Housing, Planning, & Development Committee Meeting - November 5, 2025

The Housing, Planning, & Development Committee of Lakewood City Council met on November 5, 2025, at 6:45 p.m. in the Auditorium at City Hall. Chair Kyle Baker presided. The committee approved the minutes of the October 27, 2025 meeting and received a detailed presentation from LakewoodAlive Executive Director Ian Andrews and Operations Manager Joe Higgins on the organization's housing outreach and small business support programs. Council members engaged in discussion and expressed strong support for LakewoodAlive's work.

Consent Calendar

• Approval of Minutes: The minutes of the October 27, 2025 Housing, Planning, & Development Committee meeting were approved unanimously by voice vote (all present in favor, including Councilman Bullock via video conference).

Discussion Items

• LakewoodAlive Update (Referred from Council): Chair Baker introduced the item, noting his role as ex-officio member of the LakewoodAlive Board. Ian Andrews presented an overview of LakewoodAlive's mission, three pillars (housing outreach, thriving commercial corridors, and community engagement), and detailed sub-programs.
  • Housing Outreach Program: Started in 2009. In the CDBG reporting period, 417 unduplicated households were served; 88% were low-moderate income, 60% female, and 72% elderly. Key sub-programs include Paint Lakewood (CDBG-funded with sliding scale for low-income seniors), bed bug inspection (city's agent), Project Safe Senior Aging-in-Place Assessments (27 full assessments in FY25), hoarding assistance, and volunteer projects. Ian highlighted challenges: aging housing stock (80% over 90 years old), lack of senior affordable housing, and the need for mental health support for hoarding cases. Specific stories included a hoarding house on Broccoli, a senior (Mrs. M, Ward 2) whose porch, electrical panel, furnace, and hot water tank were replaced via partnership with the city’s Division of Community Development (over $240,000 in improvements across 12 projects), and a senior bed program funded privately ($500 per bed).
  • Small Business Support Program: Focused on thriving commercial corridors. Programs include sign grants (50% up to $2,500; $5,500 granted in calendar year 2025 for 6 businesses), fiscal sponsorship of four merchant associations, an available commercial properties page (boots-on-the-ground tracking), startup evaluations, lease review (partnering with Legal Aid), and partnerships with the Hispanic Business Alliance, ECDI, and others. Examples included Despina (Greek immigrant who opened during COVID), Flame and Fable (expanded with help from LakewoodAlive and the city), and Lakewood Black Label (owner found space via the properties page). Challenges included derelict commercial property owners, lack of emergency funding, and recurring need for business startup guidance.
  • Council Member Responses:
    • Councilwoman Hamilton Steiner expressed that the presented challenges are unacceptable and called for the community to figure out solutions without relying on state or federal government.
    • Councilwoman Marx voiced strong support for LakewoodAlive, thanking the team for exposing issues often unseen, and agreed more must be done for seniors.
    • Councilwoman Strebig noted that garage and driveway issues seem financial but hoarding is a mental health problem; she asked Director Vargo about enforcement. Director Vargo explained the difficulty of gaining access to homes due to privacy limits, and that hoarding often only surfaces after a disaster or death.
    • Councilman Bullock (via video) thanked Ian and Joe, emphasized that LakewoodAlive can do things the city cannot (e.g., helping clients call contractors), and affirmed the importance of maintaining affordability and socioeconomic diversity.
    • Councilman Evans praised the city-LakewoodAlive relationship as the “gold standard” and stated that every dollar invested yields more for the community.
    • Chair Baker noted that LakewoodAlive acts as a force multiplier, especially in combination with the city’s housing inspection, fire department paramedic program, and community relations; he also highlighted that low-moderate income census tracts are scattered throughout the city, not just the east end.

Key Outcomes

• Motion to Receive and File: Chair Baker made a motion to receive and file the communication from LakewoodAlive. The motion was seconded and passed unanimously by voice vote.
• Meeting Adjourned: The meeting was adjourned. The chair of the Finance Committee will decide when to call its meeting.