Plan Overview

The Envision Lakewood 2040 Plan is an important citywide document and tool that articulates the vision, values, and priorities for the future of Lakewood.

The Plan was developed based on input from thousands of Lakewood community members and will guide staff and City leaders to make decisions that reflect the community vision and values.

Comprehensive Plan Purpose

Envision Lakewood 2040, Lakewood's Comprehensive Plan, is an important citywide document and tool that articulates Lakewood's vision, values and priorities and provides a framework for city decision-making over the next 15 years. The Plan covers topics such as land- use, housing, transportation, climate action, arts, parks and recreation, equity and more.

Lakewood has updated its Comprehensive Plan five times since 1975, approximately every 10-15 years. Each Plan update is an opportunity to have community conversations about the new opportunities and challenges for Lakewood’s future so that the Plan stays relevant and addresses the current needs of the city.

The Comprehensive Plan is intended to be the umbrella plan for the city. It provides high level policy guidance at a city-wide level and also points to other special area or topic plans, polices and regulations for more detailed and specific information and recommendations. Examples include the Arts, Parks and Recreation Master Plan: Imagine Tomorrow, Public Art Plan, Bicycle Plan, the Zoning Ordinance, and many others. It is important that there is a synergistic, two-way relationship between the Comprehensive Plan and other city plans, polices and regulatory tools to ensure consistency in information, data, recommendations and actions.

There are several adopted City Plans that provide additional detail and guidance to the vision, values and priorities outlined within the Comprehensive Plan. The table lists the plans that have been adopted by City Council and recommended by Planning Commission as amendments to the Comprehensive Plans and the plans that have been adopted by City Council as standalone plans that were not adopted as amendments to the Comprehensive Plan. Plans not included in this table are considered to be archived and are no longer active.

Envision Lakewood 2040 Organization

Envision Lakewood 2040 is comprised of two core elements: Vision Elements and Future Land Use Elements.

The Vision Elements are made up of the Vision Statement, 5 Guiding Principles, 25 Goals and 160 Strategies. Together these define the shared vision, values and priorities for the city through the year 2040.

• The Vision Statement is a concise aspirational statement that articulates the desired future for Lakewood by describing the high-level vision and values for the city. The Vision Statement and details can be found on page 16.
• The 5 Guiding Principles are a set of core values that guide all decisions related to implementing the plan. The Guiding Principles and details can be found on page 20.
• The 25 Goals are statements of desired high-level outcomes by 2040. They are intended to be as clear as possible, so city staff and leadership know what needs to be accomplished. The Goals and the Strategies for each goal begin on Page 34.
• The 160 Strategies outline specific, vetted approaches to achieving the Comprehensive Plan Goals. Because of the interconnected nature of many goals, each strategy is designed to support the implementation of one or more goals, serving as a roadmap to guide actions and decisions within the city. The list of Strategies in numerical order begin on page 132.