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Home My WebLink AboutPCD 2021-03-01 Item 1C - Update - Housing Action PlanTO: FROM: BY: City of Tukwila Allan Ekberg, Mayor INFORMATIONAL MEMORANDUM Planning and Community Development Committee Minnie Dhaliwal, Deputy Director of Community Development Meredith Sampson, Associate Planner CC: Mayor Ekberg DATE: March 1, 2021 SUBJECT: An update on House Bill (HB) 1923: Transit Oriented Development Housing Action Plan, Recommended Strategies ISSUE Staff would like to brief Committee on the progress of the Transit Oriented Development Housing Strategies Plan. BACKGROUND In the summer of 2019, the State legislature passed HB 1923 providing grants to local jurisdictions to prepare housing action plans. Staff applied for the grant at the end of September 2019 after receiving approval to move forward by the Community Development and Neighborhoods (CDN) Committee, and the City was awarded the full $100,000. Council approved and authorized the Mayor to sign an Interagency Agreement with the WA Department of Commerce to accept grant funding at the December 2, 2019 Regular Meeting. The work has been divided into two distinct parts. The first part involves the development of a Sub -Regional Framework and is collaborative with Auburn, Burien, Federal Way, Kent, Renton, and Tukwila. This is designed to inform the second part of the plan, the development of a Tukwila Specific Transit Oriented Development Housing Action Plan. The Sub -Regional Framework has been substantially completed and the staff briefed the Planning Economic Development Committee on the results of the Sub -Regional Framework as well as the Public Engagement Plan on September 21. 2020. The Tukwila -specific portion of the plan focuses on the transit -oriented development (TOD) area around the Tukwila International Boulevard Link Light Rail Station. A portion of the public outreach has been completed in the form of interviews and focus groups including stakeholders from key groups: Tukwila residents and people with lived experiences in the TOD area, faith -based organizations, city staff, housing developers with experience in Tukwila, cultural organizations, landlords, and children/youth. Participants were asked questions regarding their perception of housing availability in Tukwila, the condition of the housing stock, and their vision for area around the Tukwila International Boulevard Station in the future. In January 2021, the consultant ECONorthwest provided staff with a draft Opportunities, Barriers & Displacement Mitigation Report, which is intended to incorporate the results from the public engagement process and development feasibility studies to offer a detailed look at the opportunities and barriers for housing development in the station area. It also offers draft 7 8 INFORMATIONAL MEMO Page 2 recommendations that Tukwila can consider to encourage more housing options, types, and affordability levels to meet the need of its current and future residents. The purpose of this memorandum is to share the proposed recommendations that are included in the draft Opportunities, Barriers & Displacement Mitigation Report and obtain feedback. DISCUSSION Tukwila International Boulevard Station Area The Housing Action Plan focuses on the TOD area around the Tukwila International Boulevard Link Light Rail Station. This area includes all properties within a half -mile walkshed from the station excluding those that are zoned low-density residential. Recommended Actions ECONorthwest included 18 recommended actions in their draft Opportunities, Barriers & Displacement Mitigation Report. These recommendations are informed by a Housing Needs Assessment, the public engagement process, and an analysis of the current zoning code and development standards. These recommended actions only apply to the TOD station area, and including them in the Housing Action Plan would solidify the intent of the City to consider them in future decision-making and would not amend the Tukwila Municipal Code at this time. 0 0 so Encourage Higher Density Development — # Recommended Action Description Al Modify Unit Mix Requirements Consider modifying development standards to require 25% or more of the units to have two or more bedrooms. A2 Reduce Parking Ratios Consider establishing a uniform requirement of 1.0 parking stalls per unit in the TOD area. A3 Eliminate Structured Parking Requirements The structured parking requirement makes 4 -over -1 prototypes infeasible in the TIB Station Area. Do not establish any structured parking requirements in any future code amendments. A4 Adjust Recreational Space Requirements Create quality recreational spaces