STAFF REPORT: LOT COVERAGE

October 5, 2020PAGE 1

 OF

9

MEMORANDUM

TO:

 Snohomish County Planning CommissionFROM:

Janet Wright, Planner

SUBJECT:

Proposed Change to Lot Coverage Regulations for Urban Residential Zones

DATE:

October 5, 2020

INTRODUCTION

Thepurposeof 

 this

staff 

 report is

to

 outline

and

 provide

information

 regarding

anon-projectproposalto

 increase lot coverage ratios

for

 three

urban

 residential

zones

 within the

unincorporated

 areas

of SnohomishCounty.Theproposedamendments

 seek

to

 lessen this potential barrier

to

 single-family

and

multifamily

housing

 development in the following

zones:Townhouse(T)

,

Low

 Density MultipleResidential

(LDMR)and

 Multiple Residential

(MR).Thiscode

 amendment effort also seeks

to

 streamlineand provide greater consistency within

 the County

’

s

lot coverage regulations.

BACKGROUND

Definitions

-SnohomishCountylanduse

 regulations establish maximum lot coverage

for

 different

zoning

districts which include

urban

 residential

zones.Lot

 coverage is defined

as

 the total area

ofa

 lot

that

 iscovered

by

 buildings

(SnohomishCountyCode(SCC)30.91L.150)

, with maximum lot coverage listed

asa

percentage

of 

 the total lot size

thatcan

 be covered

by

 buildings

.

 Buildings are defined

asany

 structurehaving

aroofsupportedby

 colum

ns

 or walls designed

forhousing

 or shelter

ofpersons,

 animals or

property of any kind (SCC 30.91B.200).Intent of Lot

Coverage

-Onefunctionof 

 l

ot

 coverage regulations is

to

 regulate building size

and

 bulk

for

the

proposed

 development

onalot.O

ther regulations

that

 also regulate building bulk

and

 locationinclude the following: setbacks, height, stepbacks

 and modulation.Lot

 coverage regulations have traditionally served

asamethodto

 retain pervious

(unpaved)

 areas

and

limit impervious surfaces

ona

 development site

.

 Paved or impervious areas

ona

 site include,

but

 are

not

 limited to,

roofs,

 walkways, driveways

and

 parking

lots.The

 definition

of 

 “

impervious surface

”

meansa

non-vegetatedarea

that 

eitherpreventsorretardstheentry 

of 

waterintothesoilmantle

ascomparedto

infiltrationundernaturalconditionsprior 

to

development..

.

”

(SCC

 30.91l.010).

Updatesto

drainage

codesaddress

 the mitigati

onof 

 stormwater

runoff 

 from impervious surface areas, includingthe requirement

to

 utilize low impact development strategies where feasible

for

 treating stormwater

Snohomish CountyPlanning and Development Services

3000 Rockefeller Ave., M/S 604Everett, WA 98201-4046(425) 388-3311www.snoco.org

Dave Somers

County Executive

 

STAFF REPORT: LOT COVERAGE

October 5, 2020PAGE 2

 OF

9

runoff 

 from buildings

andpavedsurfaces.

 Development

projects

 will

continueto

 be required

to

 meetthe stormwater regulations per

Chapters

 30.63A

and

 30.63B even with this

proposed

 change

to

 allowgreater lot coverage

forth

e T,

LDMRand

 MR

zon

es

.

 There is the potential

that

 increased lot coveragemay decrease the area available

for

 low impact development which

could

 reduce the feasibility

for

 itsimplementation

.Urban

Residential

 Zones-

 There are seven

urban

 residential

zonesthat

 have maximum lot coverageratios which range from 30%

to

 55%. While the lower density single

-

family residential

zones

 (R9600,R8400

and

 R7200) have

a

 35%

standard

 lot coverage, the

LDMRzonehasastandard

 lot coverage

of 

 30%

(SCC30.23.032).TheLDMRzone

 allows

attachedanddetachedhomeson

 small lots

anda

 variety

of 

multifamily

housing,

 including

townhousesand

 multifamily structures

.The

 Multifamily Residential

zone(MR)

 allows high-density development, including

townhousesand

 multifamily structures, with

a

standard lot coverage of 40%.

The

 issue

of 

 current lot coverage regulations

forurban

 residential

zones

 was raised

by

 permitting

staff and

 management.

Someof 

 the issues identified regarding lot coverage regulations include: lack

of 

consistency between regulations; may

not

 allow sufficient flexibility

for

 site

and

 building design;

and

potentially restrict development

projects

 from achieving allowed density.

In

 particular, the 30%

standard

 lot coverage

for

 the

LDMRzone

 is lower

thanthatfor

 other

urban

 residential

zonesand

 isviewed

as

 the

most

 restrictive,

although

 there is

supporttoadjust

 lot coverage regulations

for

 other

zonestopromote

 infill development

and

 allow sufficient flexibility

.Staff 

 research

foundthat

 the

LDMRzoneand

 its 30%

standard

 lot coverage was established

on

 July 15, 1968

andthat

 there were

noassociated findings

regarding

 th

e establishment of this

 standard.The

 different

urbanzones

 (residential, commercial

and

 industrial) have been categorized

andplannedto

accommodate

urban

 growth

consistent

 with the

SnohomishCounty

 comprehensive

plan.Theurban

residential areas

zoned

 T,

LDMRand

 MR

zones

 are located in the following manner:

a.)

 six lots are

zonedT

 which are

spreadthroughout

 the

County;b.)

 areas

zonedLDMR

 are located within

UrbanGrowth

Areas (UGA)

for

 large

and

 small urisdictions

throughout

 the

County

;

andc.)

 the areas

zoned

 MR areprimarily located in the Southwest Urban Growth Area (SWUGA).

