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House Bill 1110 and Everett 2044

Hello! – Everett is in phase II of their overall comprehensive plan process to create Everett 2044. We took a look at their documents to date with respect to HB1110 and middle housing and Alternative 3 appears to be our best initial reference that investigates how and where middle housing, or a comprehensive plan design that emphasizes middle housing, would evolve.

Notably but not surprisingly, the areas of focus are clustered around strong transportation connectors and routes such as Highway 99, downtown Everett, East Marine View Drive, etc. This is just an early EIS alternative study so the mapped extents, designations, etc. are all subject to change, but given that HB1110 is a state mandate and also in general alignment with the city’s long-term goals, it’s likely that this map hangs around for the long run.

Regarding code draft language, a preliminary staff report from June 2023 appears to be our first glimpse at where city staff is thinking things will go. Clearly it is the initial staff proposal, but detailed enough to share – highlights here:

ZONES – residential zones would be consolidated into Neighborhood Residential and Urban Residential and drop the density limits of each zone to simplify the codes. No more distinction between micro housing vs single family vs duplex, etc.

LAND DIVISION AND UNIT LOT SUBDIVISION – these would be expanded to allow more choices in home ownership opportunities.

DESIGN STANDARDS – revised site and unit design standards would adjust to ensure design of buildings maintains existing neighborhood character.

HEIGHT – building heights are tied to general building scales.

PARKING – amended to be counted with focus on bedroom quantity.

Given where Everett is in the comp plan process, we’re a way out from seeing the final draft of middle housing change in greater detail, including full proposed code / draft language as well as development option / feasibility studies to see how the revised codes would work on Everett sites. We’ll continue watching to see how they progress with their comprehensive plan updates and then the timeline for implementing middle housing. Thanks for reading!