Commission weighs broad Housing Action Plan code changes — duplexes, Old Town, ADUs, density and design standards

The Anacortes Planning Commission spent much of its Feb. 12 meeting reviewing draft code amendments intended to implement the 2023 Housing Action Plan (HAP) as part of the city’s 2025 Comprehensive Plan update. Staff presented draft ordinance language and commissioners worked through a series of topic-specific recommendations, from duplex lot sizes to how the code should define a household.

Nut graf: The commission’s decisions on lot sizes, density minimums, accessory dwelling unit (ADU) rules and design standards will shape the city’s ability to add housing, influence neighborhood form — especially Old Town — and determine whether the changes will be prospective or apply to existing lots and permits.

What staff presented and key outcomes

• Scope and process: Planning Manager Libby Graige reminded commissioners that the HAP was adopted by city council in 2023 and that council’s planning committee forwarded prioritized HAP strategies to the commission for detailed review. Graige said staff prepared redline/strikeout drafts of municipal code sections showing proposed HAP implementations and flagged items that are mandatory because of state law.

• Duplex and small‑duplex lot sizes; Old Town: Commissioners examined a matrix of proposed minimum lot sizes. For R‑2 the code draft differentiates a standard duplex (9,000 sq ft minimum) from a “small duplex” allowed on smaller lots when individual unit sizes are limited. Commissioners recommended clarifying the text to insert the word “small” in the zone‑specific standard and adopt a 6,000 sq ft minimum for small duplexes in Old Town, with an additional 1,500 sq ft required for each attached dwelling unit beyond a duplex in Old Town. Commissioners and staff noted this change likely requires checking the Comprehensive Plan future‑land‑use language for consistency.

• Old Town special standards and design: Several commissioners…