Council reviews housing-and-design code concepts aimed at increasing housing options on Main Street and mixed-use districts

Haley Campbell, senior planner for the city, presented results of the Housing and Design Initiative code-and-plan concepts report and sought council guidance on four priority concepts: allowing more housing in certain commercial areas, making mixed-use development more feasible, recalibrating development standards and simplifying the code. "Our housing strategy found that too few homes are being built and that we need 470 new homes every year to meet targets set by the state," Campbell said, citing the project’s housing gap analysis.

Campbell and consultant Jamin Kimmel of Cascadia Partners described several policy options now under consideration. Concept 2.1 would allow housing on Main Street on sites under 1 acre while requiring commercial uses on sites larger than 1 acre; alternative versions would allow housing in designated mixed-use stretches or at key mixed-use intersections. Concept 2.2 would permit mixed-use buildings (residential over commercial or commercial in front with housing behind) in the neighborhood commercial (NC) district but would not allow…