for community members while maintaining development feasibility by capping requirements on a percent of residential area or lot area basis rather than on number of residential units. A5 Reduce Step Back If including a step back requirement in the draft code, consider beginning it on the fifth floor to mitigate the negative impact to development feasibility. Residential Anti - Displacement and Stabilization B1 Enact a 12 -year MFTE Program Enact a 12 -year MFTE program with affordability requirements; explore policy options (including neighboring cities) to determine the appropriate policy targets. B2 Identify Opportunities to Increase Homeownership Encouraging homeownership is one of the largest ways to prevent displacement - the City should explore programs and policies with varying funding and staff requirements. https://tukwilawa.sharepoint.com/sites/mayorsoffice/cc/CC Docs/Old W/2021 Info Memos/March 2021 PCD Memo Housing Action Plan.docx INFORMATIONAL MEMO Page 3 Goal # Recommended Action Description B3 Support Faith Based Institutions' Efforts to Develop Affordable Housing Explore numerous policies or programs that can help to clarify, shorten, and simplify the typical affordable housing development process for faith - based institutions to be able to do in-house (without hiring experts). B4 Expand Tenant Supports Work with partners and community organizations to increase tenant supports, such as: renters rights, RentWell programs, or legal aid. B5 Monitor and Track Regulated Affordable Housing Strengthen partnerships and collect data to monitor the City's supply of regulated affordable housing units and prepare for affordability restriction expirations. B6 Monitor and Track Unregulated Affordable Housing Expand the data collected on low-cost market rentals in the City, starting with the City's rental housing business license program. B7 Offer Tools and Strategies for Housing Preservation Explore programs, policies, and partnerships that will allow the City to boost tools and resources available to landlords of low-cost market rentals. Work to preserve this important housing stock. Commercial Anti -Displacement and Stabilization C1 Develop a TIB Community Economic Development Strategy Create a community economic development strategy for the TIB Station Area that provides a vision for the role of businesses in the district, and moves toward creating economic opportunity for current and future businesses in the face of change. C2 Establish a Commercial Preference Policy Develop a commercial preference policy for the commercial portions of new development in the TIB that prioritizes tenanting new commercial space in the district with business that are at risk of displacement from development in the area. C3 Prioritize Value Created from Zoning Changes to Support Economic Development Consider structuring height or floor bonuses offered to developers, so as to encourage them to work with existing TIB business owners to rent space in new buildings. Station Area Planning & Infrastructure D1 Create a Development Framework and Planned Street Network for S SR 518 Consider a framework that supports development and urban design outcomes in the southern portion of the TIB, connecting it to the LINK and BRT stations as well as the broader district. D2 Create a TIB Station Area Parking Strategy Develop a district parking strategy that enables the feasibility of taller buildings and support phased development of larger sites, while meeting the market demand for parking in the area. D3 Connect the Station Area to Parcels South of SR 518 Better connection between the TIB station and parcels south of SR 518 would substantially improve mobility throughout the station area and help complete the walkshed in the southeastern portion of the TIB. https://tukwilawa.sharepoint.com/sites/mayorsoffice/cc/CC Docs/Old W/2021 Info Memos/March 2021 PCD Memo Housing Action Plan.docx 9 10 INFORMATIONAL MEMO Page 4 Next Steps Staff will host a public open house in late March, and host a formal public meeting with Planning Commission in April/May. Planning Commission will provide a recommendation to City Council by the end of May, and staff will bring the Housing Action Plan to the PCD Committee and to Council in June for final adoption. FINANCIAL IMPACT Grant funded. No financial match needed. Staff time will be needed to continue to manage the grant. RECOMMENDATION Staff is seeking input on the recommendations listed above. Based on Committee feedback, staff will schedule this item for Planning Commission's recommendation. https://tukwilawa.sharepoint.com/sites/mayorsoffice/cc/CC Docs/Old W/2021 Info Memos/March 2021 PCD Memo Housing Action Plan.docx