City planning staff updated the Committee of the Whole on Sept. 16 about four code updates targeted for completion in 2025, including a state‑required update to the Critical Areas Ordinance (CAO), new rules for coliving housing, a minor tree‑code legal update and a landmark tree code project.

Why it matters: The CAO update is required by state law and will change stream protections to statewide riparian standards; changes will affect permitting and environmental review for development. The coliving provisions implement Commerce guidance allowing shared‑housing arrangements in designated zones; tree code work responds to prior legal rulings and public concern about the urban forest.

Scope and schedule: Director Clugston said Brad Shipley has led the CAO work since August and the project will "pull it apart, putting it back together in a more logical and coherent way" to make code and administration easier to use. Planning Board has completed an initial public hearing and staff expect an introduction to council on Oct. 28 and adoption before year‑end to meet the statutory deadline.

Coliving: Associate planner Rose Haas is leading the coliving update. Staff said coliving already exists in code as a concept (boarding/rooming house) and the change will add standards for unit size, parking and other requirements. The Commerce model will be adapted; staff anticipate coliving will be allowed in multifamily and mixed‑use zones, centers and hubs, and along Highway 99 where applicable.

Trees and urban forest: Two tree code tasks were described. A minor legal update recommended by the city attorney is scheduled for a Sept. 23 public hearing with potential adoption on Oct. 7. A larger landmark tree code update will follow; staff hope to fill an urban‑forest planner position by October or November to carry that work forward and plan an October 21 Committee of the Whole check‑in on approach and scope. Staff noted that if the urban‑forest planner is not hired, existing staff will need to absorb the work and timelines could shift.

Public input and next steps: Planning Board and environmental stakeholders have been consulted; staff said additional outreach materials and checklists will be developed to help permit applicants comply with the revised CAO. Council members asked primarily clarifying questions about schedule, whether Highway 99/comp plan adjustments fall under a separate process, and where coliving might be appropriate; staff committed to return to council on Oct. 28 with drafts for introduction and public hearing scheduling.

Ending: Staff asked council members to send technical questions in advance when possible to allow staff to prepare; formal public hearings and adoption votes are expected in the October–December timeframe to meet state deadlines.