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Kennewick planners present housing element update; consultants flag deficit at lowest income bands
Summary
Consultants told the Kennewick City Council workshop that under existing zoning the city's land capacity analysis shows a growing shortfall of multifamily units affordable to households at 0–80% of area median income; staff scheduled a public open house for the first draft on May 7.
City planning consultants Scott Bongiukian (Maker's Architecture & Urban Design) and Jesse Hartman (Burke Consulting) briefed the council on the 2026 comprehensive plan housing element update and highlighted community feedback, methodology adjustments to land capacity analysis, and policy options to increase affordable housing supply.
Key findings and why they matter: Consultants summarized outreach efforts including a 12‑week citywide survey with more than 800 entries and a targeted winter survey of roughly 60 respondents focused on renters and lower‑income households. They said that while overall capacity numbers under existing zoning remained similar after technical revisions, capacity for multifamily units that serve the lowest income bands (0–80% AMI) fell, producing a slightly higher…
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