Council discussion on June 30 focused at length on the housing element of Chehalis City's comprehensive plan update, with multiple members expressing concern about new state mandates for "middle housing" and how those rules could affect designated historic neighborhoods.

Kirsten (planning staff) explained the state's recent changes and the city's limited discretion: "There's some requirements of the state ... there's low, medium, and high growth projections" and the city must demonstrate capacity to accommodate its assigned share of growth over the plan's 20-year horizon.

Council members and attendees repeatedly raised parking and neighborhood character concerns. One participant said the draft's description of state oversight was "poppycock" and warned that allowing duplexes or triplexes in single-family zones could change the feel of long-established neighborhoods. Several speakers asked whether historic-district properties could be excluded from middle-housing allowances. Kirsten responded that while jurisdictions cannot categorically prohibit middle housing where state law requires it, "if you have certain districts where it's really not appropriate for very specific reasons, then we can craft findings and say, this is allowed in all these, but not those." She added that the city can adopt design and lot-standard rules to shape how new units look and fit.

Staff identified concrete regulatory levers discussed in the workshop:

- Lot coverage and open-space minimums: the current draft states a permitted single-family use cannot cover more than 50% of a lot and that accessory structures cumulatively cannot exceed 25% of a lot; staff said those percentages can be adjusted to influence redevelopment patterns.
- Minimum ADU size: the draft references a 340-square-foot minimum for accessory dwelling units (ADUs).
- Design standards and findings: the city can adopt objective design rules that do not impose more onerous standards on middle housing than on single-family homes (state law requires parity of standards).

Kirsten cautioned about legal limits: some new statutes require allowances for ADUs, duplexes and triplexes and provide limits on what local regulations can require or deny. That said, she told the council it can "talk about what it looks like and feels like in your communities" and regulate aspects such as setback, lot coverage and open-space requirements so long as rules comply with state law.

Councilmembers also raised specific local numbers: one speaker reported that R1/R2 zones represent roughly 21% of the city's land area and said three city-designated historic districts account for approximately 85% of that R1/R2 acreage. Staff noted the planning and rezoning work linked to annexation and the urban-growth area (UGA) will be opportunities to define the appropriate densities and to zone newly annexed lands consistent with the council's policy choices.

The discussion produced no regulatory votes; staff said policy language and development-code drafts will be developed for Planning Commission review and returned to council for hearings and readings.