[{"_1":2,"_87":-5,"_88":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6283184,"mediaKeyId","2590162-e6bcbd0b3e9945d5fd1d5a9f58788944","parentId",2590162,"title","Commission reviews Part 3 design standards: sustainability, incentives, universal design and appendix proposal","audioSeconds",3272,"startMs",1290000,"endMs",4562000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2590162-e6bcbd0b3e9945d5fd1d5a9f58788944&start=1290&end=4562","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2590162-e6bcbd0b3e9945d5fd1d5a9f58788944/thumbnail_1290000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6283184/Redmond/King-County/Washington/Commission-reviews-Part-3-design-standards-sustainability-incentives-universal-design-and-appendix-proposal","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6283184-96fee52057fef2e47f5bd0781167fa9f/orig.mp4?Expires=1774939202&Signature=CK9be6qGrmsCmOMKxwT7LVIa1kQBYQHJwzq4yvrzrBZuthtMX3ErWo4Y0iSIB~OG836LrFVnCsY~ek~xKuX9XSp22gNwgTP11k-jh-GLJcHw10huJeFwQF2mvu8TsRzCC089WneewJXPwQAJY-u3We9blouQy0KTNo4qyJ6W-GOsqi80m2m~PTx3WEUHGI3Ns1J4wx3o85IFnKr2AZU0dDmUt8nBamnXQStm1QPXCSTXcEe56kBjUiMxPCWyB9BDKKfiXYtF8Bje4poeiryknz4dzelUcFekg86Fuf7xr3-GhdeYbdco3g20HnOb76od5ZGXEldUI7fVwlA2vshNfQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Redmond City, WA","date","2025-03-12T23:56:07Z","article","Becky Fry, senior planning staff, introduced a study-session update to Part 3 of Redmond’s 2025 code package on March 12, 2025, saying staff had published an updated draft that includes a new sustainability and resiliency section and several implementation clarifications for design standards.

Fry told the commission the package includes three main areas of new content (chapter 2000 on incentives implementation, chapter 3000 on suburban-to-urban transitions and building topologies, and relocated or clarified sections for 4000 and 7000) and a proposal to move the design checklist and supplemental standards into a new appendix (proposed Appendix 12) so the city can update those items more quickly as state guidance and industry practice evolve.

Why it matters: Staff said the changes support Redmond 2050 goals for sustainability, universal design, and walkability and make the city’s Green Building incentives (GBP) and the design standards operationally clear. Commissioners and public commenters tested how the provisions will be applied, and staff said several items will go to public hearing in upcoming meetings with a target for council adoption in June.

Key points from the presentation and discussion
- Publication and scope: Fry said the city republished an updated draft of the design standards (21.58 v2.1) that includes the previously pending sustainability/resiliency material and several cleanup edits; technical advisory committee materials and packet history are posted on the city’s 2025 code updates page.
- Appendix proposal: Staff proposed removing the checklist and some supplemental standards from the code text and placing identical language in a new Appendix 12 to allow more rapid updates to align with state or industry changes.
- Incentives and GBP: The draft clarifies how incentives in the Green Building Program link to code outcomes (electrification, embodied carbon reduction, energy performance) and staff said more detail on the mechanics of incentives will be added where possible.
- New topics: The package adds guidance on suburban-to-urban transitions, a small-building alternative to shorten review for qualifying parcels, a new special-regulations section that includes mass-timber guidance, and relocated multifamily and middle-housing rules.

Public comment and technical concerns
David Morton, a Redmond resident who spoke during the public-comment period, urged staff to clarify enforcement and incentives and to consider phased compliance for ambitious energy-performance targets. He also listed possible incentives (green roofs, solar panels, battery storage, advanced stormwater management) that could be emphasized. \"The green building incentive program or GBP has requirements for sustainability such as electrification, energy efficiency, embodied carbon reduction, and water conservation,\" Morton said, and he asked for clearer descriptions of how incentives would be earned.

