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Council adopts code updates to Lakewood's Economic Development Fund to emphasize economic mobility
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Summary
Lakewood approved ordinance O-2026-13 to modernize Chapter 3.26 of the municipal code: updates include adding 'economic mobility' to definitions, broadening allowable public benefits, and adding performance metrics and oversight for incentives; council asked staff to return with detailed metrics and oversight procedures.
On April 27 the Lakewood City Council approved changes to Chapter 3.26 of the Lakewood Municipal Code (ordinance O-2026-13) on second and final reading, updating definitions and procedures for the Economic Development Fund.
Will Chen, the city's director of economic development, told council the fund (established in 1985 and sustained by a lodging tax and a 1987 voter measure) is not being used to create new taxes or programs, but to modernize code language and align eligible uses with current priorities. The key change is adding a definition of "economic mobility," expanding the types of public benefits that qualify for fund expenditures, and clarifying oversight for incentive packages, fee waivers and performance deliverables.
Chen said the revised language broadens allowable public benefits to emphasize workforce development, education, and pathways out of poverty while keeping land purchases and significant incentives subject to council approval. Council members asked about how performance metrics will be built and enforced and whether the revisions support minority- and women-owned businesses. Chen said staff is developing regulations and performance metrics that will be brought back for council review and that expanded technical assistance could support minority-, women-, veteran- and LGBTQ-owned firms, though procurement processes were not directly altered by this code change.
Council unanimously adopted the ordinance on second and final reading (11-0). Staff said they will return with the performance metric packages and related oversight procedures to provide greater transparency on criteria and penalties if deliverables are not met.
What happens next: staff will prepare the detailed metrics and constraints for review by council and will continue to keep the council apprised of any land-purchase ordinances or incentive packages that come before the body.
