Yakima planning commission weighs state bills on lot-splitting, unit-lot subdivisions and parking limits

Yakima City Planning Commission members spent much of their June 11 meeting reviewing three recently circulated state house bills that would change how cities handle lot splits, unit-lot subdivisions and parking requirements.

Planning staff told commissioners the proposed measures would allow administrative lot splitting and unit-lot subdivisions that can be approved without a public hearing and would change local development standards. “Lot splitting is a, it’s more or less a one-time action,” a planning staff member said, explaining that a large residential parcel could be divided so each new lot could be sold separately.

The bills include several specific provisions commissioners flagged. For cities meeting a 75,000-population threshold, the legislation describes allowing up to four units on a 6,000-square-foot lot in zones predominantly for residential use; in some scenarios a single lot could yield fourplexes. One provision would permit up to six units on a lot if four of those units are kept affordable. “The paperwork demonstrating that those four of those units are going to…