Tumwater staff ask council to place housekeeping ordinance on May 5 calendar; changes would update ADUs, childcare and signage rules

Planning staff presented a housekeeping ordinance at the April 28 work session and asked that the council place the package on the May 5 consideration calendar. The proposed ordinance packages several minor updates to development regulations intended to bring the code into compliance with recent state legislation.

Key changes identified by staff would:

- Clarify accessory dwelling unit (ADU) rules to reflect state requirements (allow at least two ADUs with a principal structure and further allowances if one unit is affordable), and add or point to the code section where the ADU definition appears.

- Make childcare centers for 13 or more children an outright permitted use in most residential zones (per state law), rather than conditional uses, and update the local definition consistent with the state standard.

- Narrow conditional exemptions for certain signs, and allow additional square footage for monument signs in locations adjacent to I-5 and for larger retail uses; staff said some church and tribal-trust-site signage issues remain tied to zoning and land-status constraints.

- Update essential public facilities language to include uses added by state law (for example, opioid treatment facilities and "high-capacity" transit), and note that SEPA/environmental review is complete with no appeals and that planning commission recommended approval.

Councilmembers asked for clearer references and a short "data dictionary" of terms (for example, where the ADU definition sits in the draft code) and asked staff to include comparative visuals (photos) for proposed sign-size changes when the item returns for formal consideration.

By consensus the council agreed to place the ordinance on the May 5 calendar for consideration; staff said they will bring a work session packet and supporting documentation ahead of that meeting.