Encouraging Backyard Cottages January 20, 2016 Morgan Community - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Encouraging Backyard Cottages January 20, 2016 Morgan Community Association

What is an accessory dwelling unit? 1994 » Attached accessory dwelling units (ADUs, ADUs allowed citywide mother-in-law apartments, or granny fmats) » Detached accessory dwelling units (DADUs, backyard cottages) 2006 DADUs piloted in Freestanding Above garage southeast Seattle 2010 DADUs allowed citywide 2014 Council Resolution 31547 calls for code changes 2015 221 DADUs built or permitted citywide Encouraging Backyard Cottages 2

Why are we encouraging more backyard cottages? » Allowed citywide since 2010, but only ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! about 220 constructed ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! » Backyard cottages provide many benefjts: ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! • More housing options, often in areas ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! unafgordable to many people ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! DADU by year built ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! 2007 ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! 2008 ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! • Stable extra income that helps homeowners ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! 2009 ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! 2010 ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! remain in neighborhood ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! 2011 ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! 2012 ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! 2013 ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! 2014 ! ! ! ! • Flexibility to adapt to changing household ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! 2015 ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! needs ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ADU ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! Single Family Zoning ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! SF 5000 ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! • “Infjll” development means effjcient use of ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! SF 7200 ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! SF 9600 ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! land and resources ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! » Opportunity for housing suitable to many ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! household types, including families ! ! ! ! Encouraging Backyard Cottages 3

The scale of the opportunity » Cottages allowed on single-family lots: • at least 4,000 square feet in area • outside Shoreline District and some Environmentally Critical Areas (ECAs) • subject to various development standards, such as lot coverage and Single-family zoned lots height limits Eligible for DADU Ineligible for DADU » Of 125,000 single-family lots, almost 75,000 are eligible for a cottage » Cottages on only 5% of eligible lots would mean almost 4,000 new housing units » Current rate about 40/year Encouraging Backyard Cottages 4

Removing barriers to backyard cottages » Despite many benefjts and numerous eligible “We live on Beacon Hill and own a rental near Columbia City which fjts all lots, only about 200 built of the criteria for an ADU (setbacks, ofg street parking, lot size, etc) but we could not develop in this space because » Surveys and observation suggest several of the occupancy ruling ... There is at least one family out there that thinks barriers: they could do a good job with this and be respectful to neighbors.” • Many lots are under 4,000 square feet but could accommodate a cottage “I have one uncovered parking space ofg an alley that is not used. This is the area where it makes the most sense to • Parking requirement can increase project cost, add site a DADU in order to minimize the impact to our neighbors’ privacy as impervious surface, requiring removing vegetation well as preserve sunlight that reaches the backyard and the main house. But I would need to build a 2 car garage • Development standards prevent some owners from underneath the new unit or get rid of the remaining backyard to put in two building a cottage or inhibit functional design new parking spaces. My neighborhood is not even close to having a shortage of • The owner-occupancy requirement deters some street parking and most houses do not have parking.” interested homeowners and limits fmexibility Encouraging Backyard Cottages 5

Potential code changes » We’re seeking ideas and feedback on a range of potential changes we are exploring: • Should we remove the ofg-street parking requirement? • Should we allow an ADU and DADU on the same lot? • Should we remove the owner-occupancy requirement? • Should we modify development standards? — Maximum height — Rear yard coverage — Minimum lot size — Maximum square footage Encouraging Backyard Cottages 6

We’re also looking at: • Making it easier to obtain fjnancing • Allowing a broader range of households to build accessory dwelling units • Adjusting permitting fees • Providing resources for interested homeowners PHOTO CREDIT: STEFAN HAMPDEN Encouraging Backyard Cottages 7

Project timeline January 19, 2016 Community Meeting #1 Filipino Community Center September 2014 Council Resolution Sept. – Dec. 2015 Targeted stakeholder 31547 calls for outreach exploring code changes to encourage late February / early March Draft legislation and SEPA ADUs/DADUs April 2015 December 9, 2015 February 3, 2016 City Council City Council Community Meeting #2 Lunch & Learn 1 Lunch & Learn 2 Wallingford Senior Center ongoing Exploring ways beyond the Land Use Code to make the process easier for prospective ADU/DADU owners Encouraging Backyard Cottages 8

POLICY OPTION: Should we remove the ofg-street parking requirement? Currently, one ofg-street parking space » required for ADU/DADU Can add to project cost, increase » impervious surface, result in removal of vegetation » New cottages so dispersed that each PHOTO CREDIT: MATT & AMY STEVENSON additional unit creates small incremental Current DADU inventory: 1 per 550 change single-family lots Case study: Portland, OR Current ADU inventory: 1 per 120 single-family lots Two-thirds of accessory dwelling units have zero vehicles parked on the street, despite no parking requirement. In these cases, either tenants do not have a car, or the property own- ers voluntarily provided parking. Encouraging Backyard Cottages 9

POLICY OPTION: Should we allow an ADU and DADU on the same lot? Maximum of one accessory dwelling unit » currently From outside, single-family lot would not » necessarily appear difgerently than under current code » Could consider changes to current household size limit Development standards continue to limit » location and scale of all structures on lot Encouraging Backyard Cottages 10