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Redmond Planning Commission recommends 2025 housing amendments to City Council
Summary
On April 9, 2025 the Redmond Planning Commission voted to recommend the 2025 housing amendments to the City Council and accepted the staff report; staff said payment-in-lieu funds are intended for affordable housing and will be used by the city or approved housing providers.
At its April 9, 2025 meeting the Redmond Planning Commission voted to ask staff to forward the 2025 housing amendments to the Redmond City Council with a recommendation of approval. The commission also voted to accept the staff report included in the meeting packet.
The housing amendments implement elements of the Redmond 2050 comprehensive plan and update local code language, staff said. Jeff Churchill, filling in for planner Ian Lefkort, told commissioners that the draft clarifies where payment‑in‑lieu (PIL) requirements are located in the chapter and makes style changes to replace most occurrences of "shall" with "must." Churchill said the changes are editorial and do not alter the substantive amendments.
Commissioner Aparna asked whether the regulations specify where PIL funds are held. Churchill said the funds are used by the city or an approved housing provider to provide affordable housing and that the funds go into the city’s housing trust fund; he also noted a provision in the code’s alternative compliance section that requires cash payments or provided housing units be used only for subsequent provision of affordable housing units by the city or other approved housing provider. Commissioners said that language satisfied their concern about the funds’ intended purpose and that a formal name for the fund does not have to appear in the code if the regulation already ties the payments to affordable housing use.
After brief discussion commissioners made and seconded a motion to ask staff to recommend approval of the 2025 housing amendments to City Council. The motion carried on an "aye" vote, and the commission then voted to accept the staff report prepared for the meeting. Staff said the signed materials will be sent to the council and that staff will brief council members on April 22.
The amendments and the staff report will be transmitted to the Redmond City Council for its consideration; the commission did not itself adopt the amendments into municipal code, but recommended approval to council.
