Planning Commission reviews draft code changes to allow emergency, transitional and supportive housing across city zones

Planning staff presented draft changes to Anacortes’ development regulations on July 9 to implement state House Bill 1220 and to define four housing types — emergency shelter, emergency housing, transitional housing and permanent supportive housing — and to clarify where each would be allowed in the city.

The proposed amendments would allow indoor emergency shelters and emergency housing in zones where hotels are permitted and would require transitional housing and permanent supportive housing to be allowed in any zone that permits residential dwelling units or hotels, planning manager Libby Grage told the Anacortes Planning Commission. "The law requires the city to plan and accommodate affordable housing that's affordable to all income levels," Grage said.

The change aims to align city code with HB 1220 (2021) and with the city’s Housing Action Plan recommendations. Grage said staff also reviewed guidance from the Washington State Department of Commerce and proposed using existing multifamily development standards and form-and-intensity rules for most STEP housing types to reduce regulatory uncertainty.

Commissioners focused substantial discussion on off-street parking. Staff proposed that emergency shelters be subject to a director decision on parking that typically would require a parking study, while the other STEP housing types would default to the parking standards of the underlying dwelling form (single-family, multifamily, etc.) unless a reduction is shown in a parking study. Grage said the director could require a parking study and that the code text would be revised to clarify when a study is required.

Commissioner Stoneman pressed for consistent baseline wording across housing types, saying "you're really saying the same thing all the way across, basically." Commissioner Mills suggested clearer language to resolve uncertainty about whether a study would always be required, proposing it be phrased "required unless waived by the director." Grage agreed that retaining director discretion but clarifying the standard would be appropriate.

Other proposal details discussed during the meeting:

- Definitions and examples: Grage reviewed the four STEP housing types and typical lengths of stay and supportive services for each. She cited local examples, including the Anacortes Family Center campus, and said the city’s land-capacity analysis found sufficient capacity to meet projected needs: about 60 emergency-housing beds/units and 339 permanent supportive housing units through 2045.

- Zoning: Emergency shelter and emergency housing would be permitted in zones where hotels are allowed (Central Business District, commercial, commercial marine, marine mixed use near Commercial Avenue and the ferry terminal). Transitional housing and permanent supportive housing would be permitted across residential zones (R1–R4) and hotel-allowing commercial zones, consistent with HB 1220’s requirements.

- Development standards: Staff proposed that STEP housing comply with the same form, intensity, lot-size, height, critical-area, and stormwater standards that apply to comparable housing forms. For emergency shelters the proposal would apply multifamily development standards (Division 6) plus form-and-intensity standards (Division 4).

- Parking modifications and process: Because occupants of many STEP housing types typically have lower vehicle ownership, Commerce guidance favors reduced parking minimums or case-by-case adjustments. Staff proposed director discretion with a required parking study by default (the draft will clarify when a study may be waived), and allowed applicants to submit studies to support lower parking minima. Grage acknowledged the code language could allow a director, based on a qualified professional’s parking study and site context, to authorize a low or even zero off-street parking requirement in particular cases.

- Review and public notice thresholds: The staff proposal routes small developments (up to 10 dwelling units) to Type 1 administrative site-plan review and building permit (director-level), while projects over 10 units or those requesting modifications would be a Type 2 administrative decision with public notice and a 14-day comment period.

- Modifications and exemptions: Following Commerce guidance, staff proposed a formal modification/variance request pathway to allow changes to setbacks, allow office/support space in residential zones when necessary for services, or in limited cases request reduced public notice where notice could harm client safety (for example, domestic-violence shelters).

- Open-space and design: For transitional and permanent supportive housing staff proposed an internal open-space standard of 100 square feet per dwelling unit (the studio/one-bedroom baseline). Grage said other typical multifamily design standards (cottage-housing rules, block frontage, building design) would apply.

Commissioners and staff weighed competing priorities: the high cost of providing parking for affordable housing and the permanence of built parking versus neighborhood concerns about on-street parking and adjacency to transit. Several commissioners supported retaining director discretion to tailor parking requirements to site context.

No formal action was taken; staff indicated no vote was expected at the meeting. Grage said the STEP-housing edits will be integrated into the broader development regulation amendment package and that staff will return with revised code text and public-review materials.

Ending

Grage asked commissioners for any additional changes; commissioners asked staff to clarify the parking-study language and to preserve director discretion with clearer waiver language. Staff intends to incorporate the STEP-housing changes into the full development-regulation draft and to carry the item into the public-review and hearing schedule later this summer and fall ahead of the December 2025 adoption deadline.