Bellevue adopts co‑living zoning changes to comply with state law

The Bellevue City Council on Nov. 25 adopted a land-use code amendment to implement Washington state House Bill 1998 and establish rules for co-living housing in locations where six or more multifamily units are allowed.

Staff told the council the ordinance codifies a definition of co-living (individual lockable sleeping rooms with shared kitchens and common areas), aligns dimensional standards with existing multifamily rules (height, floor-area ratio and setbacks), sets parking and density calculations (a maximum of one quarter of a dwelling unit per sleeping unit), and requires that co-living be eligible for affordable-housing incentives. The staff presentation reiterated limits set by state law: cities may not impose smaller-than-code minimum room sizes, mandate unit mixes, or treat co-living differently from other multifamily uses in the same zone.

One preregistered speaker, Katrina Romatowski of Reece Space, told the council she supports the legislation and highlighted co-ownership models to expand access to home ownership. Council members welcomed the new housing option but asked staff to return with ideas to incentivize property management standards, discourage short-term rental conversions, and explore enforcement or voluntary operating agreements to address neighbor concerns.

Action taken: the council closed the public hearing and adopted Ordinance 6891, amending multiple land-use code sections to establish standards for co-living housing consistent with HB 1998. Staff will proceed with outreach and consider options to incentivize on-site management and enforcement measures to limit misuse of the new housing type.

Next steps: staff said they are researching proactive enforcement options for short-term-rental misuse and will return with implementation recommendations and community education.