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Kenmore holds public hearing on single-room-occupancy code changes after state law; public raises concerns about communal SRO designs
Summary
City planners presented draft code implementing state law to permit single-room-occupancy (SRO) housing in most residential zones including R4 and mixed-use zones, with several design and utility standards. A resident at the hearing urged the council to consider alternatives and not remove manufactured-housing options.
Principal planner Todd Hall and senior planner Britney Chu presented draft code changes to the Kenmore City Council and opened a public hearing on amendments to allow single-room-occupancy (SRO) housing and to revise residential parking rules. Staff said the changes implement 2024 state law (House Bill 1998) that allows SRO housing on lots with six or more residential units and that council-directed changes added R4 zoning to the list of zones where SROs would be permitted.
“Based on feedback from council and the previous public comment, SRO will now also be allowed in R4 zoning,” Hall said, explaining that SROs will be allowed in most residential and mixed-use zones except R1, golf course, parks, and manufactured housing communities. Staff described design and safety requirements for SROs: they can be built within detached cottage-style developments, duplexes, or apartment buildings but must follow building code separations, utility-metering rules and other design standards consistent with the building type. For example, duplexes require specific fire-resistance separations depending on whether units are sprinkled.
The presentation noted two public review periods that remain open: the SEPA comment period on the environmental review through Aug. 1 and the Washington State Department of Commerce comment period through Aug. 16. Staff told the council a formal adoption ordinance is scheduled for Sept. 8, contingent on no major changes arising from comments and SEPA.
During the hearing, Stacy Valenzuela, who identified herself as a Kenmore resident, urged the council to include affected residents in planning and to preserve manufactured-home communities. “The main problem is ‘nothing about us without us,’ ” Valenzuela said. She told the council many older or lower-income residents choose manufactured-home living for private yards, independent utility access and dignity, and she urged the city to consider motel-to-housing options that preserve private kitchens and bathrooms rather than communal boarding arrangements.
The public hearing was formally opened and then closed after the virtual speaker list was exhausted. No final ordinance vote occurred at the meeting; staff said the code will return to council for adoption consideration on Sept. 8 after the SEPA and Commerce comment periods close.
