Kenmore Planning Commission recommends mandatory affordable housing

The “Inclusionary Zoning” proposal was recommended by A Regional Coalition for Housing (ARCH) and requires at least 10% of units be affordable

By Oliver J. Moffat

The Kenmore Planning Commission delivered recommendations to the city council on April 21. Those recommendations included requiring developers to build affordable housing.

A map from the city shows the R4 and R6 zones where middle housing types will be allowed and affordable housing will be mandatory and a map that shows the R1 and R4 zones where middle housing is not allowed

Like other cities across the state, Kenmore must update its development codes to allow “middle housing” types such as duplexes, townhouses, and cottage housing in formerly single-family neighborhoods. The Planning Commission recommended allowing up to two units per lot and up to four units near major transit stops while reducing parking requirements to one stall per unit.

A rendering from the city shows middle housing types to be allowed in Kenmore include Triplex, ADU, Stacked Flats, Duplex and Cottage Housing

But the Planning Commission also wants the city to implement “Inclusionary Zoning,” requiring developers to build affordable housing or pay a fee to subsidize affordable housing elsewhere. The proposal would replace Kenmore’s voluntary Residential Density Incentive (RDI) program that offers developers incentives to build affordable housing.

The Inclusionary Zoning proposal was recommended by A Regional Coalition for Housing (ARCH) and would apply to developments of four or more units in the R4 and R6 zones. At least 10% of the units must be affordable for people earning less than 80% of the area median income (AMI) for homes people buy and less than 50% of AMI for rental homes.

Home developers must provide affordable units on-site or pay a “fee in lieu” into Kenmore’s fund for affordable housing or could be used by groups like ARCH to help with regional housing needs.

The Planning Commission approved the recommendations by a 4-3 vote. The dissenting commissioners argued the implementation could discourage smaller middle housing developments (like cottage housing) if the cost of building affordable units was too high.

The City Council is scheduled to deliberate on these recommendations throughout May, with a final decision scheduled for adoption on June 23, 2025.