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Issues & Impacts Third Quarter Edition July-September 2019 Issues & Impacts In this issue: Seattle King County REALTORS® is working to ensure that public Seattle Accessory Dwelling Units > policies support homeownership Burien considers “missing middle” and your business’s bottom line. housing policy > Please contact Governmental & Seattle Green New Deal > Public Affairs Director David Crowell, [email protected], with any Seattle revises its Notice of Intent to local legislative issues that may need Sell ordinance > our attention. The next issue will be King County road & bridge funding running released in December 2019. out in 2025 > King County Growth Rate Will Slow Next Year (2020), But Remain Positive On July 19, King County’s Office of Economic and of slower growth. The residential real estate Financial Analysis released its annual Economic market slowed considerably in 2018 according and Revenue Forecast. to the county, although job growth remains strong. In a presentation to the King County Forecast • Speaking of jobs, the US economy is continuing Council, Dave Reich compared King County trends to produce jobs, which means lots of people to what has been occurring nationally: are working. Unemployment has continued on a downward trend since January 2010. In • In the 1st Quarter of 2019, the national fact, King County employment growth has economy grew by 3.1 percent, compared to been stronger than the nation as a whole, and 2.3 percent YTD in King County. This is the first more robust than many peer counties around time in history that the national economy has the country including Dallas, San Diego, experienced growth every month for more than Los Angeles, Orange County, New York and 10 years in a row. The most recent prior 10-year Chicago. growth period was from 1991 to 2001, nearly 2 • King County’s population grew 1.6 percent, but decades ago. growth rates have varied around the county: • King County’s economy showed solid growth in 2018, but slowed in the second half of the year, and also remains slower thus far in 2019. • In King County, the current construction boom continues, although there are some signs 12410 SE 32nd Street, Suite 100 | Bellevue, WA 98005 | Main 425.974.1011 | nwrealtor.com 1 Issues & Impacts Total population approvals fell during the recession and have Select King on April 1, 2019 not recovered. % Increase County cities as estimated by • King County’s Index of Leading Economic OFM Indicators is mixed, but the King County forecast for 2019-2020 calls for continued growth: Auburn 1.5 71,740 o Total countywide assessed value is forecast Bellevue 2.0 145,300 to rise 13.46 percent (to $606.6 billion) in Burien 0.3 52,000 2019 Federal Way 0.4 97,840 o Total assessed value in unincorporated King County is forecast to rise 11.47 percent (to Kent 0.7 129,800 $48.6 billion in 2019) Kirkland 1.9 88,940 o Countywide, new construction is expected Redmond 2.8 65,860 to grow by $11.6 billion in 2019 Renton 0.6 104,700 o Taxable sales will continue to grow, but at a slower pace Seattle 2.3 747,300 Tukwila 5.7 20,930 More information, including the County’s Forecast Report, is available online at: https://www. • Single-family permitting and occupancy kingcounty.gov/independent/forecasting.aspx. HOUSING SUPPLY Additional Housing Opportunities: Major Changes Adopted for Seattle Accessory Dwelling Units After three years of legal challenge, the Seattle City same time, SKCR advocated for property rights Council has made major changes to regulations with regards to floor-area-ration (FAR) limits on new governing accessory dwelling units (ADUs) and single-family homes. We believe property owners detached accessory dwelling units (DADUs). The should retain the ability to size new construction changes both ease restrictions on ADUs and according to their needs. promote development of ADUs by limiting the size of new single-family homes. Summary of proposal: • Allow two ADUs on one lot. Seattle King County REALTORS® views ADUs as • Increase maximum household size to 12 a valuable housing tool for cities throughout the unrelated people on lots with two ADUs. region. ADUs enable greater utilization of existing • Allow DADUs on lots of at least 3,200 square houses and residential lots, without a significant feet & allow DADUs of up to 1,000 sq. ft. change in community character. The added units • Increase DADU height limits by 1-2 feet, with offer important, affordable, housing opportunities flexibility for green building strategies. for tenants as well as income for the owner --- • Increase rear lot coverage to provide flexibility easing the owner’s mortgage and improving a for one-story DADUs, provided the increase buyer’s ability to qualify. In addition, ADU’s offer rear lot coverage does not result in removal of important housing stability options for “empty trees over a certain size. nesters” and seniors on a fixed income. At the • Remove the off-street parking requirement. 