Lakewood advances framework to evaluate lakefront street-end encroachments; council seeks permitting alternatives
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Summary
Public Works presented a draft, citywide framework to survey and classify street-end encroachments and guide volunteer access to lake ends. Councilmembers asked staff to study revocable permits and lease/easement options as alternatives to street vacations before a future resolution.
City staff presented a draft framework for evaluating encroachments on lakefront street ends and for expanding a volunteer-access pilot to selected sites, and councilmembers asked staff to research alternatives to street vacations.
Public Works staff said the city’s volunteer pilot focused on four lake ends (Westlake Avenue, Holden Street, Lake City Boulevard and 100th Street) and recommended a consistent, site-by-site evaluation method. The proposed process begins by confirming a parcel is a street end, assessing public-access feasibility (minimum continuous pedestrian corridor, a preferred 10-foot corridor and a 10-by-10 shoreline area for kayak launch), documenting encroachments through a professional survey, and classifying encroachments as critical obstructions, major structural, minor nonstructural or peripheral.
For critical obstructions staff recommended removal or — where removal is infeasible — consideration of street vacation only if shoreline function and public access could be preserved. Minor nonstructural encroachments (for example planter boxes or chain-link fences) would be candidates for mandatory removal when developing a street end for public access. Staff emphasized that any vacation must follow state RCW requirements and that vacation proceedings, compensation and preservation of public benefit would follow normal code processes.
Several councilmembers urged staff to research permitting or revocable-encroachment mechanisms used by other lake jurisdictions instead of or alongside vacation, arguing permits/easements preserve city control and avoid appearance of gifting public land. Staff said they can produce comparative research on permitting models and legal implications in a few weeks, but noted that adopting an off-ramp will require coordination with legal counsel and possibly code changes. Council indicated general support for a council-adopted resolution to formalize a consistent framework for evaluating street-end encroachments while asking staff to return with permitting options at a future study session.
