Commission discusses creating residential design standards tied to middle-housing rules; staff to return with examples

Commissioners discussed adopting residential design standards to guide new middle housing and accessory dwelling units but did not take formal action Feb. 12.

Planning staff presented examples (including Kennewick and Wenatchee) and noted that design standards applied to single-family dwellings must also apply to duplexes, triplexes and other "missing middle" types under recent state law. Staff said the goal would be neighborhood cohesion — for example, encouraging new units to borrow roof pitches, window proportions or trim details compatible with nearby craftsman or bungalow neighborhoods — but stressed that guidelines should avoid excessive prescription that could be difficult to enforce.

Commissioners were divided on the trade-off between encouraging development and preserving neighborhood character. Some commissioners suggested broad language (for example, that new construction be "roughly in accordance with the rest of the neighborhood"), while staff warned that vague, suggestive language can be hard to administer and may produce inconsistent outcomes. The preservation commission and the city's existing historic-district review were referenced as comparators where the Secretary of the Interior standards have been applied for specific historic areas.

Staff said design standards, if adopted, would primarily apply to new construction and could include thresholds for remodels (for example, applying standards when more than a specified percentage of a building is altered). Commissioners asked staff to circulate the materials provided (Kennewick, Wenatchee examples) and to return with draft language that balances development flexibility with compatibility.

Ending: Staff will bring more detailed proposals and examples to a future meeting for further commission review.