Unfortunately, most homebuilding remains classified as a non-essential business. MBAKS continues to reach out to the governor’s office asking for further guidance to safely bring more residential construction back online.

MBAKS testified in support of the amendment at the public hearing and worked with the city for over a year on this positive measure.

This set of ordinances changes the city’s zoning code to encourage the development of more affordable housing and choice, including the construction of accessory dwelling units (ADUs), cottages, duplexes, and triplexes in all single-family residential zones.

The affected codes include: the 2018 Seattle Building Code, Residential Code, Mechanical Code, Fuel Gas Code, Existing Building Code, Energy Code, Plumbing Code, and Electrical Code (2020 National Electrical Code with Seattle amendments).

MBAKS, BIAW, and others continue to urge Governor Jay Inslee and local governments to delay the scheduled July 1 effective date of the new energy code. In a positive development, the city of Seattle has announced that it will delay implementation until November 1.

Ordinance 20-005 and an accompanying amendment will clarify confusing code, allow private roads to be counted in density calculations, and more.

The city is looking at setting the thresholds to the maximum allowed by the state. MBAKS supported the measure and the commission was very positive on these changes.

This would revert the density rounding from the current .85% back to .50%, thus again allowing for four townhomes per lot instead of three. A group of Seattle townhome builders will assist in writing the proposed code change.

The amendment is largely focused on reorganization and consolidation of the subdivision code, but includes some larger positive changes.

On October 2, 2018, we took to social media to discuss the benefits of more flexible accessory dwelling unit (ADU) rules and various cottage housing ordinances throughout our two-county region.

The report’s executive summary points out that developers have exceeded the minimum 20-year tree canopy coverage required by approximately 25%.

The proposed amendments include changes to their residential zoning districts and add new districts.

Any land swap, urban growth area expansion, or other significant land use change must be applied for by that date. It is already known that some cities such as Arlington and Monroe will be bringing forward such requests.

The Washington State Legislature has concluded its 2020 session. Most notably, the Legislature failed to delay implementation of the energy code. Outside of that disappointing news, MBAKS supported four bills that passed and will benefit housing.

NAHB’s latest report estimates that for every $1,000 increase in the price of home in the Seattle/Bellevue/Tacoma market, 1,161 people are priced out, meaning they no longer quality for a mortgage after the price increase.

Unfortunately, most homebuilding remains classified as a non-essential business. MBAKS continues to reach out to the governor’s office asking for further guidance to safely bring more residential construction back online.

Effective March 30, as part of its COVID-19 response, the city of Kent now requires electronic submittal of all permit applications. This service was previously not offered by the city.

Builders are urged to submit approval requests through the state portal, to list the specific addresses of the construction sites and a description of the project, and why you believe they are essential and need a waiver from the Governor’s order.

Permit payments for new construction are to be delayed to certificate of occupancy or final inspection for the time being.

You may now submit your applications for custom home permits for development in unincorporated King County through its online application portal, MyBuildingPermit.com.

The county last updated its traffic fees in 2006 and currently discounts its fees at about 63%. Public Works is considering adjusting the discount rate, with the number 52% offered for discussion.

The rate increase under consideration is intended to result in a revenue-neutral fee adjustment across all projected land use development classifications and locations.

The total permit fees paid for some projects will go down depending on how these factors, along with process improvements, impact staff time needed to complete the work.