2 12410 SE 32nd Street, Suite 100 | Bellevue, WA 98005 | Main 425.974.1011 | nwrealtor.com Third Quarter Edition July-September 2019 • Remove the owner-occupancy requirement. the design and permitting process for detached • Use floor-area ratio (FAR) to limit the size of new accessory dwelling units (DADUs) by making single-family homes and encourage ADUs. Sets preapproved plans available at low-or-no cost to a maximum square footage at 2500 square feet homeowners. for lots up to 5000 square feet, and 1/2 the lot size above 5000 square feet. Elements will include: • Exemption from the FAR limits include: o Basement area; • Encouraging relatively simple, small, and low- o Any floor area contained in an accessory cost DADU designs through an open call for dwelling unit; submissions from the design and construction o Either up to 500 additional square feet of community. floor area in any accessory structure that • Supporting ongoing innovation in prefab, is not a detached accessory dwelling unit, modular, and other new construction methods or up to 250 square feet of floor area in an that may reduce construction costs. attached garage. • Issuing an ADU construction permit within 30 • The Seattle Department of Construction and days for homeowners using a preapproved Inspections (SDCI) is requested to develop DADU plan. an amnesty program for accessory dwelling • Establishing an “ADU navigator” on the units that were constructed without permits. permitting staff to help homeowners navigate The program shall permit owners of accessory the permitting process for ADUs. dwelling units constructed without a permit to • Developing a one-stop ADU website that come forward during a certain time period and provides a comprehensive inventory of ADU legalize their units without penalty. information, guidance, resources; summarizes ADU regulations and permitting steps. Following the Council passage, Mayor Jenny Durkan signed an executive order to speed the The Seattle Office of Housing will pilot strategies permitting and construction of ADUs and to make for ADUs that support affordability for homeowners them more affordable to build. and tenants such as using the existing Home Repair Program for low-interest financing to help The Mayor has directed the Seattle Department of low-income homeowners create ADUs. Construction and Inspections (SDCI) to streamline Burien Planning Commission Considers “Pilot Project” Affordable Housing Policies Burien’s Planning Commission is moving forward housing affordable to middle income households. to consider “Missing Middle” housing policy amendments to the City’s Comprehensive Plan In addition, the Planning Commission has begun and Zoning Code, particular regulations relating considering the possibility of policy revisions to to Accessory Dwelling Units (ADU’s), allowing for encourage affordable housing “Demonstration housing variety in single-family residential zones Projects.” and setting minimum density thresholds. The City’s Comprehensive Plan has provided The proposed amendments are intended to provide for implementation of an “Affordable Housing incentives and flexibility for the development of Demonstration Project/Program” since 2003. 12410 SE 32nd Street, Suite 100 | Bellevue, WA 98005 | Main 425.974.1011 | nwrealtor.com 3 Issues & Impacts However, there have been no proposals from the diversity of housing types and serve as a model developers expressing a desire to pursue such a for other neighborhoods. program, which has not helped to ameliorate the fact that since Burien’s incorporation in 1993 a low As part of its review, the Burien Planning percentage of new housing has been constructed Commission will be reviewing the Kirkland City relative to the total number of housing units in the Council interim ordinance adopted in 2002 which city. allows up to five innovative housing projects to develop housing choices that were not available in A Demonstration Project could test new or single-family neighborhoods. more flexible regulations and processes that are not currently allowed under existing land The city has identified cottage housing or other use regulations in efforts to encourage housing clustered small-lot planning concepts for evaluation production, stimulate innovating housing design, against program goals to determine whether such encourage the development of catalyst housing housing types should be allowed generally. projects, stimulate housing production, increase Enumclaw: Single-Family Residential Design Standards The city of Enumclaw 2. Clarify definitions and how the regulations are Planning Commission has implemented, and recommended the City 3. Provide greater flexibility within the regulations Council amend the City’s to allow for a more diverse housing stock. Single-Family Residential Design Standards to For example: provide more flexibility in connection with the construction of new homes. • Many home designs have the garage extending in front of the main body of the house. The The City’s current standards are intended to ensure front yard setback is a minimum of 20 feet. The that new single-family development fits with the design requirements mandate that the garage character of existing neighborhoods in terms of be set back a minimum of 3 feet from the scale, density and design.
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