Lakewood, CO Historic Preservation: Historic-Cultural Monuments (2026)
Key Facts
- Designating Body
- Preservation Commission and City Council
- Criteria
- Five alternative criteria; any one qualifies
- Cultural Criterion
- Culturally significant to Lakewood community
- Owner Consent
- Written consent required for single property
- District Threshold
- 60% of district property owners
Summary
Lakewood's Historic Preservation Commission may designate a structure, site, or district as a local historic landmark if it is culturally significant to the community, among four other criteria set out in the Zoning Ordinance.
A structure, site or district may be designated for historic preservation if it meets the following criteria:
A. It is associated with events that have made a significant contribution to the broad
patterns of the City's history; or
B. It is associated with the lives of persons significant in the City's past; or
C. It embodies the distinctive characteristics of a type, period or method of construction, or
represents the work of a master, or possesses high artistic values, or represents a significant and distinguishable entity whose components may lack individual distinction; or
D. It has yielded, or may be likely to yield, information important in history or prehistory; or
E. It is culturally significant to the Lakewood community.
Full Breakdown
Under Lakewood's Zoning Ordinance, the City's Historic Preservation Commission can designate any structure, site, or district as a local historic landmark if it meets one of five criteria: association with a significant historical event or person, distinctive architectural characteristics or the work of a master, likely archaeological or historical information value, or cultural significance to the Lakewood community. Designation requires written consent of the property owner (or 60 percent of owners in a proposed district) and follows an application and public hearing process before the Commission and City Council under Section 17.11.4.
Violations & Fines
Violating Article 11's designation and alteration certificate requirements is a Zoning Ordinance violation, prosecutable under the Municipal Code; each day the violation continues after written notice to abate is a separate violation (§ 17.1.11).
Frequently Asked Questions
What makes a property eligible for historic designation in Lakewood?
Can Lakewood designate my property without my consent?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Lakewood
Compare Lakewood to another location·View the Colorado historic preservation overview
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