Kennewick planners present housing element update; consultants flag deficit at lowest income bands

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 deficit for those income levels. "We ended up in essentially the same place as we were before where you have enough job capacity, but there's a slightly higher deficit at your lowest income bands," Jesse Hartman said.

Methodology changes: The consultants listed five primary revisions to their analysis: correcting density assumptions in RH and RM zones (revising an earlier higher per‑acre unit calculation back to a 27 units/acre assumption for multifamily), adding residential capacity assumptions to some commercial zones, adjusting mixed‑use residential/commercial splits (from 50/50 to 65/35), marking Vista Field development parcels as pipeline projects, and fixing an Excel error in job‑per‑acre calculations. They said those edits reduced multifamily capacity available to lower‑income households even as some higher‑income capacity increased.

Policy options and tools discussed: Presenters reviewed a menu of potential responses including zoning and code changes (adjusting density and height limits, reducing parking minimums, density bonuses tied to affordability), permitting reforms (preapproved plans, express permits), promoting accessory dwelling units with streamlined processes, selling or leasing surplus public land to affordable housing providers, and adopting financial incentives such as a multifamily tax exemption, impact‑fee waivers, or targeted tax measures. They noted tradeoffs and implementation costs, including staff monitoring and modest potential tax shifts.

Council questions and concerns: Councilmembers asked for specifics on permitting bottlenecks and how local insurance or utility costs might factor into affordability. Consultants said permitting streamlining and preapproved plans are common tools and that total housing costs (including utilities and insurance) should be considered in future analyses; they promised more detail in the forthcoming housing action plan.

Next steps: Staff said the first draft of the comprehensive plan will be released in late April or early May and reminded council to "put May 7 on your calendars" for a public open house on the first full draft. Consultants and staff said they will return with additional detail and recommendations as the housing action plan moves forward.

Ending: The presentation closed without formal action; staff signaled the plan will proceed through further outreach and statutory adoption steps this spring and summer.