[{"_1":2,"_99":-5,"_100":-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",[32,75,87],{"_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",6244066,"mediaKeyId","3234535-ee46dffe727be0345215b05481241e66","parentId",3234535,"title","Planning staff propose neighborhood‑scale commercial rules, parking changes and administrative cleanups for Phase 2 code update","audioSeconds",1677,"startMs",4980000,"endMs",6657000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=3234535-ee46dffe727be0345215b05481241e66&start=4980&end=6657","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3234535-ee46dffe727be0345215b05481241e66/thumbnail_4980000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6244066/Bothell/King-County/Washington/Planning-staff-propose-neighborhoodscale-commercial-rules-parking-changes-and-administrative-cleanups-for-Phase-2-code-update","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6244066-08385871619519e21adfb8eb7a8e6072/orig.mp4?Expires=1771172446&Signature=nco~ct2NL8mf15OXfDX22i7oYwehHALvCe~KMXrXxi6zoiS3HlcGmVYaVWUnHryYti6h86ZxyOF-epnnHWmgD7jztbo2sI8TNU7NSIyNJmLQUDPV8weV13EMarcMhP5RloH-qx2zmrKzTpR4MIPvX2di8MxHhqIjk7GnJji-hUfTncEW2qxDK-G47QDIbnILReis~pPiMges-22VdC7Auc8cxSbBhDVmo3kF4O-nOumsPNhvdJRM33tdfqx5r8p1mKlFIKv8l~zAdvRQANV7RJAjS~64ymIjyRxCcbqtBacMdrQpah9KLquTE9MjMQPLMqZfeO0l8IzimMxAFdZy0A__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Bothell City, WA","date","2025-05-08T06:50:39Z","article","Jacqueline Sampson, long-range planner for the City of Bothell, presented draft Phase 2 development‑code amendments May 7 that would: define and scale neighborhood‑scale commercial uses; revise parking and related bicycle/ride‑share provisions; simplify coverage standards by removing maximum building coverage where appropriate; and clarify several administrative procedures.

Sampson said the neighborhood‑scale commercial approach follows Department of Commerce guidance and, after City Council feedback, staff proposes a scale that sets the maximum commercial footprint at the greater of 1,800 square feet or 30% of the lot’s net billable area, capped at 2,500 square feet. \"That ensures even very small lots can support functional commercial space, while preventing very large lots from producing out‑of‑scale commercial buildings,\" she said.

On parking, Sampson told commissioners that Senate Bill 5184 had cleared the 2025 legislative session and was signed by the governor that morning; staff will verify the final text but noted the state action informed local work. City Council has also asked staff to consider eliminating citywide off‑street parking minimums; staff presented a draft that would decouple bicycle and rideshare parking calculations from vehicular parking minimums (using Bellingham’s approach for bike parking and an independent calculation for rideshare/loading). Sampson said the city is weighing whether to retain parking minimums as an incentive for affordable housing or remove them entirely.

Sampson described other proposed changes: no immediate revisions to recently adopted hard‑surface coverage limits (implemented Jan. 1), deletion of redundant references to maximum building coverage in several sections to reduce code complexity, and administrative updates to variance criteria, net billable area definitions, and docketing procedures (including an option to route site‑specific rezone recommendations through the hearing examiner before City Council decision).

Commissioners generally supported the Department of Commerce‑based neighborhood scale approach; Commissioner Westerbeck praised the 1,800/2,500 hybrid as a reasonable starting point. On parking, commissioners were split: Commissioner Sarah Gustafson and Commissioner Westerbeck expressed support for eliminating off‑street parking minimums, emphasizing the need for multi‑department parking management (public works, police, finance) to prevent spillover impacts; Commissioner Levert and Commissioner Robson urged caution, noting possible disproportionate impacts on workers and residents who rely on personal vehicles and urging protections for seniors and the chronically ill.

Sampson said staff will prepare findings and bring recommendations back to the commission on May 21, with a planned City Council public hearing in June and a potential final ordinance in July. No action was required at the May 7 meeting; commissioners provided feedback to guide code drafting.

