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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2018-03-14 Community Development and Neighborhoods Minutes City of Tukwila City Council Community Development & Neighborhoods Committee COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT & NEIGHBORHOODS COMMITTEE Meeting Minutes March 14, 2018 5:30 p.m. Hazelnut Conference Room, City Hall Councilmembers: Kathy Hougardy, Acting Chair; Dennis Robertson, Thomas McLeod Staff: David Cline, Jack Pace, Nora Gierloff, Rick Still, Charlotte Archer, Laurel Humphrey CALL TO ORDER: Acting Chair Hougardy called the meeting to order at 5:30 p.m. I.BUSINESS AGENDA South King Housing and A. The presenter was not in attendance. Grant Application: 10-Minute Walk Planning Efforts B. Staff is seeking Committee approval to submit the 10-Minute Walk Planning Grant and Technical Assistance Application to the National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA) for funding and assistance to help the community meet its park needs. The 10-minute walk pledge was signed by the Mayor in February and endorses a vision that everyone deserves a park or open space within a 10-minute walk of home. If selected, Tukwila would be eligible for funding and technical assistance to identify issues and additional locations toward achieving open space equity for residents. Grant funding would require no City match and there would be minimal impact to staff time as funding would support additional labor. UNANIMOUS APPROVAL. Ordinance: Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) C. Staff is seeking Council approval of an ordinance that would amend Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) regulations to allow more flexibility and encourage development in an effort to create more housing options and address safety issues in illegal ADUs. In March 2017 the City Council gave staff direction to prioritize this update and provide an amnesty period for existing units. Staff embarked on a public outreach and feedback campaign that generated 165 survey responses reflecting majority support to change all current ADU standards. The proposed ordinance reflects policy choices for both attached and detached ADUs approved by the Planning Commission last month. There are several significant policy decisions in the proposal as summarized in the memo, including structure size, minimum lot size, owner occupancy, design standards, setbacks, and more. Councilmembers asked clarifying questions and offered suggestions. Councilmember Hougardy stated that she would like the maximize size to be 800 sf for both attached and detached ADUs. Councilmember Robertson agrees that owner occupancy should be required. He also requested the addition of two recitals: Community Development & NeighborhoodsMinutes.............................................................................................March 13, 2018 Whereas, the City wishes to provide more affordable housing for its residents; and Whereas, the City wishes to minimize impact on surrounding single family homes by limiting ADUs and DADUs to one per lot and requiring documented homeowner occupancy of at least one of the units 100% of the time; and Councilmember Hougardy noted that she has been researching the impact of ADUs on affordable housing and there are differences of opinion. She suggested it would be helpful to contact an organization like A Regional Coalition for Housing (ARCH) to see if their policy efforts toward increasing ADUs are quantifiably helpful with increasing affordable housing stock. Staff offered that providing smaller units can naturally alleviate some housing pressure. All three Councilmembers expressed concern with getting the parking requirement right. Staff suggested that one solution could be to link parking requirements to number of bedrooms rather than square footage, as that may more accurately reflect occupancy. Councilmember McLeod stated that would make sense for Tukwila. Councilmember Robertson requested the addition of a specific size limit to the waiver request for maximum permitted area for all ADUs. Staff noted that with regard to waivers it is important to incentivize compliance with regulations, or people could continue to provide illegal ADUs and life safety concerns of the City will continue to go unaddressed. The Committee requested the following for the Committee of the Whole discussion: Amend to link parking requirements to number of bedrooms rather than square footage Add pages illustrating lot sizes with varying examples of ADUs Remove the parking waiver option Flag the maximum square footage for a discussion item NO RECOMMENDATION. FORWARD TO APRIL 9, 2018 COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE. Short-Term Rental Regulations D. Staff is seeking Committee direction on whether to prohibit or regulate short-term rentals for ADUs and single-family dwellings. The code currently prohibits short-term (less than 30 days) rentals in multi-family dwellings but is silent on single-family and mobile-home dwellings. Dormitories, boarding houses, and bed and breakfast facilities are also unrestricted for short and long-term rentals. Due to the growth of such companies as Airbnb and Vacation Rental by Owner, many cities are working to implement regulations in this area, with Seattle and Kirkland taking action at the end of 2017. Short-term rentals are already occurring, even in multi-family dwellings, with a December 28, 2017 online search revealing around 35 listings for Tukwila. If the City Council were to allow short-term rentals, property owners would be licensed through the Rental Housing Program which would provide a modest revenue increase, although there would be additional work associated with enforcement. Councilmember Robertson spoke about a short-term rental on his block that was advertised on Airbnb and made his neighbors very unhappy due to bringing more strangers and vehicles around. Councilmember McLeod spoke in Community Development & NeighborhoodsMinutes.............................................................................................March 13, 2018 favor of allowing short-term rentals with appropriate regulations. Councilmembers Hougardy and Robertson spoke in favor of prohibition due to neighborhood impacts and the loss of ADUs for longer term housing relief. The Committee requested that this policy discussion be brought to the full Council prior to staff drafting an ordinance for the Planning Commission. They also requested information on other short-term rental regulations in South King County, if any exist. TO APRIL 9, 2018 COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE. II.MISCELLANEOUS Staff asked if the Committee had any questions on the South King Housing and Homelessness -year program is coming to an end and asked if there are next steps. Human Services staff noted that the program is in flux due to a staffing change. Councilmember Hougardy stated that the SKHHP seems to have focused on homelessness and shelters, but the larger issue of housing diversity and affordability should also have a regional approach, such as ARCH in East King County. Staff mentioned that the Mayor meets with other South King County Mayors to talk about regional coordination around homelessness and poverty, and that collaboration is key for suburban cities who have to compete for resources. strategies and funding. Adjourned 7:34 p.m. Committee Chair Approval Minutes by LH