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Kenmore updates housing strategy to align with new state laws, plans summer outreach
Summary
Kenmore is updating its 2017 housing strategy to implement 2024 comp-plan goals and comply with recent Washington state housing bills, with priorities to preserve existing affordable housing, loosen rules for small-scale housing (ADUs and middle housing), and deploy tools such as density bonuses and tax exemptions. Staff plan summer outreach and Planning Commission review.
Kenmore is revising its housing strategy plan to translate new policy goals into concrete actions, Todd Hall, the city’s principal planner in community development, said in a podcast interview. The update responds to a 2024 comprehensive-plan update, recent state housing laws and local demographic and affordability changes.
The 2017 plan set four main priorities: protect existing affordable housing (including measures for manufactured-home communities), reduce barriers to small-scale housing such as accessory dwelling units (ADUs), unlock publicly owned or tax-exempt land for housing, and broaden incentives for larger multifamily projects through density bonuses and a multifamily tax-exemption program. "Protecting the affordable housing the city already has, removing barriers for small-scale housing, activating underused public land, and incentivizing affordability in larger projects" summarized Hall.
Hall said three state bills enacted in the past several years are a central reason for revisiting the local strategy. He identified House Bill 1110 (the "middle housing" bill), which requires allowing duplexes through fourplexes and similar building types where single-family zoning previously prevailed; House Bill 1337, which changes ADU rules by allowing rentals, legalizing multiple ADU types and capping impact fees for ADUs; and House Bill 1220, which directs cities and counties to plan and accommodate housing across income levels, including emergency and supportive housing. Kenmore adopted middle-housing amendments in 2025 for certain R-4 and R-6 zones, Hall said.
The revision also follows adoption of Kenmore’s diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility plan in 2023 and a 2024 comprehensive-plan housing element with updated goals. Hall noted demographic and market shifts: "We’ve got more than a third residents that identify as BIPOC," and home values have risen significantly—"it’s now reached, over well over $1,000,000 in Kenmore," he said—leading to roughly one in four households being housing-burdened.
On implementation, Hall cautioned that code changes take time to translate into new building types. After about a year since the middle-housing rules were adopted, the city has seen only a handful of ADU permits and limited traction on larger middle-housing projects. He said the pace depends on financing, land availability, infrastructure capacity and developer business models. "When all these planets align, so to speak, then the building community’s gonna be a little bit less reluctant," Hall said.
Hall listed tools the city will consider deploying or promoting in the updated strategy: density bonuses to allow additional units when projects meet criteria, multifamily tax-exemption incentives, use of public land for housing, partnerships to pursue tax-credit financing and grants, and targeted subsidies where needed. He emphasized the need for a multi-year, multi-partner commitment to convert policy into units.
Looking ahead, Kenmore intends to broaden community engagement this summer with street-level outreach such as farmers markets, social media and e-news updates, and continued Planning Commission review through 2026 (meetings on the first and third Tuesdays). Hall said the city will work with Arch (a regional coalition for housing) to help develop implementation strategies and to reach renters, manufactured-home residents and BIPOC communities. "We want to go where people are," he said.
The city did not announce specific project approvals or funding decisions on the podcast; officials said the strategy work will continue through public engagement and Planning Commission deliberations before formal actions are taken.
