Committee recommends moving annual Title 18 clarifying amendments to council for June 29 action

Council Member Walsh on Tuesday night asked the Planning, Development and Environment Committee to consider a package of annual clarifying amendments to the city’s land-use code and recommended forwarding them to full City Council for action June 29. Staff said the seven housekeeping changes correct outdated definitions, narrow when large projects must seek a site development permit (SDP), clarify subdivision infrastructure sequencing, and add standards for donation bins, signage and temporary window signs.

Principal planner Kate Caney presented the package and said the changes aim to prevent small projects from entering a higher SDP level and adding time and cost. "Currently there are two definitions of multifamily residential," Caney said, and staff propose repealing the superseded definition adopted in last year’s middle-housing update. She told the committee that projects adding under 200 square feet of new building area would not require SDP, and that site-only improvements under 10,000 square feet would move out of the most onerous SDP pathways into a Level 2 review with administrative approval plus public notice.

The change grew from examples staff provided, including a recent Central Issaquah project that converted roughly 10,000 square feet of asphalt into resident amenity space and would have required a Level 4 development-commission review under the existing code. "What is proposed through these code changes is an SDP level 2," Caney said, describing it as an administrative review with notice for neighbors.

Caney also proposed clarifying subdivision sequencing to require construction (or an accepted bond) for site infrastructure before final plat approval, a change staff said will prevent building permits from being issued for non-existent lots. On donation bins, she said the temporary-use code currently allows them but lacks siting and maintenance standards; the amendment would permit bins on private property away from entrances, limit each permit to a one-year duration subject to renewal, and prohibit trash accumulation outside receptacles. "This is how you can allow them," Caney said, "and it's clear for the businesses who want to put it on their property, as well as for the public who have contacted the code enforcement officer about there being garbage nearby." City Administrator Bob Kutz added that in other communities unattended donation bins often become dumping grounds.

Sign-code clarifications would treat balloon-like commercial signs as prohibited for safety and would allow updates to internal illumination on nonconforming monument signs so long as no structural change is made. Staff also proposed allowing temporary window signs without a permit if they are well maintained and removed when a space is occupied. Caney told the committee the Planning Policy Commission held a public hearing on May 14 and recommended adoption.

Committee members expressed general support. Council Member Nichols asked for concrete examples and the staff provided several; Nichols said clarifying enforcement will help code officers. Walsh and other members agreed the package was appropriate to send to the June 29 council meeting, with staff noting the administration recommends approval. The committee did not take a formal recorded vote but directed staff to move the items forward.

The committee’s next step: staff will finalize ordinance language to reflect the PowerPoint presentation and transmit the package to City Council for consideration on June 29. If Council approves, the code clarifications would take effect according to the ordinance schedule specified in the final action.