Proposals would allow duplexes, triplexes and fourplexes in Olympia’s single-family zones
Olympia’s Planning Commission advanced a package of zoning code amendments on Monday that would allow a variety of denser housing types in the city’s single-family residential zones.
Those zones collectively make up 68% of the city and its urban growth area and are generally considered to be low-density, although hundreds of “nonconforming” duplexes already exist in those areas.
The Planning Commission’s recommendation, which passed by a 5-2 vote, will now head to city council for consideration sometime in December.
The package of reforms goes further than the initial proposal the city planning staff presented at a public hearing in September, where some people offering public comment encouraged a more ambitious re-evaluation of the city’s zoning code.
It also more closely resembles the Missing Middle, though it does not address some of the housing types that legislation did, such as single-room occupancies (SROs).
“The bottom line is I think we need more housing,” said Commission Chair Candi Millar. “If we put more restrictions on building these housing units, we’ll have less.”
The commission recommended allowing duplexes, triplexes and fourplexes in R 4-8 (which stands for Residential 4 to 8 units per acre), the city’s largest single-family residential zone.
A slight caveat about R 4-8: although it is often referred to as a ‘single-family’ zone, like nearly every zone in the city it also allows a handful of other housing types - including townhouses, manufactured homes, cottage housing, and co-housing - that exist in very small numbers in R 4-8 zones.
The commission also recommended allowing triplexes, fourplexes, sixplexes, and courtyard apartments in the R 6-12 zone, which currently allows duplexes as well as single-family homes and townhouses.
Courtyard apartments are a new designation defined as four or more units “oriented around a shared open space courtyard.” Fourplexes and sixplexes were not previously part of the amendments, but were housing types referenced in HB 2343, a state law passed earlier this year that encourages cities to take actions to increase their housing supply.
It also would reduce minimum lot sizes and widths for duplexes and triplexes to be the same as for single-family houses, which is also an objective laid out in HB 2343. Currently duplexes are allowed in R 6-12, but require a larger lot size than a single-family home.
Finally, the commission recommended eliminating restrictions on Accessory Dwelling Units, including requirements that the owner live on-site and provide one off-street parking space. It also would increase the maximum square footage of ADUs to 850 square feet, putting Olympia in line with the city of Lacey’s size limit, and increase the maximum height from 16 feet to 24 feet, which would allow above-garage units.
While all the commissioners shared Millar’s goal of increasing the housing supply, there was disagreement on some of the specifics of the recommendation.
Two of the commissioners, Paula Ehlers and Carole Richmond, voted against the final package. Both said they supported the bulk of the reforms, but thought allowing fourplexes and sixplexes would invite public pushback.
“When we did Missing Middle, the fourplexes seemed to be the thing that was pushing people’s limits,” Ehlers said.
Commissioner Yen Huynh countered that in her neighborhood she sees existing fourplexes that blend in with single-family homes and other mixed-density housing types.
Huynh also noted that just because a housing type is legalized in a zone doesn’t mean it will necessarily be built in large numbers, due to the existence of the design review process, lot size requirements, and other specifications for each site.
Commissioner Tammy Adams noted that some neighborhoods have homeowners associations with covenants that enforce tighter restrictions on the types of housing that can be built there.
Correction: This story previously stated that the R 4-8 zone currently allows only single-family homes and townhouses. It has been updated to reflect the numerous other housing types - including manufactured homes, cohousing, and cottage housing - that, though infrequent in R 4-8, are permitted in nearly every zone across the city.
This story was originally published November 3, 2020 at 11:35 AM.
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