Anacortes planning staff outlines draft ADU code changes to meet new state law

Libby Grage, planning manager in Anacortes’ Planning, Community and Economic Development department, presented draft amendments to the city’s accessory dwelling unit regulations and explained how the changes respond to recent Washington state legislation.

Grage said the city has addressed accessory dwelling units in the Anacortes Municipal Code since February 2008 and that the code has been revised several times, most recently in 2024. "Accessory dwelling units have been addressed in the Anacortes Municipal Code since 02/2008," she said.

The proposed draft updates reflect House Bill 1337 (HB 1337), which Grage said requires jurisdictions to allow at least two ADUs on lots in zones that permit single-family residences and to allow a range of configurations (attached, detached, conversions or combinations). "The city or county may not establish a maximum gross floor area requirement for accessory dwelling units that is less than 1,000 square feet," Grage read from the statute during the…