Commissioner questions and staff clarifications
Commissioners examined several technical and design questions that staff said they will continue to refine in the issues matrix and subsequent packet versions:
- Small-building alternative and naming: Staff clarified the small-building alternative is intended for smaller parcels and that the language and public-facing name could be revised before public hearing.
- Alternative Design Compliance (ADC): Commissioners asked that the purpose statement clarify when ADC would be used (for new technologies or unusual, iconic designs) so applicants and reviewers can see when the alternative path is appropriate.
- Landmark/iconic buildings: Commissioners requested clearer guidance or a definition for when a project qualifies as \"iconic,\" \"landmark\" or \"significant variation\" to ensure the ADC route can be applied for truly unusual designs.
- Public art and blank walls: Commissioners asked that the code present a short list of options earlier (murals, mosaics, sculpture, vegetated treatments, photovoltaics) so readers understand alternatives to vegetated walls; staff said they would add cross-references to the public-art section and review unusual wording that appeared to require plantings in murals.
- Sensory rooms and respite areas: Commissioners raised operational concerns about requiring programmable speakers or TVs in sensory-respite spaces and asked staff to clarify whether the incentive checklists apply to interior or exterior sensory areas. Fry said the incentive checklist and appendix cross-references will clarify when provisions are required to earn an incentive and that staff would revisit equipment requirements for public spaces.
- Underground parking and temporary dewatering: Staff explained the city is limiting temporary construction dewatering in areas that could affect municipal supply wells; that constraint will affect where underground parking is feasible and prompted discussion of site-specific limitations.

Process and next steps
Fry and other staff said the sections in the packet will proceed to public hearing at the next two Planning Commission meetings (the first set of sections at the next meeting, additional sections including the newly published sustainability section on April 9), after which staff aim to consolidate all packages for a single council adoption and effective date. Commissioners were asked to submit minor editorial edits by email for incorporation into the issues matrix prior to the hearings.

Speakers quoted in this article are drawn directly from the meeting transcript and are listed in the speakers section below.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Redmond Planning Commission | March 12, 2025","oneSentenceSummary","Becky Fry and planning staff presented an updated Part 3 design-standards package on March 12 that includes a new sustainability and resiliency section, a proposal to place the design checklist in an appendix for rapid updates, and incentives tied to the city’s Green Building Program.","taxTitle","Redmond, King County, Washington","taxId",2615,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6283189,"Planning commission studies 2025 housing code amendments to implement middle housing and ease street-improvement burdens",514,319000,833000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2590162-e6bcbd0b3e9945d5fd1d5a9f58788944&start=319&end=833","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2590162-e6bcbd0b3e9945d5fd1d5a9f58788944/thumbnail_319000.jpg","/articles/6283189/Redmond/King-County/Washington/Planning-commission-studies-2025-housing-code-amendments-to-implement-middle-housing-and-ease-street-improvement-burdens","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6283189-cac3218938815ca38a4c5bfdc0d02b2f/orig.mp4?Expires=1774939202&Signature=Jsy4kPsU7GOjEX3YhBeiQ3Vw7kNQQphYX-0uDF6HhZc39gdpyWCBLfHzweZtXvJA3M1OxJ0Dkk3tQozHXueuGOE~WOXkQQLQyqmPiwzKxBor6ozAzun7c9~Y9Dm3b3PCjNbgnVSg~Q7EDVqCHW8SrQ3K4u2LRpkR8tu2FDKbAHsbAOKPAPLuPzql3F~vB~WRTDoHzugV65XvD6kjp7lRMq5~u7eDNCWfZCFbEGSGsLt5Lq6IorKKfOaEy~v80uhZqxogtP77~gd7fPYQsVCke9kLqLjWgxRhi16G8CHtaeb7LCUOherRRrk9rMIvcMpdivZr9vaeh36yFRT16sRJjw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Ian Lefkort, a senior planner with Long Range Planning, presented the Redmond Planning Commission with a 2025 housing amendment package at the commission’s March 12 study session that staff said is aimed at implementing \"middle housing,\" aligning the zoning code with the Redmond 2050 comprehensive plan, and complying with recent state law changes.

