Lake Stevens planners map housing response as state law expands emergency, transitional and supportive housing rules

Lake Stevens city staff told the planning commission on May 20 that the city is preparing code changes to implement state rules that require municipalities to allow emergency, transitional and permanent supportive housing in many zones while the community faces rising housing demand and prices.

"Since housing was the number 1 priority for the planning commission as we set our work plans for the year, I just wanted to make sure that you're receiving some of that same sort of regional information and then trying to put it in a city context," Russ Wright, Community Development Director for the city of Lake Stevens, said as he opened a regional housing report for the commission.

The report summarized county and local trends that staff said explain why the new state requirements matter locally: Snohomish County’s population was nearly 830,000 at the 2020 census and the county is roughly on its projected growth track; Lake Stevens added about 2,600 people between 2020 and 2024, roughly a 6% increase; and single‑family construction has declined while apartment starts and attached housing have risen. Countywide…