Edmonds outlines 2025 middle‑housing requirements; warns state model will apply if city misses deadline

Shane Hoepp, interim director of Planning and Development Services, told the Edmonds City Council’s committee of the whole on Feb. 18 that the city must finish several land‑use code updates in 2025 — most urgently middle housing rules required under recent state law — and that failure to meet the deadlines would let the state’s model ordinance take effect locally.

Hoepp said the state law (House Bill 1110) codified in the cited RCW language requires cities of Edmonds’ size to allow at least two housing units per single‑family lot and in certain cases four units per lot. "If Edmonds does not adopt middle housing regulations by the due date, state's model ordinance will take effect," Hoepp said during the presentation.

The city framed the changes as compliance tasks with significant local implications. The state model ordinance would allow taller and denser development than Edmonds’ current single‑family rules: Hoepp said the model sets a 35‑foot maximum height versus Edmonds’ existing 25 feet in single‑family zones and suggests up to 45% lot coverage rather than Edmonds’ 35%. He also warned the model would reduce front‑yard setbacks to roughly 10–15 feet compared with the city’s 20–25 feet in single‑family zones.

Hoepp reviewed specific statutory requirements and practical limits spelled out in the statute and guidance from the Department of Commerce. Key points he summarized include: - Minimum unit allowances: at least two units per lot in zones predominantly for single‑family use; at least four units per lot if the lot is within one‑quarter mile of a major transit stop or if one of the units meets the statute’s affordability test. - Affordability option: to qualify for the four‑unit option, a developer must commit to renting or selling the required affordable units and record a covenant or deed restriction maintaining affordability for at least 50 years. "They must maintain those as affordable for at least 50 years," Hoepp said. - Design review and development standards: design review for middle housing must be administrative and based on "clear and objective" standards; cities cannot apply development standards that are more restrictive than those that apply to detached single‑family homes. - Parking and subdivision: off‑street parking may not be required for middle housing within a half‑mile of a major transit stop; maximum requirements are limited to one off‑street space per unit on lots 6,000 sq. ft. or smaller and two per unit on lots larger than 6,000 sq. ft. The law also requires the city to allow lot configurations that enable fee‑simple ownership (zero‑lot‑line or lot subdivisions) where unit density requires it.

Hoepp said staff plan graphics and example layouts to help the public visualize options and that the department will try to preserve existing single‑family district labels (R‑6, R‑8, R‑10, R‑20) while clarifying setbacks and coverage per district. He identified staff leads: planning manager Mike Clugston, with Brad Shipley as lead on middle housing and Navisha Pentakota as lead on neighborhood centers and hubs.

Councilmembers pressed on affordability details and practical uptake. Councilmember Jen asked about income limits and whether the affordable unit would be required to serve households at 80% of area median income; Hoepp responded that the statute language governs the test and that he would circulate the exact statutory citations to the full council. Hoepp said he expects most owners will choose the two‑unit option rather than pursue the four‑unit, 50‑year affordability route because the latter creates long‑term covenant obligations that many small owners will avoid.

Public engagement plans include website updates, email signups, at least one online open house and at least one in‑person open house, targeted walking tours of neighborhood centers and hubs, press releases, and traditional planning‑board and council hearings. Hoepp warned that limited staff resources and other workload mean the city will need to prioritize outreach while meeting statutory deadlines and that the timeline will require staged work: several code updates are due by June 2025 and others by December 2025.

Hoepp also outlined other 2025 code work including finalizing neighborhood centers and hubs (the council adopted an interim ordinance to meet the deadline), multifamily code and design standards, updates to design‑review procedures to meet the administrative and "clear and objective" standard, vehicle‑parking rules, and a required review of critical areas regulations by the end of 2025. He recommended limiting major tree‑code overhauls during this busy year but suggested targeted clarifications where needed.

Next steps: staff will return to committee and planning board with graphics, draft ordinance options and public‑engagement dates. Hoepp said he will circulate statutory citations and the state’s model ordinance to the council for review.