The

 three residential

zones

 which

would

 be affected

by

 this

proposedcode

 amendment comprise 15.9%

of 

 the total 20,992 acres within UGAs

that

 are

zonedurban

 residential in

unincorporatedSnohomishCounty.The

 total area

for

 each

of 

 these

zones

 is listed here:

T(30.6

 acres),

LDMR

 (1,564.0 acres)

and

MR (1,773.3 acres).

In

 contrast, there is significantly more

landthat

 is

zoned

 single

-

family within UGAs:R9600

(

8,523 acres), R8400

(

2,712 acres

)and

 R7200

(

6,062 acres

).Thiscode

 amendment

doesnot

propose to change lot coverage for these single-family zones.

The

 following

information

 inclu

des

 the range in parcel size, median lot size

and

 the

numberof 

 lots(developed

andundeveloped)

 within each

of 

 the three

zone

s, T,

LDMR,and

 MR

.

 There are only 6 lots

zonedT

 with

a

 size range

of2.4-

 14.5 acres

anda

 median size

of3.5

 acres.

T

here are

a

 total

of 

 314 lots

zonedLDMR

 which range from 0.04 acres

to

 115.5 acres

and1.8

 acres median

.

 There are 208 lots

zoned

MR which range from 0.09 acres

to

 85.8 acres

and2.8

 acres

median.The

 median was selected

as

 moreinformative because it represents the

midpoint

 in the range

of 

 lot size

for

 each

zone.In

 summary, themedian for each of the three zones is the following: T - 3.5 acres,

 LDMR -

 1.8 acres

 and MR -

2.8 acres.

 

STAFF REPORT: LOT COVERAGE

October 5, 2020PAGE 3

 OF

9

Comparison

Jurisdictions

-Staff 

 reviewed

standard

 lot coverage regulations

for

 the following eight citieswithin

SnohomishCounty

: Bothell, Everett,

Lynnwood,

 Marysville, Mill Creek, Mukilteo,

Edmondsand

Montlake Terrace.

Thestandard

 lot coverage

forzones

 similar

to

 the

LDMRzone

 range from 40-65%

compared

 with 30%

for

 the

Countyand

 lot coverage

for

 similar MR

zones

 range from 40-50%

compared

with 40%

for

 the

County.Someof 

 these

unincorporated

 areas within UGAs may be

annexed

 at sometime in the

futureinto

 the

adjacent

 municipalities, therefore, the similarity

of 

 regulations between the

Countyand

 the

annexing

 jurisdiction

could

 contribute

toasmooth

 transition

.Theproposedcodeamendmentsto

 lot coverage

would

 result in more alignment between the

County

’

s

 regulations

and

other jurisdictions

 within Snohomish County.Exceptions to Standard Lot

Coverage

-

 There are provisions within the existing

code

 which allow lotcoverage greater

than

 the

standardfor

 certain types

of 

 lot development or

subdivisions.H

igher l

ot

coverage ratios provide incentives

and

 flexibility

for

 the following:

C

ottage

Housing

 (40%), lot sizeaveraging (55%)

and

 non-multifamily P

lanned

 Residential

D

evelopments

(PRD)

 (55%)

.T

he existing

standard

 lot coverage maximums

for

 the following

urban

 residential zones,

T

 (35%),

LDMR

 (30%)

and

MR (40%) may limit infill development

and

 flexible building design

forprojectsthat

 vary from theexceptions cited

above.Theproposedchanges

 are

outlined

 in Table 1 below which includes therecommendation to raise the standard lot coverage

 for the T, LDMR and MR zones

 to 50%

.

GMA

 

Goal

-The

 l

anduse

 policies

andcorresponding

 regulations

for

 the

County

 strive

to

 meet therequirements

of 

 the

Growth

 Management Act which seeks

to

 direct

population

 growth

tourban

 areas

.Thisproposed

 increase in lot coverage in the higher density

urban

 residential

zonescould

 potentiallyfacilitate additional

unitsby

 lessening

a

 possible barrier

to

 achieving the allowed density per

zoning

regulations. Planning policies

for

 the

Countyand

 its urisdictions encourage increasing residentialdensities in UGAs.

Theproposed

 change

to

 lot coverage

wouldnot

 change other required regulations

that

 seek

to

 mitigate the impacts

of 

 development

.

 Applicants

would

 still be required

to

 meet tree

canopyand

 stormwater regulations

andany

 other regulations

that

 apply

to

 their

projects

, including

landscaping and open space

 regulations

.Code Consistency-One

 intent

of 

 this

proposed

 amendment is

tos

treamline the

landuse

 regulations

by

providing greater consistency between the lot coverage regulations

for

 the following three

Urban

Residential

zones

, T,

LDMRand

 MR

.

 Planning policies

for

 the

Countypromot

e review

oflanduse

regulations

and

 consideration

of 

 their economic implications

forhousing

 development.

Thisproposed

change seeks

to

 reduce the complexity

of 

 the

codefor

 applicants,

as

 well as, simplify the

landuse

regulations to facilitate its implementation by permitting staff 

.

PROPOSED CODE AMENDMENTS

Table 1 outlines all

proposedcodechangesand

 provides

a

 brief description

of 

 the

updates.The

regulations for lot coverage for urban residential zones are located in several sections of code.

Table 1: Summary of Proposed Code Changes and Findings

 

Proposed ChangeFinding

SCC

Table 30.42B.145(1) - Increase lot coverage for Multifamily PRD

 in LDMR and MR zones from 40% to

55%55% lot coverage for non-multifamily PRDs is currentlyallowed in LDMR

 and MR zones. This proposed

amendment results in code consistency for all PRDs