Making Strides for Middle Housing
Kirkland, Redmond, Sammamish, and Kenmore are leading the way in Washington State in developing "middle housing” policies that prioritize affordability. Each city has adopted regulations that exceed state requirements and demonstrate a commitment to inclusive communities. Middle housing includes “neighborhood scale” housing types, including duplexes, triplexes, fourplexes, townhomes, stacked flats, cottage housing, and more. Middle housing offers more choices for households with moderate incomes.
Examples of Middle Housing
State Requirements
Redmond, Sammamish, and Kenmore are following the “Tier 2” state requirements that apply to cities with 25,000-75,000 people. For Tier 2 cities, at least two housing units are required per lot. This increases to at least four units per lot when the property is within one-quarter mile walking distance of a major transit stop or when at least one unit is affordable.
Kirkland is considered a “Tier 1” city since its population is over 75,000. As such, Washington State requires Kirkland to allow at least four units per lot. This increases to at least six units per lot when within one-quarter mile walking distance of a major transit stop or when at least two units are affordable housing.
Above and Beyond State Requirements
Redmond, Sammamish, Kenmore, and Kirkland could have simply adopted the minimum state requirements – but instead they chose more ambitious affordable housing policies while updating their codes. They found that increasing density for middle housing would increase the value of redeveloping property, and that requiring some affordability would ensure that the public shares in that value. These four cities all adopted mandatory inclusionary zoning policies with the goal of driving more affordable housing production.
Redmond raised the bar by increasing its inclusionary set-aside from 10% to 12.5% of new housing units. These affordable units target people who earn 80% of the Area Median Income (AMI). Redmond’s mandatory 12.5% inclusionary housing policy applies to both rentals and ownership homes. In addition, Redmond now allows seven or eight units per lot in their Neighborhood Residential zone if one unit is affordable. And the “floor area ratio” (a measure of density) increases with the number of units per lot to encourage more, smaller homes that are typically more affordable than larger homes.
Kenmore’s new inclusionary zoning policy requires that 10% of new homes be set aside for affordable units. Affordable home ownership units are for households earning 80% AMI, and rental units are for households earning 50% AMI. This new inclusionary zoning policy applies to single family zones that are already served by the needed infrastructure (R-4 and R-6). However, units smaller than 1,750 square feet are exempted from this inclusionary policy.
Sammamish’s new inclusionary zoning policy requires 10% of new homes to be affordable for households earning 80% AMI. Similar to Kenmore, homes smaller than 1,500 square feet are exempted. And through overlay zones, Sammamish will now allow three units on all lots—or four when one is affordable—counting accessory dwelling units (ADUs) toward the total. Under its
Kirkland extended its inclusionary zoning (which already covered most medium- and high-density zones) to low-density residential districts. Now, any project in lower-density zones must set aside 10% of its units to serve households earning 80% AMI, regardless of total unit count.
By embracing middle housing and pairing it with strong inclusionary housing policies, these four cities are creating more opportunities for neighbors at a variety of income levels. Their leadership helps ensure that our opportunity-rich region is more accessible to people of all incomes.