Next steps identified by staff include verifying statutory details of recent state bills, finalizing draft code language reflecting commission feedback and council direction, preparing findings and recommendations for the May 21 commission meeting, and conducting the Council public hearing in June.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Bothell Planning Commission Meeting - May 7, 2025","oneSentenceSummary","Jacqueline Sampson, long‑range planner, presented draft Phase 2 code amendments May 7 proposing neighborhood‑scale commercial limits, revised parking provisions tied to recent state law, simplification of coverage rules, and administrative clarifications.","taxTitle","Bothell, King County, Washington","taxId",53919,"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},6244071,"Bothell staff outline menu of possible affordable-housing incentives; commissioners urge outreach and attention to implementation costs",2256,2699000,4955000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3234535-ee46dffe727be0345215b05481241e66&start=2699&end=4955","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3234535-ee46dffe727be0345215b05481241e66/thumbnail_2699000.jpg","/articles/6244071/Bothell/King-County/Washington/Bothell-staff-outline-menu-of-possible-affordable-housing-incentives-commissioners-urge-outreach-and-attention-to-implementation-costs","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6244071-0509a4037f5a7dca69f968c97f2f5005/orig.mp4?Expires=1771172446&Signature=IjHnbh0sHqVSLGrjDNzYz7nHqybnu-A6uKy6SJW1RPKtFWCW~frBLvoax8NgDzaXBZbvOs-Oncv7T5wwzM2hTUX4AqPf0vjPe908mgz3MmjFNC8meLQHhR5sbJMYzvvyc82hEHCCBtwBoA4Sbk8gdlxvqcOo7ENSUqyG2AOWVDA189jIQs~vM-RTf6MBipI7d5bO8oL8EQrC2ifMAp9xlqrOckc3pDSvPfAeshAJpEYHPf1mF9VKS5hzFDNfovOJ-Y0z4Z3JJtyg7QMg3j~kteNqY0qK4XNxk2-O3~dBdmDZMbMf7tG3rqTbCpCH1-I-E2GnQ0EcIMZAGCL7HqcoFA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Ray Sosa, senior long-range planner with the City of Bothell, and Jacqueline Sampson, long-range planner, presented May 7 on draft affordable-housing incentive concepts the city is considering to implement a March City Council directive and meet multi-decade housing targets.

The proposals are designed to produce dedicated affordable units by making development options more attractive to private builders; staff emphasized the concepts are preliminary and that \"no actions are required tonight.\" The menu under consideration includes density flexibility, additional height, reduced parking, impact-fee relief or deferral, permit expediting and expansion or marketing of the city’s MFTE (multi-family tax exemption) program, Sosa told the commission.

Sosa and Sampson placed the work in context: regional housing targets from the Puget Sound Regional Council (PSRC) call for large numbers of homes over the next 24 years, much of it affordable (staff showed that a sizable share of required units fall at or under 80% AMI, with a near‑term need concentrated at lower AMI bands). Sosa also cited household-cost-burden figures from 2020: roughly 27% of Bothell households were cost‑burdened, about 5,000 households, with renter households more likely to be cost‑burdened (41% of renters versus 19% of homeowners, per the materials).

Commissioners broadly supported pursuing incentives while urging staff to sharpen implementation details and outreach. Commissioner Westerbeck urged staff to address non-land‑use costs that can make small projects infeasible — notably required frontage improvements, sewer or utility relocations and traffic impact fees — and to streamline permitting so small developers face less friction. \"There's all these sort of hidden fees or bits of friction or roadblocks being small developers,\" Westerbeck said.

Commissioner Sarah Gustafson asked for concrete case studies of incentives that have produced deed‑restricted units in peer cities; staff noted the city has limited local precedent (one project in the SR 522 corridor used favorable zoning and an external grant) and said they plan targeted outreach to developers and affordable‑housing providers. Commissioner Levert urged staff to use demographic data to frame who benefits from new units and to plan outreach that addresses homeowner concerns and the \"not in my backyard\" dynamic.

Discussion covered MFTE (multi-family tax exemption) uptake — staff said Bothell’s MFTE overlay and other zoning options have been available in limited downtown areas and Canyon Park and that only a single project had used the current overlays so far. Commissioners urged easier-to-use materials and a proactive approach to reduce administrative friction for smaller developers who lack large in-house teams.

Staff emphasized state legislative changes that affect local options. Sosa summarized recent bills and local actions that shaped the work: the city adopted middle‑housing code changes in response to state law and City Council adopted Ordinance 2407 and Resolution 1473 (as described in staff materials) directing further study of incentives. He described the legal framework allowing the city to structure incentives and inclusionary mechanisms consistent with state law (RCW and related rules) and said staff will return with refined proposals to City Council after additional outreach.

