City of Bothell planners briefed the Planning Commission on June 18 on potential amendments to the city’s affordable-housing code, possible expansions of zones subject to mandatory requirements and proposals for middle-housing changes; no formal action was required or taken.

Deputy Community Development Director Gates said staff were presenting options and “there is no action required tonight. We're just planning on providing planning commission some information about the affordable housing code and potential amendments, in order to get some feedback from y'all.” The session focused on how to meet the 20-year housing-capacity and affordability goals in the city’s 2024 comprehensive plan and on a menu of incentives that could be paired with mandatory requirements.

The discussion followed earlier council and commission briefings. Staff summarized key numbers from the housing strategy: Bothell needs capacity for 12,782 new homes over 20 years, and staff estimated about 9,550 of those units (more than 75%) would need to be affordable to households earning 80% of area median income or less to meet the plan’s affordability targets. Staff also reported 92 residential certificates of occupancy issued so far this year — about 1% of the 20-year target — and that none of those projects contain deed restrictions.

Staff outlined three main code topics that will feed into the housing-action-plan work this year: (1) an expansion of zones subject to mandatory affordable-housing requirements (the draft approach would expand coverage of residential zones from roughly 4% to about 32% of the city’s residentially zoned land under one scenario); (2) updates to the multifamily tax exemption (MFTE) program and other incentives; and (3) middle-housing code changes that could increase the base number of allowed units on small lots and allow up to six units under specified conditions (for example, within a quarter-mile of transit or where two of the six units would be deed-restricted affordable outside transit areas).

Commissioners pressed for tools that are viable for small and medium-sized developers. Commissioner Westerbeck warned that large year-to-year production would be required to meet the comp-plan affordability goal — “That’s 475 finished units per year” — and argued that mandatory inclusionary requirements can disproportionately burden smaller projects. “I really would respond very well to an incentive program,” Westerbeck said, listing expedited permitting, height/density bonuses, reduced impact fees and parking reductions as high-priority incentives. Several commissioners endorsed an a la carte menu of incentives so developers could choose the combination that makes individual projects feasible.

Commissioner Gustafson said jurisdictions have flexibility under recent state legislation and that inclusionary zoning is one of several credible tools; she urged staff to confirm whether mandatory inclusionary requirements are necessary to meet state goals. Staff said the recently passed housing-accountability review process (referenced in the meeting as Senate Bill 5148) and the state’s review of local housing elements will inform how the city sizes mandatory requirements and complementary incentives.

Commissioners asked staff to track outcomes and be specific about the mix of rental and owner-occupied affordable units the city intends to encourage. Commissioner Jones and others expressed interest in expanding opportunities for deed-restricted owner-occupied units to support wealth creation. Staff responded that deed restrictions on title and ongoing compliance monitoring would be standard tools to ensure units remain rented or sold at the specified affordability levels.

Other topics discussed included the limited geographic reach of the existing MFTE program, parking reductions and enforcement needs if parking minimums are eliminated, and building-code and state-law barriers to “stacked flat” for-sale housing (condominiums/stacked flats) that could expand low-cost ownership options. Commissioner Westerbeck urged the city to pursue single-stair/sprinkler code updates and state-level reforms that make small for-sale, stacked-flat ownership financially feasible.

Staff said they will return in September with more detailed data on historical project scales, jurisdiction comparisons, and the consultant analysis of incentives. The commission did not vote on any of the policy proposals during the study session; staff framed the meeting as an opportunity to collect commission feedback and refine options for fall public engagement and code drafting.

Votes at a glance: two routine procedural motions were taken during the meeting. Commissioner Lehi moved to approve the May minutes, Commissioner Westerbeck seconded, and the commission approved the minutes by voice vote. At the meeting’s end, the commission unanimously approved a motion to adjourn moved by Commissioner Robinson and seconded by Commissioner Lever.

The commission has no meetings in August; staff noted next meetings on July 2 (climate action plan briefing) and July 16, and reminded commissioners that the Phase 2 code amendments (including parking-minimum changes) are scheduled for City Council ordinance action on July 8.