EVERETT — From one to two. On July 19, the City Council will hold a public hearing and vote to implement HB 1337, which is in favor of changing the number of Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) on a property from one to two.
A public hearing will be held at the Wednesday, July 19 City Council meeting starting at 6:30 p.m.
By the city’s definition, an ADU is “a dwelling unit located on the same lot as a single-family housing unit, duplex, triplex, or townhome.”
Everett is not the first city in the area to propose these changes to ADU regulations. In 2020, the city of Seattle modified their regulations for ADUs. Since then, Seattle allowed 890 new ADUs in 2022.
House Bill 1337 passed recently to help cities statewide lighten the rules on ADUs.
In Everett’s case,“the specific look at two versus one connects to our need for housing capacity, supply, variety and affordability,” city Planning Director Yorik Stevens-Wajda said.
“I would like to say that it might double the effectiveness of the accessory dwelling unit provisions but in reality, not many lots will actually be able to support two so it is just the ones that have the size that will be able to,” Stevens-Wajda said.
City Council member Ben Zarlingo is encouraged going forward with the possible change in Accessory Dwelling Units, believing that the change will bring new opportunities for Everett residents.
“This is a flexibility thing, helping people at different stages of life,” Zarlingo said. “For example, we have seen in a few cases older couples who have a large house with stairs and they don’t want that anymore, but they have family members who do want that and they can build an ADU, sometimes in a backyard or alley. It allows everybody to get what they want.”
“Accessory Dwelling Units are a really popular tool and strategy in housing planning these days and so a lot of other jurisdictions have led the way and we have seen good results come out of it,” Zarlingo said.
Fellow council members didn’t reply to the Tribune by a set deadline.
If the vote on July 19 is in favor of changing the number of ADUs allowed on lots, there will possibly be a month-long process for the changes to be implemented. According to Stevens-Wajda, the time period will be determined by the city charter and when the mayor will sign it into effect.
Zarlingo said that “one of the things that is a concern anytime we are raising density is that the impact on the increased population are the services we need to provide as a city.”
One of the impacts that the city will have to face is the change in parking. Currently, according to a June 28 presentation to City Council, the planning director can waive parking requirements when four conditions
are met: there is frontage on the public street, it’s not in a parking permit zone, there are two on-street spaces in the front and the property is within 1/4th of a mile of a public transit stop.
On Wednesday, July 19, members of the city council and the community will be able to have their voices heard. The public hearing will be at 6:30 p.m. in the council chambers at 3002 Wetmore Ave. People also can participate by Zoom.
“The concern is in terms of the overall impact because as council members that is what we are responsible for. We are trying to understand things in enough depth to make good decisions and that means tradeoffs and impacts,” Zarlingo said.
Anyone who wants to submit written comments must send them by Monday, July 17 to Stevens-Wajda at the city planning department. His email is YStevens@everettwa.gov