No formal decisions were made May 7. Staff said next steps include refining the incentive menu, conducting developer outreach, preparing materials that show how incentives change project pro formas, and bringing Council feedback back into the code‑amendment process.","Staff presented draft incentive concepts — density flexibility, height increases, reduced parking, permit expediting and MFTE — to rouse developer interest in creating income-restricted housing. Commissioners urged clearer case studies, simplification for small developers and attention to hidden costs such as frontage and utility work.",{"_33":88,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":89,"_41":90,"_43":91,"_45":92,"_47":93,"_49":94,"_51":95,"_53":96,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":97,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":98,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6244075,"Bothell planners release tree canopy data, flag species concentration and potential planting areas",2202,300000,2502000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3234535-ee46dffe727be0345215b05481241e66&start=300&end=2502","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3234535-ee46dffe727be0345215b05481241e66/thumbnail_300000.jpg","/articles/6244075/Bothell/King-County/Washington/Bothell-planners-release-tree-canopy-data-flag-species-concentration-and-potential-planting-areas","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6244075-61278566bbfb9c04d4cd8cc329a0df46/orig.mp4?Expires=1771172446&Signature=Q58FHO-nUbbZRxSj3aQr04QXT-jq2i5O0fagtgb6xUs144aKkMs8kyM9wws4h6nSeisPavcXiFNYv4~JVckxTeHwfZTM~rRuC8jrslTcwNH~7PTPvZ3bWpZqP4KcrolVP6vLiKNh21fSWjPqo51az0QTInpOC5EQyuzBLKndvDcG8kXM-FNwagWMF71nm5gHR2jJBhGhmdevFdncyq~vQGlqa5k4jMTy0PuMTkFOM15ykUmEAdPrVb7IJIwQi8ux-DTwHJz000YdQIhxlPmjhicGwBJIxqQbNpLojEMC5e-8smS0NtdKuek9K8Egk0Fm9C1jpd7p19meZnAMuSM8IA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Cameron Colvin, long-range planner in the City of Bothell Community Development Department, presented preliminary findings May 7 from a consultant-led urban forest management plan that includes a near-complete street-tree inventory and a 2023-based tree canopy assessment.

The work matters because the data will guide decisions on where to focus tree preservation and new plantings as Bothell grows: the citywide canopy is 44% inside city limits and 35% in the Urban Growth Area, and patterns of canopy loss and gain differ by neighborhood and zoning district, Colvin told the planning commission.

Colvin said the city retained Planet Geo to lead the project and that Planet Geo’s field crews — certified arborists — collected street-tree data in a GIS application, recording species, size, condition, maintenance needs and conflicts with infrastructure. He said the street-tree inventory focused on trees in the public right of way and maintained strips, planters and medians and is intended as phase one; expansion to parks and other city properties could follow if funding permits.

The inventory shows species concentration and size-class imbalances. \"About a third of the street trees inventoried are red maples,\" Colvin said, with Douglas fir making up about 16% and other species at lower shares. He noted the commonly used diversity guideline — the “10-20-30 rule” that recommends no more than 10% of trees be the same species, 20% the same genus and 30% the same family — is exceeded at the species and genus levels because of the high share of red maples, though the family-level threshold was met.

Colvin said the size distribution of street trees skews toward small and medium trees and that the inventory found relatively few large, mature street trees. He also said most street trees were rated in \"good\" or \"fair\" condition and that only a very small number of street trees were identified as high-priority removals: \"priority 1 removals\" represented five trees in the inventory, he reported.

The canopy assessment, which used 2023 aerial imagery and LiDAR-derived analysis, maps current canopy, potential planting space and environmental constraints (for example, utility lines or unsuitable soils). Colvin described spatial analysis by census block, subarea and zoning district; residential and conservation zones and parks unsurprisingly retain higher canopy percentages, while downtown and Canyon Park have lower canopy cover. Comparing the 2015 baseline to 2023, Colvin said the citywide canopy changed by less than 1% (a small net decrease) when losses and gains are aggregated.

Commissioners pressed for details on age and the value of mature trees. Commissioner Sarah Gustafson asked about retention of older trees and whether a goal to protect \"heritage\" or very large trees would be part of the plan; Colvin said council had flagged a heritage-tree program as a possible direction and staff could return with examples from other jurisdictions. Commissioner Robson and others emphasized concern that counts based on aerial imagery can miss qualitative loss when large mature trees are replaced by many small plantings, and commissioners urged attention to species selection and \"right tree, right place\" guidance for developers and homeowners.

Commissioners suggested making the inventory and canopy maps publicly available and using demographic overlays so future plantings can target equity priorities. Colvin said Planet Geo overlaid canopy with indicators such as age, income and education to identify areas where plantings would create equitable benefit and that public engagement will begin this summer with a draft expected for review in late summer.

Staff noted no formal action was required at the May 7 meeting; the project will return later for additional public engagement and draft review.

For now, Colvin recommended next steps: complete the field inventory, publish maps and data for public use, develop \"right tree, right place\" guidance, and explore a heritage-tree program. Commissioners broadly supported those directions while repeatedly urging caution about overplanting single species and attention to retaining large, mature trees.","Staff presented preliminary results from a tree canopy assessment and street-tree inventory showing about 44% canopy in city limits, a concentration of red maples among street trees, and mapping to guide prioritized plantings and potential equity-driven outreach.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Planning staff propose neighborhood‑scale commercial rules, parking changes and administrative cleanups for Phase 2 code update

Bothell staff outline menu of possible affordable-housing incentives; commissioners urge outreach and attention to implementation costs

Bothell planners release tree canopy data, flag species concentration and potential planting areas