Lakewood Weighs Airbnb Rules and Power Showdown
The Lakewood City Council debates new regulations for short-term rentals, tackles e-bike and e-moped safety concerns, and advances charter changes toward the November ballot, all while escalating its fight with FirstEnergy over life-threatening power outages and unreliable service. 31mins
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Original Meeting
In This Video
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Council Members Evans, Kepple, and Bullock reported that committees began a series of meetings on potential ordinance changes for E-bikes, E-scooters, and similar devices, discussing clearer definitions, regulations, enforcement of existing reckless operation rules, concerns about children using high-speed E-mopeds on sidewalks, and the need for swift action paired with education and behavior-focused governance.
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Council Member Kepple explained that charter changes recommended by the Citizen-led Charter Review Commission had been extensively deliberated, with five ordinances advanced to send ballot measures to the November election, including amendments to the schedule for reviewing council salaries and reinstating a 10% salary cap tied to whether an office had received an increase within the preceding ten years.
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Council Member Hamilton Steiner outlined concerns about proposed federal changes to Uniform Guidance for financial assistance, warning about limits on DEI and disparate impact activities, broader shifts in grant-making authority, and urging colleagues and the public to submit comments before the July 13 deadline.
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Council Member Bullock introduced a proposed ordinance to restart Council deliberations on regulating short-term rentals like Airbnbs, noting their rapid growth in Lakewood and describing resident complaints about neighborhood impacts, housing affordability pressures, and nuisance or criminal behavior.
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Council Member Bullock explained that existing zoning limited short-term rentals and then outlined a proposed ordinance to treat them as bed-and-breakfasts requiring conditional use permits, owner occupancy, bans in larger multi-family buildings and near schools, and added safety, disclosure, and accountability standards to protect neighborhood character and housing availability.
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Clerk Of Council Hagan read an ordinance clarifying short-term rentals as a bed-and-breakfast conditional use, and Council Member Bullock framed the proposal as a community choice about how such commercial operations fit into residential zoning while emphasizing neighbors’ concerns and the need for public input and oversight.
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A resident described repeated multi-hour power outages over several days, detailed a resulting medical emergency requiring ER treatment, criticized the electric utility and added development for straining the grid, and urged City Council to pursue stronger, creative actions such as lawsuits or alternative providers to protect public safety.
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Council Member Kepple and Mayor George acknowledged the resident’s ordeal during recent power outages, emphasized that the situation posed life-and-death risks, and described renewed complaints to the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio seeking fines, refunds, and options such as escrowed utility payments while affirming ongoing efforts to pressure FirstEnergy.
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A resident thanked Mayor George and urged better communication on power issues, prompting the Mayor to describe plans for a dedicated FirstEnergy information webpage, while Council Member Kepple criticized the utility’s public messaging, noted that regulators had rejected its bid to lower reliability standards citing Lakewood residents’ comments, and encouraged continued public input.
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Mayor George thanked City Council and highlighted Council Member Bullock’s energy expertise in the city’s fight with regulators, while resident Ben Jackson urged the creation of an escrow account for utility payments with covenants and coordinated public input to pressure FirstEnergy to improve reliability.
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Council Member Kepple warned that high-speed electric mopeds marketed as E-bikes were rapidly appearing on sidewalks, described safety risks for pedestrians and vulnerable residents, recalled past licensing and age requirements for mopeds, and indicated that interim regulatory actions and follow-up with the police chief were being considered before broader shared-use path rules were finalized.
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