Lake Stevens planners recommend limiting protective buffers for step‑housing, adopt co‑living and parking rules

At a 2025 Lake Stevens Planning Commission meeting, commissioners voted to forward amended municipal code language to the city council implementing state 'step housing' requirements and co‑living rules while narrowing proposed protective buffers.

David Levitan, the city’s principal planner, told the commission the Growth Management Act as amended by House Bill 1220 requires jurisdictions to allow four types of step housing — shelters, transitional housing, emergency housing and permanent supportive housing — in specified zones. Levitan said the draft code treats transitional and permanent supportive housing as outright permitted uses and designates emergency housing and shelters as subject to a type‑2 land use permit and new supplementary use regulations in chapter 1444.

Levitan outlined several requirements staff included in the draft: a required site‑management plan with provider contact information, a parking analysis, an operations and safety plan addressing security and access, and nuisance‑and‑enforcement measures. He emphasized that state law caps local parking requirements for co‑living sleeping units at 0.25 spaces per sleeping unit: "You cannot require more than 0.25 spaces per sleeping unit," he said.

A central point of debate was a proposed protective buffer measured from parcel perimeter. Staff presented three options (300, 500 and 1,000 feet) and showed that a 500‑foot buffer measured from schools, parks, child‑care centers and libraries would effectively prohibit emergency housing in much of downtown Lake Stevens. Levitan warned that a broadly prohibitive buffer "may run afoul of House Bill 1220," and staff recommended retaining buffers for schools and child‑care centers but removing parks and libraries from the protected‑use list.

Commissioners pressed staff on enforcement and on language in section H18 E4 that described when operational changes would trigger a new application. Several commissioners said phrases such as "any increase" or "substantive/substantial" were ambiguous. Commissioner Packard and others argued for clearer thresholds or administrative guidance; staff proposed removing the subjective wording, relying on renewal procedures and enforcement remedies, and including implementation guidance outside the code.

After discussion and no public comments, the commission moved, amended and approved the staff recommendation — retaining buffers around schools and child‑care centers, removing parks and libraries from the buffer list, and directing staff to remove or clarify subjective "substantive" language. The motion passed with "all in favor" recorded and no opposition announced. The commission will forward the amended code language as its recommendation to the city council for final action.

Implementation notes: emergency housing and shelters will require a type‑2 land use permit with a site‑management plan and operations and safety plan; transitional and permanent supportive housing will be allowed in the same zones as other residential uses without a separate land‑use permit; co‑living housing will be permitted in multifamily (MFR) and certain mixed‑use zones, with local parking requirements limited to a maximum of 0.25 spaces per sleeping unit.

The commission’s recommendation is advisory; the city council will review and decide whether to adopt the proposed amendments. The staff report and draft code language were submitted as Attachment 1 to the hearing materials.