Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Housing topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Housing advisory committee seeks ideas, floats cottage-housing pilot and land-use options
Summary
The Leavenworth Housing Advisory Committee outlined a 2025 action plan to move from education to action, asking for community ideas and exploring cottage-housing and a possible land-use/feasibility study; the committee also discussed using existing city-owned parcels and leveraging the annual $200,000 housing allocation.
Kurt Peterson, speaking for the Leavenworth Housing Advisory Committee, presented the group's 2025 priorities to the City Council on March 25 and asked for early council feedback on two concepts: a cottage-housing project proposed by local developers and a feasibility study for a parcel on the Rattle Street/Route of St. Hill area.
Why it matters: The committee said it is responsible for recommending how to invest the city's annual $200,000 housing allocation (which the committee said has accrued to roughly $400,000), looking for ways to leverage those dollars for land purchases, infrastructure or partnership projects that would increase the local supply of workforce or affordable housing.
The committee spent 2024 in an education phase, the presentation said, meeting with developers, bankers, builders and charitable organizations to better understand housing needs and local barriers. For 2025 the committee recommended four focus areas: a formal request-for-ideas process for the community, identifying city-owned parcels that could be used for housing, greater community outreach and political engagement, and a Leavenworth-specific housing workshop or summit to connect local builders, lenders and nonprofits.
Peterson highlighted two early concepts. The first was a cottage-housing idea on a site called City Oak Land on Rattle Street Hill; developers Tom Lynn and Matt Hilton told the committee they were considering pre-manufactured cottage units and targeting workforce tenants such as school district and healthcare employees. The committee said it wants to encourage project designs that take advantage of recently-adopted cottage-housing ordinances.
The second concept was a sloped parcel on the Route of St. Hill the committee described as walkable and possibly suitable for workforce housing if further studied. The committee proposed a $50,000 feasibility study to evaluate site constraints, costs and potential development approaches.
Peterson said the committee would also formalize a semi-formal request-for-ideas process to capture community proposals and better shepherd concepts from initial idea to a shovel-ready proposal the council could consider.
Councilmembers generally praised the shift from education to action and asked the committee to coordinate closely with the planning commission on ordinance requirements and potential permitting barriers. The committee said it planned to return with more concrete feasibility numbers and an intake process for proposals.
No formal council action was taken; committee staff requested early feedback and said they would return with more developed proposals and cost estimates.
