Jefferson County, Colorado

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Lakewood Zoning Ordinance 2025

In August, the Lakewood City Council ignored massive citizen opposition to approve a new zoning ordinance that will devastate neighborhoods throughout the city. Under the new ordinance, neighborhoods that are currently zoned for single-family homes and duplexes have all been rezoned to allow multiple homes on all properties. A developer may purchase any lot in a neighborhood, scrape the existing house, and construct a new building that is 35-feet tall with five, 1,000 sq. ft. townhomes.

The new zone districts are R-L-A, R-L-B and R-L-C. On Monday, Oct. 13, the city council will approve a new zoning map that will change the zoning in all neighborhoods in the city to one of those three districts. Below are standards for those districts and a map showing the areas impacted in the Daniels Welchester neighborhoods.

Building Standards

NOTE: The new standards are confusing and the city has distributed misinformation about what they mean. If you believe any of the information on this webpage is inaccurate, please send an email to the address at the bottom of the page.

Link to full standards approved in August (starts on page 97)

Here's what the standards mean.

  • Minimum Lot Size and Width - A developer can purchase an existing home and subdivide the lot into individual parcels as long as they meet the minimum size standards below. In R-L-C districts, each subdivided lot would have to be at least 1,500 sq. ft. and 25 feet wide. A home could then be built on each lot. (An acre is 43,560 sq. ft.)
  • Maximum Primary Structure Size - The "primary structure" is the house. In all of the R-L districts, a developer can buy a house and replace it with a building with multiple units. If it's a duplex, the maximum gross floor area is 4,000 square feet. if the building is divided into three or more dwelling units, the maximum GFA rises to 5,000 sq. ft.
  • Maximum Accessory Structure Size - An accessory structure is either an ADU - basically a small house - or a shed or detached garage.
  • Maximum Height - The main building on any lot can be up to 35 feet tall. The new ordinance, to comply with state law, allows an ADU (accessory dwelling unit) on any residential lot. ADUs are limited to a height of 20 feet.
  • Minimum Open Space - There is a requirement that 50% of the lot be "open space." But the definition of open space appears to have loopholes. (We're trying to get some clarification of what that means.)

Proposed Zoning Map (Daniels Welchester Neighborhoods)

(Link to full map - then scroll down to page 2 to see our area.)

This is the map that will be approved on Oct. 13. The areas in tan will be impacted by the new zoning ordinance and are designated as R-L-C. That could be changed at the city council meeting.

©2025 Daniels Welchester Neighborhood Association