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Washington City Council outlines changes to local code in 160D update
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Summary
At a special April 22 meeting, the Washington City Council reviewed required updates under 160D and agreed on a set of zoning and development-policy positions — including allowing bars in B1H with supplemental standards, expanding subdivision approval authority and requiring recreation space in new residential projects. The council adjourned until April 26.
Washington City Council members on April 22 reviewed a required update to the city’s planning and development regulations under 160D and endorsed a series of policy positions for the drafting process.
City Manager Jonathan Russell said the city is statutorily required to revise its code under 160D and that consulting firm WithersRavenel is under contract to prepare the updates. Councilmembers spent the session outlining how the updated ordinance should treat specific uses and development standards.
The council signaled support for allowing bars in the B1H commercial district but asked staff and the consultant to draft supplemental standards that could limit impacts, including hours of operation, minimum distance from residential facilities, noise limits and square-footage minimums. Several councilmembers said those kinds of conditions would be important to balance business activity and neighborhood concerns.
On residential classifications, the council agreed to retain the existing structure dividing residential development into “One- and Two-Family Residential” and “All Other Residential Other than One- and Two-Family,” preserving the current process for how units are categorized in the ordinance.
Councilmembers also agreed to expand administrative authority by allowing the Subdivision Review Board to approve final plats for subdivisions larger than five lots, a change meant to streamline final-plat approvals.
The council expressed support for adopting street-tree requirements and for expanding parking-lot landscaping standards to strengthen site design and tree canopy across new development.
Members agreed to permit carports in side yards and to add language clarifying uses incidental to home occupations, with some members specifically asking for an explicit “Home Office” use category to be included in the draft ordinance.
On multifamily housing, the council agreed to remove multifamily dwellings from the R15S and R9S districts and to remove single-family detached dwellings from the O and I districts; townhouses and condominium units will remain as currently configured in the code.
Councilmembers expressed interest in exploring craft-manufacturing uses and cottage courts/patio-home developments as potential new uses to be evaluated by staff and the consultant.
Finally, the council endorsed requiring recreation space for both multifamily and single-family developments and keeping a Payment-in-Lieu option for providing required recreational amenities.
By motion of Councilmember Betsy Kane, seconded by Mayor Pro tem Richard Brooks, the council adjourned at 11:05 a.m.; the next meeting was set for April 26, 2021, at 3:00 p.m.