Council hears Everett 2044 ‘housekeeping’ amendments, debate centers on inclusionary zoning changes
Loading...
Summary
Planning staff presented housekeeping corrections to Everett’s 2044 update, including clarifications to middle housing rules, a proposed inclusionary zoning requirement of 20% affordable units in light-rail station areas, and a fee-in-lieu option with different rates for ownership and rental products.
City planning staff gave a detailed briefing on Jan. 7 about housekeeping amendments to the Everett 2044 periodic update that clarify development regulations adopted in 2025.
Planning Director York Stevens told the council the package corrects and clarifies numerous code sections across chapters 14 and 19, including consistent definitions for street-edge measurements, middle housing standards (duplexes, townhouses, cottage housing), minimum private/shared yard sizes (at least 8 by 10 feet), and corrected bicycle parking requirements. Stevens said the changes are intended as clarifications consistent with the original intent of the comprehensive plan, not as policy shifts.
A substantive section addressed inclusionary zoning for areas near future light-rail stations (Casino Road/Evergreen Way and Airport Road/Evergreen Way). Stevens said the proposed framework would require 20% of units in those areas to be affordable to households at 80% of area median income (AMI). For ownership housing (for-sale townhouses/condos), staff proposed relaxing the affordability threshold to 100% AMI and a reduced fee-in-lieu rate (from $15 per gross square foot to $9) to reflect different financing pathways for ownership projects. Stevens said a covenant or other mechanism would be required to ensure ownership product remains owner-occupied.
Council members asked for more detail on the math behind the fee-in-lieu and whether subarea rates (similar to Seattle’s tiered approach) could be used given varying development pressure. Stevens acknowledged Seattle’s pioneering work informed the $15 baseline and said staff could consider differentiating fees by subarea and would ask council to add indexing to inflation (a planning commission recommendation missed in the ordinance text).
Stevens also explained a limited height-adjustment correction to align with Snohomish County’s adjacent 35-foot height limit and clarified when separate water meters are required for new dwelling units, allowing public works discretion to permit shared meters under common ownership in some cases.
The council set an open public hearing to begin Jan. 14 and scheduled subsequent readings; no final vote occurred at the Jan. 7 meeting.
