Lake Forest Park council reviews middle-housing, ADU and unit-lot subdivision changes ahead of June 30 deadline

Mark Hoffman, community development director for Lake Forest Park, and consultants from SCJ Alliance outlined proposed amendments to the municipal code on Monday that the city says are necessary to meet new state middle-housing requirements.

“The planning commission made a recommendation of amendments to the Lake Forest Park municipal code to address housing…accessory dwelling units, and a little bit of cleanup,” Hoffman said. Consultant Kirsten Peterson of SCJ Alliance summarized the state context: “The 3 that are applicable to you tonight are house bills 11 10, 13 37, and 23 21.”

The proposals would require the city to allow several middle-housing types in residential zones identified as single-family–type zones under the new rules, permit two accessory dwelling units (ADUs) on qualifying lots, and add subdivision provisions to allow unit-lot subdivisions and 0 lot-line short subdivisions where state density rules apply. Peterson said the work was funded in part by a Department of Commerce grant: the city “received that in the amount of 50,000 from Commerce to do the work before you tonight.”

Why it matters: If Lake Forest Park does not adopt its ordinance by the state deadline, Peterson told the council, “there is a model ordinance that the state developed that would take effect. It would essentially supersede your existing ordinance.” To avoid that result, staff and consultants are asking the council to consider the draft and send it to the public hearing scheduled for June 12, with a goal of adoption at the June 26 meeting so the city meets the June 30 deadline.

Key points presented and discussed

- ADUs: The draft implements the statutory requirement that at least two ADUs be allowed on lots zoned for single-family–type housing, subject to minimum lot size and sewer connection rules and other limits in the draft. Peterson summarized the statutory parking limits: “no off street parking will be required within 1 half mile walking distance of a major transit stop,” and the code caps parking requirements at one space for lots under 6,000 square feet and two spaces for lots 6,000 square feet or larger.

- Unit-lot and 0 lot-line short subdivisions: Peterson described how the subdivision revisions would allow a parent lot to be divided into separately owned “unit lots” for detached or detached-plus-accessory units where the overall parent-lot development meets dimensional and coverage standards. She summarized the legal change: a city “must also allow 0 lot line short subdivisions where the number of lots created is equal to the unit density required in this normal section.” Staff noted that many standard development rules (setbacks, lot coverage, critical-area buffers, tree canopy requirements) continue to apply to parent lots and unit-lot subdivisions.

- Implementation limits and caveats: Staff repeatedly emphasized that allowing the subdivisions in the code does not mean every lot can be developed that way. Mark Hoffman said the code will still be administered on a case-by-case basis: “An applicant…will still need to visit with city staff and determine whether or not, hey, is there room to fit another unit on here? And the answer may be no.” Consultants and staff also flagged utility easement, parking-easement and common-area management requirements that must be recorded with plats.

Council questions and staff directions

Council members asked for clearer implementation exhibits (for example, maps that show what is within a half-mile of a major transit stop for parking exemptions) and for code clarifications on family/occupancy language and lot-area calculations. Councilmember Goldman asked whether the half-mile transit map would be available; staff said implementation exhibits and parcel-based verification would be developed during code implementation. Council members asked staff to clarify several cross-references and to sweep the draft for older family-definition language; staff recorded a council consensus to remove a sentence that read “no such dwelling unit shall be occupied by more than 1 family.” Zoe Tapert (SCJ Alliance) was asked to track edits noted on the record.

Next steps and schedule

- The planning commission has forwarded a formal recommendation to the council; the council will hold a public hearing on Thursday, June 12. Staff and consultants recommended returning to council for additional discussion and possible final action at the June 26 regular meeting so the city can adopt the amendments before the state’s June 30 deadline.

- Staff said they will prepare implementation exhibits (including transit stop buffers for parking exemptions) and will prepare any technical edits requested by council before the public hearing. The draft ordinance file and a longer technical report were available to the council in the meeting packet.

What the draft does not decide

Staff and the planning commission framed the current draft as meeting the statutory minimums; community members and council raised broader policy questions (for example, whether ADUs should be allowed on lots that already contain middle-housing units, and broader parking policy) that the planning commission or council could study later. Mark Hoffman noted the group’s intent to meet the minimum state mandates first: the commission “still wants to study out potential future options for looking at additional densities,” but elected to advance a baseline-compliant package for the June 30 deadline.

Ending note

Council members and staff agreed to continue review at upcoming meetings and to post technical exhibits in advance of the June 12 public hearing. The draft ordinance highlights added text and includes new definitions, unit-lot subdivision standards, and administrative design-review processes that will guide implementation if adopted.