Redmond planners recap 'Redmond 2050' zoning overhaul; council to review ordinance ahead of June adoption

City planning staff presented a consolidated zoning and incentives package tied to Redmond 2050 at the Redmond City Council study session Tuesday, asking council for direction so staff can prepare an ordinance for final consideration and adoption later this spring.

The package shrinks the city's zoning table from about 50 zones to 20, rewrites Article 1 of the zoning code, establishes a unified incentives chapter and updates affordable-housing parameters tied to specific new zones. Carol Helland, Director of Planning and Community Development, told the council the Planning Commission finalized and transmitted a recommendation on Feb. 12 and that staff placed responses to council discussion items in the packet. "Our counsel, ask for tonight is to provide direction on these discussion items so that the staff can prepare an ordinance for final consideration and passage by the council later this spring," Helland said.

Planning staff said the package reorganizes use regulations into a single chapter (21.04) and collapses numerous use tables. "This consolidates over a 50 use tables into two," Becky Frey said in her recap, adding that consolidation is intended to make it easier for staff and the community to see conditions or limitations attached to uses. The package adds new uses such as food trucks and food truck courts, codifies "accessory commercial" to allow displaced businesses a temporary opportunity to lease existing commercial space, and clarifies "active use retail" to support pedestrian activity.

The Planning Commission's recommendation also designates transit-oriented development (TOD) focus areas for downtown and Marymoor, creates a Marymoor Village Arts and Cultural District and an Inclusive Neighborhood Pilot Project, and moves toward measuring building height in feet rather than stories. Staff said the code aims to allow up to about 44 feet in the TOD focus area (an equivalency staff described as roughly a 12-story goal when incentives and design standards are used). In Marymoor Village, allowed building heights would increase from roughly 5-6 stories toward that 44-foot target, with incentives and design standards required to reach greater heights.

The package contains a new chapter for incentives (proposed Chapter 21.55) to unify what had been scattered incentive programs, using a menu-based structure borrowed from the Overlake approach. In centers such as Downtown and Marymoor the package would require at least one item from each of five major incentive categories; outside centers the menu would be available without the same mandatory mix. Staff said the incentives chapter expands mandatory green-building features in centers and incorporates EV charging requirements (noted in the materials as 21.67 cross-references).

Staff described zoning updates to align inclusionary zoning and the Multi-Family Tax Exemption (MFTE) program in most areas; mandatory affordability parameters were adjusted after financial-feasibility analysis, and the changes generally prioritize deeper affordability (50% AMI) over 80% AMI consistent with Redmond 2050 policy. Staff said some residential-targeted areas will be updated or newly designated to match the new zones so developments can qualify for MFTE where appropriate.

Council members asked clarifying questions about ground-floor ceiling heights, how the new height standard interacts with unit yields and the risk that buildings with very tall floor-to-floor heights could reduce housing units. Staff said the code is height- (not stories-) neutral: "So if they wanna do 6 or 8, it doesn't matter as long as they fit within the height," replied a staff presenter, and added the city will monitor market responses and can return with adjustments if needed. Council members praised explicit accommodations for advanced green-building technologies (passive-house allowances in 21.16) and asked for public-facing materials to explain the equivalencies between feet and the more familiar concept of stories.

Staff outlined next steps: scheduling a possible March 25 study session if needed, a public hearing for updates to residential-targeted area boundaries for the MFTE program, and an aim for a combined adoption (zoning, design standards and housing updates) in June; staff asked the council for direction to proceed to an ordinance. Council President Kritzer and members signaled readiness to advance the package toward a future business meeting while reserving additional study sessions only for remaining parts of the larger package.

A majority of council members and the mayor commended planning staff and the Planning Commission for the work. "...it's really kind of wonderful to see it come through in such a clear and concise fashion," Mayor Penny Berney told staff.

The council did not take a final vote on the package at the study session; staff will return with an ordinance and public hearing materials.