Lakewood Begins Next Phase of Housing Forward Initiative

On October 1^st, the City of Lakewood began another round of its tri-annual housing survey. The housing survey is a critical component of the City of Lakewood’s Housing Forward Initiative and includes an exterior property survey of all one- and two-family homes throughout the City. As a result, the Division of Housing and Building and the Division of Planning and Development will have valuable data on nearly 13,000 structures in the community to help inform community-wide problem-solving and decision-making strategies.

Housing Forward is the City of Lakewood’s long-term housing improvement strategy that was launched in 2012 in an effort to prepare Lakewood’s homes for the next 100 years. Since 2012, two city-wide surveys have been completed to asses exterior property code compliance. These surveys have resulted in an increase in the number of residential building permits, leading to enhanced safety and a reduction in signs of blight. The third survey, being conducted with collaboration across all City of Lakewood Divisions and LakewoodAlive, will be completed in October 2018. Individuals conducting the survey will assess the exterior of each one- and two-family property for its compliance with the City of Lakewood Property Maintenance and Safety Code (LCO 68-97, Chapter 1306) and give it a score of 1 (Meets Code) to 4 (Significant Disrepair).

Upon completion of the survey, the exterior property scores gathered by the Division of Housing and Building will be aggregated and studied to determine which homes need the most attention. Once determined, the Property Maintenance Inspectors will communicate with homeowners receiving citations in the Spring of 2019. The Property Maintenance Inspectors will connect homeowners with improvement resources, offer technical assistance, and use proactive code enforcement to help homeowners make the necessary improvements to their property.

“This approach has proven to create focus,” noted Mayor Summers. “It enables progress, and has resulted in the significant strengthening of our home values.”  As the City of Homes, housing is Lakewood’s greatest economic asset. The housing survey is a key step in ensuring Lakewood’s health well into the future.

To learn more about the Housing Forward Initiative, please visit http://www.lakewoodoh.gov/community-vision/housing/ or call the Division of Housing and Building at 216-529-6270.