Lakewood Council Brings City Into Future
Lakewood moves forward with Transgender protections, invests in single-person mobility, walkability, and announces intent to build new rent controlled housing projects.
Lakewood City Council Meeting.
“Inspiring” news last night from the Lakewood City Council.
For the trans community, victories have been scarce. Especially in a year dominated by headlines of restricted rights and attacks on transgender healthcare. With rollbacks to civil rights and DEI, many groups feel as though they have been slotted as second-class citizens in their home state. Lakewood City Council decided that enough was enough.
I was on the scene reporting the story, as well as standing in solidarity with DSA to support the Lakewood Gender Freedom Policy, which will pass pending ACLU and trans rights/healthcare organizational review. The measure will also extend protections to the homeless transgender population, who make up roughly 32% of the total US Trans population of >2,000,000 people, by ensuring the continued funding of gender affirming care clinics.
The measure includes protections for transgender youth and city employees, who have come under fire from Ohio’s state government and Governor Mike DeWine.
Lakewood Gender Freedom Policy
A first of its kind measure was brought before Lakeland City Council on the evening of 15th September, 2025. Now called the Lakewood Gender Freedom Policy, Lakewood is making moves to ensure that trans people, drag performers, and their families remain protected from Federal and State measures.
Dear Colleagues, Over the past several months, the lives, livelihoods, and wellbeing of transgender individuals have been severely threatened by discriminatory policies coming from the state and federal levels of government. These policies amount to a cruel attempt to erase the identities and silence the voices of members of the transgender community, resulting in many of our friends and neighbors feeling unsafe and uncertain. The following resolution seeks to provide reassurance and protection to our transgender neighbors and their families by proposing an administrative policy to be enacted city-wide.
-Lakewood City Council, Lakewood Gender Freedom Policy.
Lakewood City Gov’t moves to bring the Lakewood Gender Freedom Policy before ACLU and other local rights groups and institutions to ensure transparency and approval, “For us, with us, never without us”.
President Sarah Kepple claims legislation must attempt to “thread the needle” between what is permissible locally, vs OH state, emphasizing that the city will continue to fund trans services, gender-affirming care, and promote a culture of inclusivity and protection of the most vulnerable, despite Ohio state and US Federal measures to the contrary.
“Unfortunately, there are many things we cannot do at city level. We cannot guarantee certain individual protections. Typically, cities only are able to go as far as writing exceptions and policies on flag code and display of pride flags during certain times of the year, like Pride month. What we are trying to do here is find…a little wiggle room, a bit of play, between Federal, State, and City policy. We cannot promise certain protections, but we can ensure that gender-affirming care clinics and trans organizations remain well-funded.” -Lakewood City Council President Sarah Kepple.
For many trans residents of Lakewood and the surrounding area, the Gender Freedom policy has been “such a beam of hope in a largely cloudy year, and it appears that NE Ohio has DSA to thank for that too.”
This is the FIRST MEASURE OF ITS KIND taken by a city government in the state of Ohio.
The Gender Freedom policy was co-written by Cleveland DSA, Lakewood Council President Sarah Kepple, and the Lakewood City Council.
UPDATE: The Buckeye Flame reports that “the resolution and administrative policy passed unanimously out of council’s Committee of the Whole on September 22 and will now be considered at the regular council meeting on October 6.”
Walkability, Sustainability, Affordability
Also brought forward for deliberation on the night was Lakewood's sustainable housing and city walkability policies. Focused on the vacancy left behind by shuttered local businesses, as well as Cleveland Clinic, these initiatives promise to dedicate 20% of all new structures in the city’s rezone to rent-frozen affordable housing units. Further housing units will be constructed in conjunction with walkable commercial areas and incorporated green spaces.
“Council is willing to take a stand” says Lakewood City Council President Sarah Kepple, “to put the needs of the community first, on rezoning walkable, sustainable housing developments and apartment projects, 20% of which will be rent-controlled.”
These sentiments were echoed by VP Kyle G. Baker and Bryan Evans of Ward 2.
Tom Bullock stood in abstention to an otherwise unified ascent.
Along with Mr. Bullock, a sizeable contingent of local contractors and landlords voiced their dissent in the public forum. One local landlord and contractor, speaking on condition of anonymity, informed me that he felt the rent controls would lead to “construction difficulties, especially around material costs and labor dollars per hour.” The contractor and landlord expressed concern that affordable housing construction would not, in his view, be subsidized to those tasked with building the new developments.
Others present at the open forum expressed disappointment with the city council for, what they felt, was a poor dissemination of information regarding the construction project and bike lane implementations.
“We did not have time to react to the policy announcement before the council was convened,” said one concerned citizen, “This came at a very inconvenient time. I feel that communication was dishonest.”
President Kepple, nor others on the Lakewood City Council, offered any immediate response.
Along with the new housing projects, the city announced that bicycle lanes will be added to all main roads and throughways to promote safety for single-person mobility on Lakewood streets and free up the sidewalks for pedestrians. All new shopping centers will be built with walkability and green spaces in mind.
Lakewood: A New Model City For Ohio?
Ohio State Representative Chris Glassburn was also present for the council meeting. He expressed admiration for Lakewood’s operations amidst the ever-deepening austerity and city funding scale-backs that the state of Ohio has inflicted upon its constituents. He expressed major concern for the elderly in Ohio’s cities, who would “have to pay ever more in taxes from their fixed incomes to continue to fund emergency services and buy ever more expensive groceries.”
Rep. Glassburn continued:
"State government needs to hear from [Lakewood City Council], about the struggles of seniors in local communities, whose fixed income is being outpaced by increased taxation due to Ohio city gov't cuts. City emergency services & city infrastructure are under fire. Lakewood continues to show what’s possible, but it should not be a herculean task.” - Ohio State Representative Chris Glassburn.
Sarah Kepple, President of Lakewood City Council, won the respect of many Northeast Ohioans last night for her words on sustainability, walkability, accessibility, and the protection of vulnerable communities, like the trans and homeless communities. Protection of the vulnerable, at least in the city of Lakewood, has become a top priority.