Council briefed on housing action plan, middle‑housing code tweaks and landscape buffer consistency

City planners updated the council Oct. 14 on the Housing Action Plan update and a package of annual comprehensive plan and code cleanup amendments focused on middle‑housing and related technical fixes.

Senior planner Ray Sosa said the housing action effort is proceeding in phases: Phase 1 (research and scoping) is complete; Phase 2 includes an external consultant and public outreach now under way; and staff are targeting adoption of a final plan by the end of 2026. Sosa said engagement will include focus groups, online outreach and public review of a draft plan.

Deputy Director Christian Goetz and new planner Deborah Powers outlined a separate but related annual comp‑plan/code cleanup. The package is limited to technical fixes, alignment with last year’s major update and clarifications for middle‑housing implementation. Goetz said the proposed changes “do not change any growth or capacity adjustments” and are intended to fix references and tighten standards so the code operates as intended.

One specific change discussed was increasing the allowed maximum middle‑housing units in certain Residential Low (RL) designations from four to six. Planners said modeling and precedent suggest the net increase in units will be “relatively tiny” over a 20‑year horizon; they cited Seattle’s analysis, which estimated approximately 100 additional units over the planning period when similar caps were raised. Staff also recommended applying established landscape buffer standards (Title 12, Section 18) between medium‑ and low‑density zones rather than creating a unique requirement.

Planners told council that when individual parcels raise questions about permitted uses or zone alignment the city will evaluate them through the private docket or a subarea process; staff said those parcel‑specific issues have not been flagged as urgent at this time.

Why this matters: The Housing Action Plan and code cleanup implement earlier policy choices and refine rules for middle‑housing to ease implementation; the changes could modestly increase housing capacity and aim to provide clearer land‑use rules for residents, developers and staff.

No council action was required at the study session; staff said private docket requests for additional changes are due Oct. 31 and planning commission work will follow.