Seattle: Interim Zoning Changes
Seattle aims to implement interim zoning regulation changes to comply with several recently enacted Washington State bills focused on increasing housing production and streamlining development standards. The primary driver is House Bill 1110, the "Middle Housing bill," which mandates that cities allow a wider array of housing types, including duplexes, triplexes, and stacked flats, within areas predominantly zoned for single-family residences, while also limiting the regulation of this middle housing.
In addition to HB 1110, this interim legislation addresses compliance with three other key state bills. House Bill 1293 requires that all design standards be "clear and objective," potentially necessitating revisions to existing subjective design review processes and specific land use code design standards. Senate Bill 6015 places limitations on off-street parking requirements, necessitating adjustments to Seattle's parking space width and the allowance of tandem parking as two spaces. Finally, House Bill 1287 establishes new requirements for electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure in new developments, requiring a greater proportion of parking spaces to be EV-ready.
The urgency of this interim legislation stems from the June 30, 2025 deadline for cities to adopt changes complying with HB 1110. Failure to meet this deadline will result in a state-developed "model ordinance" superseding local regulations. This model ordinance contains specific development standards that could be challenging to interpret and apply without local interim legislation, potentially leading to legal challenges.
The proposed interim legislation focuses on modifying standards directly addressed in the state's Model Ordinance or explicitly required for compliance. Where the Model Ordinance aligns with the city's draft permanent legislation, the interim measures will adopt those specific standards.
Key changes proposed in this interim legislation include updates to density limits in Neighborhood Residential (NR) and Residential Small Lot (RSL) zones to allow at least four units per lot, and six units near major transit stops or with affordable units. Height and floor area ratio (FAR) in RSL zones will also be increased. For Lowrise (LR) zones, density limits will be updated similarly, height in LR1 zones will increase, and setbacks and maximum structure widths will be standardized across building types to avoid stricter regulations for middle housing. Certain subjective design standards in LR zones related to façade articulation and window placement will be removed to comply with the "clear and objective" requirement. Parking requirements for middle housing will be removed within a half-mile of major transit stops, and parking space sizes and tandem parking allowances will be modified per SB 6015. Furthermore, pedestrian access and circulation standards will be based on the number of units rather than type, bike parking will be exempted for middle housing, and EV charging requirements will be updated to meet HB 1287 standards across multiple zones. This interim legislation is intended to be a temporary measure while the city prepares permanent legislation for comprehensive zoning updates.