The Lakeville City Council approved amendments to housing development codes Monday aimed at making residential construction more flexible and affordable, following extensive collaboration with local builders.

The amendments eliminate requirements for oversized garages on homes without basements and allow smaller lot sizes in certain districts without conditional use permits. The changes also expand acceptable exterior materials to include engineered wood and cement fiber siding, enabling popular farmhouse-style designs previously restricted by brick requirements.

Community Development Director Miss Good Road said the changes came from discussions with about 10 local and national builders active in Lakeville. "We had a heart-to-heart conversation about what are things that we could do to our code to make it a little bit easier to build housing," Good Road told the council.

The council also received the police department's second-quarter report from Chief Pollson, highlighting significant personnel transitions. Four officers retired in late June and early July, representing about 120 years of combined service, while the department promoted three new lieutenants and four new sergeants to fill leadership roles.

The police department reported decreased overall calls for service, down nearly 2,000 from the same period in 2024, largely due to the fire department's transition to full-time staffing reducing police response to medical calls. The council also approved a routine liquor license name change for Joy's Thai Cuisine LLC.