HomeMy WebLinkAboutPlanning 2026-03-26 Item 7.1- Comprehensive Plan Summary / Municipal Code Amendments - Informantional MemorandumTO:
FROM:
BY:
DATE:
City of Tukwila
Thomas McLeod, Mayor
INFORMATIONAL MEMORANDUM
Tukwila Planning Commission
Nora Gierloff, Community Development Director
Neil Tabor, Senior Planner, DCD and Isaac Gloor, Senior Planner, DCD
March 26, 2026
SUBJECT: Summary of Comprehensive Plan and recent Municipal Code Amendments
ISSUE
The City has made substantial updates to its comprehensive plan and development regulations
in last few years. In this memo staff has prepared a high-level summary of the scope of changes
and work done by Commission and Council to provide context for new Planning Commissioners
and other Commissioners who joined during the process.
DISCUSSION
Comprehensive Plan Update
The comprehensive plan serves as the guiding policy document for the City, incorporating plans
and documents to coordinate efforts to best achieve City goals. The plan must comply with
required items from the state Department of Commerce, Puget Sound Regional Council and
King County Countywide Planning Policies. Significant changes to requirements during the 2024
periodic update included enhanced housing policies including differentiation of housing targets
by affordability levels and housing preservation and inclusivity, enhanced climate change
policies, and additional requirements for tracking of progress on goals between periodic
updates, amongst a litany of other requirements. Staff worked to consolidate the number of
elements (chapters) of the plan and find areas in which the plan could be abbreviated and
written in more plain language.
Links to Relevant Materials
1. Ordinance 2 53, 2024 Comprehensive Plan
2. Ordinance 253, Document
3. Planning.. Comission Comprehensive Plan af...Report
Middle Housing Update
In the 2023 legislative session the Washington State Legislature passed 1-1...1.1.12, mandating
the allowance of middle housing types (duplexes, stacked flats, cottage housing, etc.) in areas
previously zoned exclusively for single-family housing. As one of the Governor's priorities, this
piece of legislation aimed to address the growing housing shortage by expanding housing types
that could be created, generally at higher densities and lower price points than comparable new
single-family housing. With a deadline of June 30, 2025 to adopt compliant regulations, staff
worked with the public, stakeholders, consultants, Planning Commission and City Council to
update development regulations complying with new state requirements from this and other
related housing legislation. Other logical amendments, which aligned with adopted
comprehensive plan goals were also integrated into the update.
A general summary of updates can be found below with more detail available in the linked
materials below. 3
INFORMATIONAL MEMO
Page 2
Rezone
All land within the LDR and MDR zoning districts was rezoned to a new Community Residential
(CR) zoning district. Consolidation of these two zones streamlined the middle housing adoption
and eliminated unnecessary differentiation in zones.
Density & Housing Type Allowances
The following density and housing type allowances were updated to:
• Establish a minimum lot size for the CR zoning district of 5,000 square feet, replacing the
previous minimum lot sizes of 6,500 square feet and 8,000 square feet for the LDR and
MDR zoning districts respectively.
