Council adopts interim rules for neighborhood centers, hubs to create multifamily capacity; several amendments debated

The Edmonds City Council on Jan. 7 voted to advance an interim ordinance designed to implement the recently adopted comprehensive plan27s neighborhood centers and hubs, moving the measure onto next week27s consent agenda for final approval by a 6-1 vote.

The interim ordinance creates zoning rules intended to produce housing capacity in specified centers and hubs, allow mixed-use development and set specific development standards including maximum heights, incentive floors, minimum ground-floor commercial and parking rules. Shane Hope, planning and development director, told the council the interim code is not the final answer but "provides for multifamily housing to help meet that capacity that we've committed to" and must be followed by public hearings and further outreach.

The ordinance implements the comprehensive plan27s four neighborhood centers (including Westgate and Five Corners) and five neighborhood hubs (including North Bowl and Maplewood) by establishing three subdistricts called Mixed Use 3, 4 and 5 with different baseline height limits and optional incentive floors. The interim text ties some incentive floors to "green building" performance and, in some cases, a requirement that at least half of the ground-floor area be commercial. Hope summarized the height rules as: Mixed Use 3 base 30 feet; Mixed Use 4 base 30 feet with potential limited additional height; Mixed Use 5 base 40 feet with an incentive fifth floor in some districts when community benefits are provided.

The interim code also defines a community-benefit pathway to earn an additional floor: plaza or pocket-park space of at least 800 square feet, public access, seating, landscaping, and property-owner maintenance under an improved master plan. Design standards include minimum window glazing, limits on garage frontage and optional features such as pitched roofs, parapets and locating parking to the side or rear to preserve street-facing pedestrian character.

Parking and unit-size ratios drew sustained debate. The draft sets multifamily off-street parking requirements by unit size (roughly 1.0 space for units under 800 sq ft, 1.25 for 800241200 sq ft, and 1.75 for units 1,200 sq ft or larger) and separate commercial parking formulas tied to on-street availability. Council member Chris Payne proposed lowering those ratios (for example 0.5 to 1.0 to 1.25 in the three tiers) to reduce development cost and increase affordability; that three-part amendment failed 5-2 after councilors cited local parking constraints in some centers.

Council members debated transition-zone protections for single-family parcels adjacent to centers. Council member Olson offered an amendment to require that any development within 20 feet of a property line abutting a single-family zone be no taller than 30 feet; that amendment passed unanimously and was adopted into the interim text as a temporary protection while staff works on longer-term, area-specific transition language.

Other proposed amendments failed. A motion to exempt the previously adopted Westgate subarea code from the interim ordinance on all standards except height failed 5-2 after councilors said they wanted a consistent interim framework. A separate motion to allow new single-family houses as a permitted primary use in the designated centers also failed 5-2. Councilor-led efforts to raise the minimum required ground-floor commercial footprint from 10% to 50% for multifamily buildings of more than 20 units failed 6-1.

Hope emphasized the interim nature of the ordinance and the schedule: if adopted on consent next week, the city will hold a public hearing within 60 days, gather neighborhood outreach and planning board recommendations, and return with a longer-term draft ordinance by mid-2025. "When an interim ordinance is adopted, the city must hold a public hearing within 60 days to get public input," Hope said. He told the council the interim measure helps avoid missing state timelines that could jeopardize grant eligibility.

The council27s action was procedural (to place the interim ordinance on next meeting27s consent agenda for approval) rather than final adoption of a permanent code. The council also adopted a staff recommendation that outreach and planning board review proceed over the next months to refine standards by geography and transit proximity.

With the interim ordinance advanced, the council directed staff to return with a final version after the public hearing and planning-board recommendations. The measure will appear on the consent agenda at the next regular meeting for formal adoption unless a council member pulls it for separate action.

Votes at a glance: The motion to move the interim ordinance to next meeting's consent agenda passed 6-1. The transition-zone amendment passed unanimously. Parking-ratio and Westgate-exemption amendments failed; a proposal to increase ground-floor commercial minimum to 50% failed 6-1.

Background: The interim ordinance implements elements of 2021 state guidance (House Bill 1220 and follow-up Department of Commerce targets) the city used to set housing capacity targets. The council and staff said the interim rules are time-limited (six-month maximum without extension) and are intended to be replaced by a longer, community-refined code.

What happens next: If the ordinance is approved on next week's consent agenda, the city will hold the statutorily required public hearing within 60 days, conduct neighborhood outreach and return to council with a proposed permanent code for adoption later in 2025.