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Committee hears status update on daycare, ADU and warehouse code amendments; SEPA and legal review still pending
Summary
Staff updated the Planning and Community Development Committee on three council-initiated ordinances (daycare, accessory dwelling units, and warehouse uses). All three received Planning Commission recommendations but require SEPA threshold determinations and final legal review before council action.
County staff provided a combined status update to the Planning and Community Development Committee on three council-initiated code amendments that were referred to the Planning Commission and have received recommendations but are not ready for council action.
Ryan Countryman, council staff, said completion of State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) checklists and resulting threshold determinations are needed before the council can hold adoption hearings; those determinations are appealable and appeal periods must lapse before action. Legal review for final "approval as to form" is also underway.
Daycare ordinance: Sponsored by Councilmember Dunne (motion 24-1-157), the ordinance expands the scope to address family day care homes (generally up to 12 children) and updates county definitions to recognize state-authorized waivers that can allow in-home providers to serve more than 12 children. The proposal would allow day-care centers in more zones, use an 8,000-square-foot threshold to determine administrative approval versus hearing, and require frontage on an arterial road for larger commercial centers. The Planning Commission recommended approval with the expanded scope.
Accessory dwelling unit (ADU) ordinance: Sponsored by Councilmember Dunne (motion 20-4-266), the ordinance would encourage more ADUs in urban areas by allowing duplexes to have ADUs (up to two ADUs on duplex lots) and permitting single-family homes to have two ADUs (three total units per lot). It would remove the common-ownership requirement for ADUs so units could be sold separately, increase maximum lot coverage to 55 percent, and provide relief from road-setback requirements. The Planning Commission recommended approval of the revised ordinance; the Washington State Department of Commerce submitted comments last week and county staff are evaluating those comments.
Warehouse ordinance: Sponsored by Councilmember Lowe (motion 24-2-299), the code amendment would allow warehouse uses in Planned Community Business zoning in the Mulvey urban growth area. The Planning Commission held a hearing and recommended approval without changes.
Staff said the versions attached to the committee agenda are the most current public drafts; apart from potential adjustments to ADU architectural standards and Commerce comments, staff does not expect substantive changes from legal review. The committee did not take final action and staff will return the ordinances for future planning committee agendas after SEPA determinations and legal review are complete.
