Bothell staff seek council input on expanding incentives to produce permanently affordable housing

City staff opened a study session on May 20 to seek City Council direction on potential additions and refinements to Bothell’s housing affordability incentives designed to increase production of permanently affordable housing.

Community Development Director Jason Greenspan told the council the city permitted roughly 1,860 new housing units between April 2020 and April 2025 and that only 76 of those units (about 4 percent) have permanent dedicated affordability controls. “We have permitted over 1,860 brand new housing units citywide between April 2020 and April 2025,” he said, and added that the vast majority were multifamily or middle housing types.

Staff reviewed the city’s regulatory context, including recent state laws requiring planning for housing across income bands and middle housing allowances. Greenspan said the city adopted a housing strategy and comp plan provisions that increase capacity, but that zoning alone “is not by itself an effective strategy” to deliver units at the affordability levels set by state policy.

City staff presented a menu of potential incentives the council could consider for code amendments or program changes: density flexibility (including minimum‑density tradeoffs), height and story increases, parking‑minimum reductions or elimination, impact‑fee waivers for affordable units, permit and process expediting for projects that include affordability, and revisions to the Multifamily Tax Exemption (MFTE) program. Staff also suggested exploring internal process improvements and additional building code flexibility that could lower construction costs.

Councilmembers engaged at length. Several asked staff to gather case studies from other jurisdictions (including Shoreline, Kirkland and Kenmore) and to consider both regional and international examples. Some councilmembers expressed support for raising inclusionary requirements above the city’s current 5–10 percent range and discussed whether MFTE terms should be extended beyond 12 years to improve project financeability. Councilmembers also emphasized the importance of permit expediting and indicated an interest in understanding how proposed changes would affect project pro formas.

Staff said next steps would include additional outreach to the development community, benchmarking with other cities, and drafting code changes informed by council feedback. The presentation and discussion were informational; no code changes or votes were taken at the meeting.