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Lake Stevens staff outlines STEP-housing code updates required by state law
Summary
City staff introduced a year-long code update to implement STEP housing requirements from state law and the 2024 comprehensive plan, noting the city must allow certain emergency and transitional housing types in specified zones and may adopt reasonable regulations for health, safety, and development standards.
Principal planner David Levitan told the commission on March 5 that Lake Stevens will update development regulations this year to implement STEP housing requirements adopted in the 2024 comprehensive plan and required by recent state law changes.
Levitan said STEP is an acronym used in state guidance for emergency shelters, transitional housing, emergency housing and permanent supportive housing. He explained House Bill 12 20 (referenced in the meeting) amended Growth Management Act requirements for housing elements and now requires cities to adopt development standards that allow these housing types in defined zones.
Under current local use tables, Levitan said emergency shelters and emergency housing cannot be prohibited in any zone that allows hotels — in Lake Stevens that primarily includes commercial districts and the central business district. Transitional housing and permanent supportive housing must be allowed in zones that permit either hotels or residential uses, which would open those uses to most of the city’s residential and multifamily zones.
Levitan noted cities may adopt reasonable development standards addressing health, safety and physical design, but the permitting process and approval requirements cannot be more restrictive than those applied to other housing types. He also said state law prohibits impact fees on emergency housing.
Commissioners asked whether STEP housing currently exists in Lake Stevens. Levitan said staff’s inventories and county-level inventories show little or no capacity currently identified as STEP housing; some housing authority properties provide wraparound services but are generally categorized as public housing rather than formally designated permanent supportive housing. He noted the comprehensive-plan capacity analysis focused on zoning capacity rather than identifying specific parcels for immediate development.
Commissioners discussed funding and partnerships. Levitan and commissioners agreed that building permanent supportive housing and transitional housing typically requires partnerships with nonprofits, regional organizations or religious groups and that state or federal funding would likely be needed to make projects financially feasible.
Levitan closed by saying the city will begin drafting code language over the coming months, including public engagement and periodic check-ins with the planning commission and city council. He said the work must be completed by the end of the year to meet implementation timelines and that staff will coordinate with other county jurisdictions doing similar updates.
