Condominium owners worried that they might not be able to sell their homes because the units no longer conform to city code will have a chance to have their say during a public hearing before the Edmonds Planning Board Wednesday, May 22.

The issue first came to light in early April when the Edmonds City Council’s Planning, Public Safety and Personnel Committee learned that during the 1960s and 1970s, more than 20 condominium buildings had been built under a code that allowed for a greater number of units than is currently permitted.

Windermere Realtor Wendy Kondo discovered the situation while working with an Edmonds condo owner to sell a unit in such a building. The bank declined to finance the sale because of the risk involved if the building were severely damaged.

If disaster struck — such as a major fire or earthquake — and one of these buildings lost 75 percent or more of its replacement cost at the time of destruction or severe damage, it would have be rebuilt to conform to the new code with fewer units and a height limit of 30 feet. (Some of the buildings question were built to a former 35-foot limit.)

The council passed an interim ordinance providing a temporary fix, but referred it to the planning board for a possible code change to address the situation long term.

According to the May 22 Planning Board agenda, the board at its April 24 meeting indicated a desire to “make property owners whole again” if restoration of a nonconforming residential building was necessary. City of Edmonds staff has prepared draft code language that would allow for multifamily residential buildings to be restored to the same density, height, setbacks, and coverage as existing before the destruction or damage occurred. The agenda notes that “this language also allows mixed use buildings containing multiple residential units to be restored as well.”

The meeting will begin at 7 p.m. in the Council Chambers, Public Safety Complex, 250 5th Ave. N. You can see the complete agenda here.