Redmond previews Phase 3 of Redmond 2050 code package covering housing and design standards

Council President Kritzer called the Redmond City Council study session to order on May 13, 2025, and Planning and Community Development Director Carol Helland presented the Planning Commission’s recommendations for the Phase 3 “Redmond 2050” code package covering design standards and housing amendments.

The package aims to implement Redmond 2050 goals, respond to recent state laws and improve clarity and flexibility in zoning and development standards. Helland said staff previously introduced the item on April 1 and gathered further council questions at the April 22 Committee of the Whole meeting.

Ian Lefkort, staff, summarized the housing changes and their purpose. He said the amendments focus on three principal areas: middle housing implementation, legislative compliance and residential adjustments. “The housing amendments help implement the Redmond 2050 comprehensive plan,” Lefkort said. He added that the work is driven by the comprehensive plan’s finding that Redmond needs significantly more housing units by 2050, and that “over 70% of this net new housing is needed for households that earn 50 percent AMI or below.”

Why it matters: staff and the Planning Commission framed the package as a mix of policy and technical edits that seek to increase housing supply and align the municipal code with state requirements while making design rules more outcome‑based and less prescriptive. The housing changes address affordability policy tools used by the city — mandatory inclusionary zoning and the multifamily property tax exemption (MFTE) — and refine how the neighborhood residential payment‑in‑lieu (PIL) is calculated and administered.

Key housing points

- Lefkort said the amendments will not change zoning or the MFTE parameters or targeted areas: “the amendments will not change the zoning for those areas.…