New information is available for you to review. After numerous meetings, City Council is in the final stages of reviewing and adopting changes to the zoning code. All the work that City Council has done, along with the Planning Commission, has resulted in a new proposed version of the Zoning Updates:

• New staff memo.
• New redlined version of proposed updates.
• New draft zoning map.

Both City Council and Planning Commission have had multiple public meetings to review proposed updates to the zoning code. City Council had workshops on May 2, May 16 and June 2 in addition to a March study session. Planning Commission had hearings on April 16 and May 21 in addition to a February study session. These amendments reflect the items that the Planning Commission approved for the changes or City Council requested in the final draft for City Council to review during its upcoming meetings.

The City Council meetings to consider the proposed Zoning Updates have been changed to Aug. 11 when City Council will set the public hearing date, which has been proposed for Aug. 25. See the Timeline on this page. That means there's time for one more Forum discussion and quick poll, so please participate in those.

Keep up the discussion by participating in the newest question in the Forum about commercial parking requirements. Please also also take the newest quick poll, and spread the word to your family and friends to join in as well.

We are trying to get as many of you, whether you are a resident, a business or a community member, involved in the discussion about the city's Zoning Updates, so we've added the Forum discussion for you to respond to a specific question and a quick poll on a quick topic. Join the Forum discussion and take the quick poll!

This Q&A in the important document section provides an outline of the Zoning Updates by answers to some of the most fundamental questions:

• Why are the updates occurring?
• Why are they important?
• What’s changing?

Proposed Zoning Updates

This outlines the Zoning Updates the city is proposing for approval in the coming months.

Technical changes
These will involve numerous changes to update language, make cross-references clear and ensure that previously inaccurate or outdated information, definitions or terms are removed.

Council requested changes
On Dec. 9, 2024, the Lakewood City Council passed a resolution outlining its intentions, values, and top policy priorities. The Zoning Updates Staff Report outlines these items.

State law requirements
Changes to state law are requiring several of the significant updates to the city's Zoning Ordinance, and these are outlined here:

1. HB24-1152: This new state law now requires cities to allow 500-750-square-foot accessory dwelling units (ADUs) wherever single-family homes are allowed.
2. HB24-1304: This new state law prohibits cities from requiring minimum parking requirements for multifamily complexes built in the future in areas considered a "transit service area." The law defines these transit service areas as within one-quarter mile of bus stops with buses operating on at least a 30-minute frequency or within one-quarter mile of a light rail station.
3. HB24-1313: This new state law now requires cities to increase the overall density of allowable residential units to 40 units per acre in certain transit service areas. In this law, transit services areas are defined as within one-quarter mile of bus stops with buses operating with at least a 15-minute frequency or within one-half mile of a light rail station.
4. HB24-1007: State law now prohibits cities from limiting the number of people who may live in a dwelling except based on health and safety as determined by the number of bedrooms and other physical aspects of the home.