Proposed Olympia code updates would boost housing density, loosen restrictions on ADUs
Olympia code is being amended to address missing middle housing across the city, and Principal Planner Joyce Phillips recently walked city officials through proposed amendments and plans for community engagement to show people what their neighborhoods could look like in the future.
Phillips said Feb. 20 during a city Land Use and Environment Committee meeting that most code revisions address requirements set by House bills 1110 and 2321 which were passed by the state legislature.
HB 1110 was passed in 2023 and requires cities to allow middle housing in areas that typically have only single-family homes. Middle housing includes duplexes, triplexes, townhomes and more.
The bill also limits how cities can regulate middle housing, lowers parking requirements and includes resources to streamline design review processes.
HB 2321 was passed in 2024 and addresses minimum residential density, exemptions for critical areas, creation of new lots through lot splitting, and encourages dense building near major transit stops.
Phillips said the first public draft of the changes was posted online in January. Staff will spend the next several weeks soliciting public comments and feedback. A public hearing draft will be issued in June.
Email comments can be submitted to middlehousing@ci.olympia.wa.us. Written comments can be mailed to City of Olympia Community Planning & Development, PO Box 1967, Olympia, WA 98507-1967. They can also be dropped off at City Hall during business hours at 601 Fourth Ave. E., Olympia.
Changes to Olympia neighborhoods
Land Use and Environment Committee Chair Dani Madrone said middle housing isn’t an easy issue to work on, but it’s at least getting easier.
“It’s still a challenge, because we’re talking about changing communities and changing neighborhoods, and that can be very difficult,” she said.
Madrone said Olympia leaders want to keep the city on the leading edge of this issue.
“We were the first one in the state to legalize middle housing, and we don’t want to be in a position where we’re just at the point where we’re like, ‘OK, well, the state’s going to work on that now,’ because we know that there’s always going to be more work to be done,” she said.
According to the city documents, Tier 1 cities have a population of 75,000 or more. Tier 2 cities have a population of 25,000 to 75,000. Olympia is a Tier 2 city currently, with a population of about 55,400, but by 2030, Olympia and its urban growth area are projected to meet the Tier 1 population threshold.
To avoid revising code once the city reaches 75,000 people, the city plans to meet Tier 1 requirements now. This means the number of units allowed on a lot will increase from two to four. Near major transit stops, or when at least two affordable housing units are provided, the number will increase from 4 to 6.
There aren’t any major transit stops in Olympia under the state’s definition. Instead, Olympia code is being proposed using “frequent transit routes” for transit stops that have four or more stops per hour for 12 or more hours per day.
The geographical range for areas considered near frequent transit routes — the areas that could see the 4-to-6 unit increase — would increase to half a mile from the current quarter of a mile.
ADUs and co-living
Under the state regulations, cities can choose whether to count Accessory Dwelling Units in the Unit Lot Density allowed. The most allowed on one lot would be a six-plex or a six-plex and two ADUs.
Cities also can no longer adopt a size limit for ADUs that’s less than 1,000 square feet. Olympia code will have to be updated to increase the maximum size from 850 square feet.
The city isn’t allowed to impose setback requirements, yard coverage limits, tree retention mandates, restrictions on entry-door locations, aesthetic requirements or requirements for design review for ADUs that are more restrictive than those for the principal unit.
Code amendments also would allow ADUs to be converted from existing structures, including but not limited to detached garages, even if they violate current code requirements for setbacks or lot coverage.
The city would not be allowed to prohibit the sale or other conveyance of a condominium unit independently of a principal unit solely on the grounds that the condo was originally built as an ADU.
Code also would be updated to keep building height maximums at 35 feet, but allow three stories instead of two, in residential zoning districts that allow 12 or fewer units per acre.
The city’s amended codes would not require off-street parking as a condition of permitting middle housing within half a mile walking distance of a frequent transit route.
The city wouldn’t be able to require more than one off-street parking space per unit on lots smaller than 6,000 square feet before any zero lot line subdivisions or lot splits. It also wouldn’t be able to require more than two off-street parking spaces per unit on lots greater than 6,000 square feet before any zero lot line subdivisions or lot splits.
Co-living housing is also addressed in the code amendments. It’s defined as a residential development with sleeping units that are independently rented and lockable and provide living and sleeping space, and residents share kitchen facilities with other sleeping units in the building.
Under the code amendments, the city wouldn’t be allowed to exclude co-living housing from participating in affordable housing incentive programs. A sleeping unit in co-living housing would be treated as no more than one-quarter of a dwelling unit for purposes of calculating dwelling unit density.
The city would not be allowed to treat a sleeping unit in co-living housing as more than one-half of a dwelling unit for purposes of calculating fees for sewer connections, unless the city makes a finding based on facts that connection fees should exceed the one-half threshold.
This story was originally published February 26, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
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