11-02-2026 Lakewood City Council Study Session Video

Lakewood City Council held a study session on November 2, 2026, focused on commercial drone delivery and possible local rules for drone facilities and ground operations. Staff explained federal limits on local authority over airspace and outlined potential controls involving facility locations, setbacks, operating hours, noise, insurance, reporting, and enforcement. Council gave unanimous support (10 members) to including commercial drone delivery in a forthcoming moratorium package while the city studies the issue; this was direction during the study session, not an adoption of the moratorium. Council also asked staff to return with regulatory options, including licensing-only and hybrid licensing/land-use approaches, with comparisons of accessory-use and special-use-permit pathways. Members supported considering fines at the highest administratively permissible level. Staff will bring options back to Council before public outreach; no contract award, purchase, or spending authorization was identified.

The discussion also covered possible future infrastructure needs to help coordinate city and commercial drone activity, but no funding or procurement decision was made. In brief committee updates, a council member noted DRCOG’s $200 million regional greenhouse-gas-reduction initiative and Lakewood’s interest in support for its rebate process; no city allocation decision was reported.