review time. Commissioners also raised concerns about neighborhood impacts such as narrow local streets and parking pressure when infill occurs.
The briefing was described as background for future decisions and was distributed to commissioners for reference. Staff said it will be useful context for land‑use decisions and for talking with constituents about housing tradeoffs.