The amendments, Lefkort said, mostly consist of code cleanup and modest changes to make middle housing legally explicit and easier to build. \"Some of the amendments are literally just adding the phrase ‘middle housing,’\" Lefkort said, and other changes focus on reducing ambiguity in calculations such as gross floor area and on expanding options for private streets and reduced right-of-way requirements so adding a duplex or triplex does not automatically trigger costly street upgrades.

Why it matters: staff and commissioners said the package is intended to increase housing choice and diversity without changing the city’s overall comprehensive-plan vision. Lefkort told the commission the edits are intended to reduce regulatory barriers that can make smaller infill projects financially infeasible and to align the code with state legislative requirements, which staff said the city must meet on a tight timeline.

Key details
- Scope: The package edits multiple zoning-code chapters (staff cited chapter references around 21.58) to add middle housing definitions and implementation language, to clarify gross floor area calculations for certain neighborhood-residential zones, and to fix cross-reference errors created by the zoning consolidation done for Redmond 2050.
- Transportation/street improvements: Staff proposed allowing more private ways and reducing the required right-of-way width and improvements in some infill situations so that the addition of a duplex or two does not automatically require a full public-street rebuild.
- State-mandated items: Lefkort said two state law changes must be implemented: a list of items local jurisdictions cannot require when converting nonresidential buildings to residential use (presented in the draft verbatim) and a change permitting certain co-living residential uses in the NR zone. Staff described those as mandatory and not discretionary.
- Timeline: Lefkort said the study session was March 12, a public hearing is scheduled at the commission’s next meeting, staff hope to complete a recommendation in early April (study session April 9), and a final report to the council is targeted for April 23. He emphasized state requirements to adopt middle-housing standards by June of 2025.

Commissioner questions and staff responses
Commission Chair Weston asked whether the code changes would allow the conversion of existing commercial or mixed‑use buildings to housing in ways that could displace small businesses. \"Is there any way to balance, like, making sure that we actually maintain the commercially mandated space, or is it really out of our hands once this is passed?\" Weston asked.

Lefkort responded that the zoning-code changes are driven by state law and that conversion remains difficult in practice because many nonresidential buildings lack the window plates and layouts needed for livable units. He said the city is separately pursuing a programmatic approach to preservation, anti‑displacement, and economic-vitality strategies led by Philip Marsh, the city’s economic development manager. \"That programmatic approach that Philip will lead will help mitigate that concern,\" Lefkort said.

Commissioner Copley asked whether there is a short list of candidate buildings likely to convert. Lefkort said community interest is effectively zero to date and that no specific projects are pending, suggesting the zoning change alone may not trigger immediate conversions.

Next steps and requests from commissioners
Commissioners asked staff to add clarifying language to the draft and to capture concerns—including preservation of active business uses—in the issues matrix for the record and for the council. Lefkort agreed to provide an analysis of how existing business licenses, long‑standing tenants, and other programmatic measures might be considered alongside the zoning amendments and to pass commissioners’ concerns on to Philip Marsh and the economic-vitality effort.

The commission will hold a public hearing on the amendments at its next meeting; staff requested written comments in advance so they can be incorporated into the issues matrix.

Speakers quoted in this article come from the Planning Commission meeting transcript and are identified in the speakers list below.","Ian Lefkort, a senior planner with Long Range Planning, presented the Redmond Planning Commission on March 12 with a package of 2025 housing code amendments intended to implement middle housing, clarify zoning language adopted under Redmond 2050, and reduce street-improvement burdens that can block small-scale infill.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Commission reviews Part 3 design standards: sustainability, incentives, universal design and appendix proposal

Planning commission studies 2025 housing code amendments to implement middle housing and ease street-improvement burdens