Lynnwood council approves step-housing ordinance, adopts comprehensive plan update amid community concerns

The Lynnwood City Council passed two housing-related measures on Jan. 27: Ordinance 3476, an update concerning step housing, and Ordinance 3477, adopting the 2024 comprehensive plan update titled Imagine Lynnwood. Both ordinances passed by 5-1, with Council Member Patrick Decker the lone vote against each.

Why this matters: The measures respond to state-driven planning mandates and will affect zoning, housing density and long-term development patterns in Lynnwood. Residents at the meeting urged the council to clarify local impacts including school overcrowding, neighborhood character and public safety.

Public concerns and comments: Carrie Wilson asked a series of questions about “step housing” (shelter, transitional and permanent housing), asking how the proposals would affect single-family property values, school overcrowding, public-safety response, utility capacity and enforcement of rules for residents of temporary housing. She asked where proposed locations would be and how recipients would be supported to regain housing stability.

Zach McCown, representing the Western States Regional Council of Carpenters, urged the council to address alleged worker exploitation and wage theft in local construction projects and criticized a news report and a $640,000 tax break for a development project. He asked the council to ensure Lynnwood jobs go to Lynnwood workers and to respond to wage-theft issues.

Council discussion: Several council members acknowledged residents’ concerns but framed the ordinances as responses to requirements from the state. Council Member Patrick Decker said he would vote no on the step-housing ordinance, arguing the state had removed local control and that voting no was a way to express the council’s objection to state mandates: “I am going to vote no. The state is requiring us to pass this ordinance.”

Council Member Decker and others said the city will still try to mitigate local impacts where legally possible. Council Member Escamilla said the city has a lobbyist and will continue to press legislators in Olympia for changes, and she described efforts to produce maps and…