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Lakewood staff recommend broader allowances for breweries and tasting rooms; council schedules Feb. 4 hearing
Summary
Planning staff presented planning commission recommendations to simplify and expand where alcohol production and tasting uses are permitted; planning commission adopted the recommendation 5‑0 and council set a Feb. 4 public hearing with action planned Feb. 19.
Planning Manager Tiffany Spear summarized changes to the Lakewood Municipal Code that group brewery, distillery and tasting‑room uses into a simplified table, add some outright allowances in the Station District and central business district, and recommend new parking standards (two auto stalls per 500 square feet and bicycle parking requirements).
Spear said the planning commission reviewed the proposal and adopted Resolution 2025‑06 after a second public hearing. "In red are the changes," she told council while walking through the code table, explaining that several subcategories were combined for clarity and that tasting rooms and some production uses would be permitted in additional subareas.
Council members asked why MF‑3 (a multifamily zone) in some locations would be treated differently than MF‑3 in the Station District and whether combining small craft distilleries into a single distillery line would create nonconforming uses. Staff reported that a scan of existing business licenses shows no existing businesses would become nonconforming.
Councilmember Laura Sella and others suggested exploring whether to allow breweries and distilleries more broadly in MF‑3 outside the Station District; the mayor suggested bringing a potential amendment to the public hearing. Tiffany Spear confirmed a public hearing is scheduled for February 4 with council action planned for February 19.
Next steps: Council will take public comment on Feb. 4 and consider amendments or action on Feb. 19.
