Sammamish staff: applications up, small builders driving middle‑housing interest; city to study code fixes

The City of Sammamish’s Department of Community Development reported on Sept. 9 that development activity and permit revenue have risen in 2025 and that small builders, not large production firms, are most actively pursuing middle‑housing projects.

During a study session, David Pyle, director of Community Development, said the city currently has 16 short plats under review, one long plat and 81 lots in various stages of subdivision review; 36 new single‑family homes were under review in 2025 and staff had issued 22 permits so far this year. Pyle told the council that 21 homes have reached final inspection and been completed in 2025 to date, compared with 40 new homes completed citywide in 2024.

The uptick in inquiries about middle housing came through staff presentations from Avril Beatty, current planning and permit center manager, and senior planners. Beatty and senior planners said most applicants seeking middle housing are pursuing duplexes and cottage housing; staff have seen fewer inquiries for triplexes, fourplexes or stacked flats. A single larger pre‑application from Tri Point Homes — roughly 50 duplexes on the displayed map — is the largest proposal identified in the presentation.

Why smaller builders? Pyle and planners said smaller builders are now probing the new local rules and land economics to see whether small‑scale middle‑housing projects can be financially feasible; larger production builders have not widely shifted to the smaller product types in Sammamish. “Land economics are adjusting,” Pyle said, and builders are “probing our rules to try and understand where the opportunities are.”

Inclusionary program, ADUs and in‑lieu fees

Staff also reviewed the inclusionary affordable‑housing requirement the council adopted as part of the 2024 comprehensive plan implementation. The city requires a 10% inclusionary set‑aside for new housing or, alternatively, a fee‑in‑lieu. Pyle said the city has so far received a single in‑lieu payment — $85,000 for one new residence — and staff are tracking how design choices, ADUs and exemptions affect whether applicants pay fees.

Beatty noted the city has streamlined permitting for accessory dwelling units (ADUs) since the 2025 code amendments and that homeowners are designing units and accessory kitchens to avoid or reduce in‑lieu fees. She told the council that applicants are sometimes changing project footprints and adding ADUs to meet exemptions and avoid fees, and that staff have seen applicants walk away from projects after learning of fee costs.

Code amendments and the 3,000‑square‑foot footprint limit

Council members and staff discussed a 3,000‑square‑foot footprint limit applied during the middle‑housing code update. Beatty said the limit has had the unintended effect of blocking modest expansions on otherwise large, older lots; there is currently no formal variance pathway for small expansions that would improve accessibility or allow aging‑in‑place modifications. Staff told council they plan to draft targeted code amendments that would create narrowly defined, administrable exceptions (for example, limited footprint relief tied to access improvements), and will route those changes through the Planning Commission.

Zoning reclassifications and parcel consolidation

Staff described an emerging trend in which owners of lower‑density R‑1 parcels are coordinating consolidated rezone applications to move to R‑4, often so multiple adjacent parcels can be rezoned together. Planners said they have seen fewer inquiries for upzoning from R‑4 to R‑6. Council members asked whether rezones would trigger chain reactions on adjacent parcels; planning staff explained that eligibility can depend on site constraints such as critical areas and that adjacent parcels could apply once rezones are effective.

Urban forest, wildfire interface and tree rules

Beatty and Pyle raised a separate issue: tension between the city’s tree‑retention objectives and new state Wildland‑Urban Interface (WUI) building code updates. The Washington State Building Code Council adopted WUI standards in 2023; the state has been revising associated risk maps and treatment requirements. Staff said the new WUI rules could require more aggressive defensible‑space treatments on some parcels, potentially conflicting with the city’s tree retention and canopy goals. Staff recommended waiting for state maps and guidance before proposing local amendments and expect to bring a tree‑retention code update for council consideration in 2026.

Impact‑fee update and schedule

Pyle told council the city is updating its impact‑fee methodology to better reflect unit sizes (by bedrooms or square footage) as required by recent state legislation. The Planning Commission began reviewing formulas in July and staff expect next rounds of review in late 2025; any new fee schedule would take effect no earlier than 2026. School impact fees — set annually using the school district’s capital plan and the city’s codified formula — will come to council this November.

What’s next

Staff said they intend to make the development‑activity update a regular agenda item to keep council informed of trends, and that they will return with proposed code amendments to address footprint exceptions, impact‑fee gradation, and other “cleanup” items identified after implementing the 2025 changes. Council members and several speakers urged staff to produce more public education materials on ADUs, septic/sewer options and permitting steps to help residents evaluate options.

Ending

Council members praised staff for a detailed briefing and asked for follow‑up on specific questions including the feasibility of certain middle‑housing prototypes, potential variance language for accessibility, and timing for the tree‑retention rule update.