Edmonds City Council President Tibbott provided this report following his trip to Olympia last week with Councilmembers Will Chen and Jenna Nand.  

Gov. Inslee declared at the Association of Washington Cities conference last week, “It’s time to go big, or go home.” Then he revised his slogan for Washington State, “It time to go big, to go home.” He emphasized that our state needs to dramatically increase the quantity and kind of housing that’s available. The big goal is 1 million homes in 20 years for Western Washington.

A consistent theme during the two-day event in Olympia revolved around the housing bills both from the House and Senate. Together, there have been at least seven bills presented that seek to increase density, improve affordability and protect tenants — the most controversial ones being HB 1110 and SB 5910.

Workshops on this topic were among the most well attended and brought the most heated discussions. Edmonds residents have spoken loud and clear through the Edmonds Housing Commission and other forums for preserving self-determination with regard to local zoning. The criticism from the State is that cities and in particular Edmonds are not doing enough. However, a report by City of Edmonds Development Services Department provided to the city council on June 21, 2022 indicated that permits were issued or in process for over 500 new residential units in 2021. Many of the new permits were issued for the so-called “missing middle” kind of housing, which were taking place near transit and walkable amenities.

As a delegation from Edmonds, we brought a message requesting amendments to the top-down approach taken by state legislators. We asked for an expanded use of the Growth Management Act (GMA) instead abolishing single-family zoning. We requested that legislators leave the implementation to local jurisdiction to decide where growth would be accommodated. Nand requested that citizen boards be allowed to hear comments and give feedback to developers. Chen emphasized that we agree that more housing is needed in our region and our city is ready to roll up its sleeves and find ways to do more, but we want to have of a say in how that happens.

While visiting the capitol, we met with five representatives.Rep. Ryu urged Councilmember Nand to send in an amendment requesting more citizen input, especially from parts of any city with marginalized neighborhoods at risk of being gentrified. The response back regarding the changes with HB 1110, Rep. Ryu wrote: “I think the Substitute Bill as proposed — I understand drafted after much negotiations with AWC — will serve your city’s needs and not need further amendments.”  However, the amended bill essentially ignored Nand’s request. Please see the proposed substitute bill at the end of this report.

One of the most gratifying parts of the two-day event was the opportunity to meet with councilmembers and mayors from other cities with the same or similar concerns as Edmonds about the original bill.  We met with delegations from Lynnwood, Bellingham, Auburn, Mukilteo and more. We also heard excellent presentations on what other cities are doing to address problems with innovative solutions.

I enjoyed traveling with my fellow councilmembers while learning more about and standing together to resist top-down legislation that sidesteps local leadership in bringing real solutions.

Proposed Substitute House Bill 1110

Increased city population size to which the bill applies and scales middle housing that is allowed. (Original bill started out at 6,000 and up 4plexes everywhere)

Modifies density requirements and population thresholds as follows:

o Cities with a population of at least 25,000 but less than 75,000 must allow:

• the development of at least two units per lot on all lots zoned predominantly for residential use;
• the development of at least four units per lot on all lots zoned predominantly for residential use within one-half mile walking distance of a major transit stop or community amenity; and
• the development of at least four units per lot on all lots zoned predominantly for residential use if at least one unit is affordable housing.

o Cities with a population of at least 75,000, and any city within a contiguous urban growth area with a city with a population above 200,000, must allow:

• the development of at least four units per lot on all lots zoned predominantly for residential use;
• the development of at least six units per lot on all lots zoned predominantly for residential use within one-half mile walking distance of a major transit stop or community amenity; and
• the development of at least six units per lot on all lots zoned predominantly for residential use if at least two units are affordable housing.

Redefines transit stop to exclude bus stops and ferry terminals

• Removes Washington State ferry terminals and a stop for a bus with minimum service requirements from the definition of “major transit stop.”
• Defines community amenity as a public or private school having a curriculum below the college level and a designated entrance or pedestrian access point to a park operated by the state or a local government for the use of the general public.
• Requires any combination of middle housing types to be allowed to achieve the required unit density.

Removes elimination of parking minimums within a half mile of transit and increases minimum parking required from per lot to per unit

• Modifies the maximum parking that may be required to one or two off-street parking spaces per unit, instead of per lot, and provides an exemption from the parking provisions if the city or county makes a determination, supported by empirical evidence and best practices in a study that is prepared by a credentialed transportation or land use planning expert, that the lack of minimum parking requirements in a defined area would make on-street parking infeasible or unsafe for the authorized units.

— By Neil Tibbott

Council President Tibbott will be speaking on this and other topics at the Edmonds Civic Roundtable at 5 p.m. Monday, Feb. 27 at the Edmonds Waterfront Center. Learn more here.