Leavenworth panel narrows residential design standards; staff to seek council study session

At a meeting on Oct. 5, 2025, members of the Touch Commission in Leavenworth reviewed a draft of revised residential design standards and told staff to send a simplified version to the City Council for a study session, with a public hearing to follow if council requests it.

The commission’s discussion focused on three changes staff had drafted to reduce complexity: replacing a fixed glazing area with a requirement that street-facing facades have at least 15% glazing; requiring a minimum 3-foot-deep covered entry for primary entrances; and limiting garage doors on street-facing facades to 20% of the façade area when alley access exists and 40% where it does not. Staff also proposed removing multiple detailed provisions aimed at manufactured and modular homes to simplify the code.

The commission’s working draft was presented by staff, who said the package was an initial step toward “residential design standards” and asked whether the direction matched the commission’s prior guidance. Commissioners and staff repeatedly argued for brevity and clarity so permit reviewers and applicants would not face overly prescriptive language. One commissioner recommended deleting several detailed decorative requirements and keeping a short provision that: “garage doors may not occupy more than 20% of the front facade,” with a higher cap where alley access is not available. Another suggested doubling the 20% cap to 40% when no alley exists to keep the rule proportional across lot sizes.

Commissioners pressed for clearer definitions for terms such as “primary entrance” and “primary frontage” and asked staff to borrow language used in Wenatchee’s code for ADU visibility exceptions (for units not visible from the street or located more than 100 feet from the street). Staff said they would add or confirm definitions where missing. On manufactured homes and foundation language that referenced IRC standards, staff proposed removing or simplifying provisions that local inspectors do not enforce.

Commissioners asked staff to add a short purpose statement at the top of the standards explaining goals such as enhancing neighborhood character and creating street engagement, then list simple examples of acceptable articulation methods (bump-outs, offsets, material changes). The staff presentation also included proposed sequencing: distribute the revised draft to commissioners by email, schedule the item for a council study session, and collect council feedback before a public hearing. A commissioner voiced the final direction succinctly during the meeting: “Let’s get it on the next council study session.”

Staff will email the revised draft to commissioners before the next meeting and place the item on the council study session calendar so the council can review the simplified standards and give direction on any additions or clarifications.

The commission’s review tied into related items the group will continue to address, including ADU visibility rules, articulation requirements for multi‑family frontage, and deleting redundant mobile-home-specific requirements from the draft code.