Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Inclusionary Housing topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Everett Planning Commission adopts housekeeping amendments, lowers inclusionary fee-in-lieu to $9 per square foot
Summary
The Everett Planning Commission on Nov. 18 approved Resolution 25-02, updating Everett 2044 housekeeping amendments that raise inclusionary ownership limits to 100% AMI, set the alternative compliance fee to $9 per gross square foot with a 12-year owner-occupancy covenant, and added annual CPIU indexing beginning Jan. 1, 2027.
The Everett Planning Commission voted unanimously Nov. 18 to adopt housekeeping amendments to the Everett 2044 development regulations, changing several inclusionary-housing parameters and setting the alternative compliance fee to $9 per gross square foot.
Planning Director York Stevens Lodge told the commission the September recommendation revised the affordability limit for ownership units from 80% of area median income (AMI) to 100% AMI and that staff adjusted the fee-in-lieu rate to keep a developer’s financial choice between building affordable units and paying the fee reasonably comparable. "We arrived at $9 a square foot as appearing to be the right equivalency between that alternative compliance," York Stevens Lodge said.
Staff illustrated the change with a hypothetical 10-unit townhouse development using 2024 Snohomish County assessor data: a median townhouse size of 1,637 square feet and a median sale price of $628,000. Under the 100% AMI scenario, the maximum affordable sale price was calculated at about $558,486, producing a market/sale differential of roughly $140,000 across the 10 units. The proposed $9-per-square-foot fee would yield about $147,000 in lieu payments on the same example, staff said.
To reduce the risk that a developer would pay a lower fee while later renting units intended for owner-occupancy, staff proposed and the commission adopted a covenant requiring owner-occupancy for 12 years before units could be rented. York Stevens Lodge described the 12-year period as consistent with the multifamily tax exemption approach used elsewhere.
During discussion an online commenter urged indexing the fee to inflation; Commissioner Shelby moved to amend the resolution to automatically adjust the fee each Jan. 1 beginning 2027 based on the percentage change in the Seattle–Tacoma–Bellevue CPIU (with the planning director authorized to substitute a comparable index if the CPIU is discontinued). The amendment was seconded and the commission approved it.
The full commission then voted to adopt Resolution 25-02 as amended. A roll-call recorded Chair Chatters, Commissioners Sullivan, Rutledge, Welch and Shelby voting yes (5–0).
The resolution and associated exhibit will be posted on the project web page; staff said the commission plans to revisit related sub-area planning and technical assistance in coming months as statewide guidance on inclusionary zoning and transit-oriented development is clarified.
The commission’s next business on related code work will resume at a Jan. 6 meeting, when staff expects to present revised drafts that reflect comments received during the public process.
