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Commissioners told ADU permissibility is state-driven; daycare changes required in some zones under new state law
Summary
Commissioners were briefed that ADU permissibility is controlled by state law and that recent state legislation requires jurisdictions to allow childcare in most zones, with different rules for industrial zones.
At its Sept. 17 meeting, the Anacortes Planning Commission heard staff explain that accessory dwelling units (ADUs) and short-term data on conversions have driven a volume of resident comment but that ADU permissibility is governed by state law and the city can only regulate design and siting.
Why it matters: ADUs, childcare and conversion of properties affect housing supply, neighborhood character and infrastructure. The delineation between city and state authority shapes which changes the commission can legally adopt.
Commissioner Ryan summarized public input on ADUs and rentals, saying the city lacks a precise inventory because conversions are not always tracked in permitting. "It is important to note that ADU permissibility is state driven and that the city cannot restrict whether they can be built," he said, adding that the city can influence "design characteristics ensuring that ADUs fit with our established building standards and our community design criteria."
On childcare, staff highlighted recent state legislation (SB 5509) that requires jurisdictions to permit day childcare centers outright in most zones and to provide at least a conditional-use pathway for them in industrial zones. Planning Manager Libby Grage told commissioners the draft development-regulation amendments respond to that change: on-site daycare accessory to an employer’s operation already functions as an accessory use in many industrial zones, but the code must accommodate the state requirement for conditional or permitted processes in other contexts.
Grage also noted the city has limits on staffing and funding to pursue a residential rental-registration program that some jurisdictions use to better track ADUs and rental conversions; such programs require council direction and funding or grant support.
Commissioners did not vote on any ADU-specific code changes at the meeting; staff said broader residential-zone code changes to implement state requirements on outright-permitted daycare in residential zones will be returned to the commission before 2027.