• Count accessory dwelling units toward the total density allowance
• Allow three units per lot (outside of mile transit buffer), with additional unit allowance per
1,500 square feet lot of additional lot area, up to 5 units per lot
• Allow four units per lot (within '/4 mile transit buffer), with additional unit allowance per
1,500 square feet lot of additional lot area, up to 5 units per lot
• Allow 8 of 9 middle housing types, only not allowing sixplexes
Parking
Required parking was amended to:
• 1 parking space per middle housing dwelling unit (outside of the mile major transit stop
buffer)
• No parking requirement within the mile major transit stop buffer, per State law
• No parking required for ADU units
Setbacks & Building Massing
Setbacks were amended to:
• Reduce the previous 20-foot LDR front setback to 15 feet in the CR zone, with additional
encroachment allowances for porches and certain architectural features
• Reduce the previous 10-foot LDR rear setback to 5 feet in the CR zone Increase building
height allowance to 35 feet Increase building lot coverage to 50%
Road & Frontage Standards
Standards were amended to:
• Broaden allowances for use of more proportionately -sized roads
• Consolidate access points
• Require sidewalks and curb frontage improvements for more types of development
Design Review
Standards were amended to:
• Update design standards to ensure high quality design and appearance
• Create a design checklist for new single-family, middle housing and accessory dwelling
units (ADUs) to provide clear expectations and options for residential developers
Miscellaneous
Other updates included:
• Expansion of ADU size and height allowances
• Updated zone references throughout
• Updated definitions to comply with state law
• Added graphics for clarity
Links to Relevant Materials
4
INFORMATIONAL MEMO
Page 3
1. Ordinance 2762, Establish Community Residential (CR) — Consolidate LDR and MDR
Zones
2. Ordinance 2:64, Title 17 "Subdivisions and Plats" Amendments
3. Ordinance 2; 65, Title 18 "Zoning" and Middle Housing Amendments
Tukwila International Boulevard Update
The Tukwila International Boulevard (TIB) Neighborhood, which consists of the area
surrounding TIB from just south of SR 518 to just north of the King County Library at Tukwila
Village, has long been envisioned by the local community as a walkable main street, with high -
density, mixed -use development that serves the needs of the neighborhood. However,
regulations stymied the vision and limited development opportunities in the area. Over the
course of 2025, the Department worked with the Planning Commission to workshop
amendments to multiple sections of Tukwila's Zoning Code. The City Council adopted the
amendment package in October of last year. The changes help implement the community's
vision for the neighborhood, incentivize transit -oriented development near the City's Link Light
Rail Station, align the City's regulations with Washington State law, and clarify standards for
applicants and reviewers.
A summary of some of the changes is below:
• Neighborhood Commercial Center (NCC) and Regional Commercial (RC) Zoning Districts:
o Increases to allowable building heights.
o Reductions in required minimum setbacks.
o Allowance of greater residential and commercial densities.
• Table of Permitted Uses:
o Changes that permit a greater variety of residential and mixed uses in the RC
and NCC zoning districts. Certain auto -oriented, heavy industrial, and low -density
uses are no longer permitted. All existing uses that were legally established may
continue, pursuant to the City's regulations for nonconforming uses.
• Table of Required Parking:
o The table of mandatory parking minimums has been simplified. Parking
requirements for certain uses have been reduced or removed.
• Adoption of a Development Incentive Program:
o Projects within the NCC and RC zoning districts may participate in a new
incentive program; wherein greater development rights may be granted to
property owners who agree to provide community benefits such as small retail
spaces or childcare uses.
• Multi -Family, Mixed -Use, Vehicular Area Design Standards:
o The standards are revised to comply with Washington State's requirements that
all design criteria be "clear and objective".
• Co -Living Housing:
o A definition of Co -Living Housing has been added. The use has been established
as a permitted use in zoning districts that permit six (6) multi -family dwellings or
more, in accordance with State requirements.
Links to Relevant Materials
1. Ordinance 2770, Tukwila International Boulevard Zoning Amendments
Other Miscellaneous Updates and Legislative Items
In an effort to strategically address a large number of the new state requirements becoming
effective in 2024 and 2025, staff combined a number of topics into other code amendments
such as the middle housing update incorporating other changes to accessory dwelling unit
standards. However, other specific topics, whether state requirements or areas for zoning code
improvements identified by staff, were also undertaken as more isolated updates as listed belo
INFORMATIONAL MEMO
Page 4
in the links. Additionally, the City Clerks Office recently updated the municipal code to an online
format, far more accessible to the public. Changes in state law regarding housing are well
summarized in the City of Bellingham's Housing Legislation Page also linked below.
Links to Relevant Materials
1. Ordinance 2 40, Permitting Reform Title 17
2. Ordinance 2; 41, Permitting Reform Title 18
3. Ordinance 55, Binding Site Improvement Plan (BSIP) Regulations
4. Ordinance 2: 56, STEP Housing Regulations
5. Ordinance 2 58, Residential Conversions
6. Ordinance 259, Critical Area Designation Permit
7. Tukwp.Va_Mu.o cu.paVCode
8. CV,V`,yof...BeVVingloa.....State Housiru.g...Le.2§Vation.P.agg
ATTACHMENTS
1. Summary Presentation
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