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Burien planners introduce unit‑lot subdivisions; signal support to raise short‑plat cap
Summary
City staff briefed the Planning Commission on unit‑lot subdivisions and the link to forthcoming middle‑housing code changes. Commissioners informally indicated support for raising Burien's short‑plat limit from four to nine units and asked staff to research maximum‑lot‑size limits and other safeguards.
Burien Planning Commission members heard an introduction to unit‑lot subdivisions at their Feb. 12, 2025, meeting and gave informal direction to staff to draft code changes that would allow more units to be created administratively through the short‑plat process.
Planning staffer Chase Gatson told the commission the unit‑lot subdivision process would allow multiple housing units on a single parent parcel to be subdivided into individual unit lots to enable fee‑simple ownership. “Unit lot subdivision is to allow multiple housing units on a single parcel, to be subdivided into individual unit lots for sale to individual owners,” Gatson said.
The briefing explained how Burien currently treats lot division: short plats apply when a single parcel is split into four or fewer lots and use an administrative review; subdivisions or “long plats” are required for five or more lots and go to the city council. Gatson said state law allows cities to adopt short‑plat limits up to nine lots, and Burien is one of the few nearby jurisdictions that still caps short plats at four.
Why it matters: staff…
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