Land Use Terms#
Architectural Board of Review (ABR)#
A city board that reviews exterior modifications to buildings in designated districts to ensure compatibility with neighborhood character.
Why it matters: In Lakewood, the ABR works alongside the Heritage Advisory Board to protect the architectural character of historic areas. Any significant exterior change in review areas requires ABR approval.
Learn more: Lakewood Planning & Zoning
Community Vision#
Lakewood’s guiding planning document, serving in place of a traditional master plan. Adopted in 2012 and updated in 2017 and 2019, it provides the framework for city planning decisions.
Why it matters: The Community Vision is the document that shapes Lakewood’s future. Its six focus areas — commercial development, housing, community wellness, safety, mobility, and education/culture — guide zoning decisions, capital investments, and policy priorities. The 2024 zoning code update is being aligned with the Vision.
See also: Zoning Code
Learn more: Lakewood Community Vision | Lakewood Observer
Comprehensive Plan#
A long-range planning document that guides a community’s growth and development. In Ohio, municipalities are authorized but not required to adopt one.
Why it matters: Lakewood uses its Community Vision in place of a traditional comprehensive plan. Ohio’s planning enabling statutes give cities broad authority to plan and zone, but don’t mandate a specific format.
See also: Community Vision
Learn more: Ohio Revised Code Chapter 713
Inner-Ring Suburb#
A suburb that was developed adjacent to a central city, typically before or during the early automobile era, with denser development patterns than outer suburbs.
Why it matters: Lakewood is a textbook inner-ring suburb — built along streetcar lines between 1893 and 1930, fully built out with no undeveloped land. Its challenges (aging infrastructure, fixed boundaries) and assets (density, walkability, transit access) are characteristic of inner-ring communities.
Learn more: Encyclopedia of Cleveland History | Lakewood History
Nonconforming Use#
A land use or building that was legal when established but no longer complies with current zoning regulations.
Why it matters: Because Lakewood was almost entirely built out before the current zoning code, many properties are legally nonconforming. Understanding nonconforming status matters for renovations, expansions, and property transactions.
Learn more: Lakewood Codified Ordinances
Resiliency Planning#
An extension of the Community Vision that addresses long-term threats including climate change, housing insecurity, and economic disruption.
Why it matters: Lakewood’s resiliency initiative builds on the Community Vision to help the city “endure, adapt, and thrive” in the face of challenges including climate change effects on Lake Erie, aging infrastructure, and demographic shifts.
Learn more: Lakewood Resiliency
Streetcar Suburb#
A residential area that developed along streetcar (trolley) lines in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, characterized by compact lots, walkable streets, and commercial corridors along transit routes.
Why it matters: Lakewood is one of Cleveland’s three classic streetcar suburbs. The Detroit Avenue line opened in 1893, Clifton Boulevard in 1903, and Madison Avenue in 1916. Neighborhoods grew around these lines, producing the dense, walkable form that defines Lakewood today.
See also: Inner-Ring Suburb
Learn more: Lakewood Historical Society | Encyclopedia of Cleveland History - Suburbs
Upzoning#
Changing zoning regulations to allow greater density or intensity of use — such as permitting multifamily housing where only single-family was previously allowed.
Why it matters: As Lakewood undertakes its zoning code update, questions about whether to upzone certain areas to allow more housing or mixed-use development are central to the discussion. The city’s existing density and built form mean upzoning typically involves infill rather than greenfield development.
Learn more: Lakewood Zoning Update 2024
Last updated: February 2026