2021-2029 Housing Element

Housing Element Update

The Housing Element(PDF, 16MB) in Lakewood's General Plan details the city's housing goals from 2021 through 2029. State law requires that the Housing Element be updated every eight years.

The Housing Element does the following:

• Analyzes the city's and county’s demographics, economics and housing supply.
• Analyzes housing constraints and resources in Lakewood.
• Evaluates sites appropriate for potential housing in Lakewood.
• Develops housing goals, objectives, policies and programs for Lakewood.

The current statewide Housing Element update presents new challenges to all jurisdictions in California, including:

• An increase in dwelling unit planning required of each locality.
• Strict housing site eligibility requirements.
• New housing laws that address local policies aimed at managing growth.

Lakewood’s Housing Element update was required to be submitted to the state by Oct. 15, 2021.

The city's public outreach included a survey and meetings in May (see link to video below) and hearings before the Lakewood Planning Commission and City Council in July-September.

Housing Element requirements

The Housing Element must be consistent with statewide housing laws, housing element guidelines and the goals and policies pursuant to the California Government Code. The city's Housing Element must clearly demonstrate that the city has sufficient capacity to accommodate the number of housing units identified in the Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA), in which the state estimates each region's housing needs for all income groups every eight years.

On Sept. 3, 2020, the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) released its final draft RNHA allocation(PDF, 487KB) of housing units for each jurisdiction in our region. Lakewood was allocated 3,922 new dwelling units for 2021-2029.

Housing Element document

2021-2029 Housing Element(PDF, 16MB)