The Bothell City Council has adopted an ordinance that allows for exceptions to certain parking requirements for market-rate, affordable, and senior housing development. For market-rate housing, parking requirements may be lowered for development within one quarter mile of a transit stop.

Several positive changes and interpretations are in the works, including changes to object-height distance from 1.5’ to 2’ and frontage improvement changes. Some issues remain a work in progress, such as design speed technicalities.

King County has released a draft proposed ordinance that would require the installation of electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure in new and substantial alterations to single-family, multifamily, and nonresidential development.

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.

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 plan will encapsulate the entire WREC’s work and cover items such as consumptive use estimates, water offset projects, adaptive management, and policy recommendations. Policies being discussed include a volunteer pilot program for metering permit-exempt wells and ways to encourage water service connections.

SeaTac is in the process of amending its Comprehensive Plan which is the overall vision for how the city should grow and change to meet regional demands of growth. The biennial amendment process includes an opportunity for community members to propose amendments to the Comp Plan.

The goal is to promote production of housing that will be affordable to people with a variety of incomes. The city is hosting an online open house to share the vision and collect your priorities and concerns.

Toolkit offers proven policies to help create more housing choices so current residents, newcomers, and future generations can find a home that best fits their lives

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.

BuildKentWA gives details on a variety of projects around the city. Projects are organized by those coming soon and those currently under construction, as well as those with Public Notice and Public Comment requirements.

The District is anticipating a 10.2% increase in student population from 2020–2025, with growth at all grade levels. Based on the new 2020–2025 Capital Facilities Plan, the District is requesting for 2021 the City collect $15,070 for SFR and $2,701 for MFR.

Your MBAKS DBIC Committee endorsed the new fees but also testified that Council should remain mindful of other cost concerns and affordable housing impacts on the horizon. The new fees will take effect November 1 of this year.

MBAKS submitted a letter in opposition to the fee, as it unfairly targets development downtown and in the urban core. The fees will increase over 50% in some cases.

A number of fees for both single-family and multifamily residential have been reduced, with only a few seeing significant increases. MBAKS will continue to oppose any increases to school impact fees.

Notably, it reflects lower fees for Everett and Lake Stevens school districts. The new fees have been presented to the County Planning Commission and will likely be adopted in November.

The new fee proposal is lower than the previous. The County will consider and adopt all the school district’s fees as part of the 2020 budget process, with new numbers going into effect January 1, 2021.

RAP is a pre-apprenticeship program in Snohomish County that provides an opportunity for high school students and young adults to gain hands-on training in the building and construction trades. Funding for the program is set to expire next year.