Completed Code Amendments

ACCESSORY DWELLING UNITS 

On Wednesday, July 19, 2023, the city council approved an ordinance (Ord.3963-23) that will expand the availability of accessory dwelling units in the city. Accessory dwelling units (ADUs) are relatively small homes that are secondary to and either attached to or detached from a principal building on a lot. ADUs provide important housing options, which are more likely to be affordable, in city neighborhoods at a small scale. ADUs provide an income stream for homeowners, housing choices for a variety of household types and living arrangements, and work for small-scale developers and builders. Reducing obstacles and simplifying regulations for development of accessory units is an action in the Rething Housing Actin Plan, andwill help meet city goals, and state requirements, related to housing affordability, variety, ownership, and capacity. 

City Council Meetings 

July 19, 2023

July 12, 2023 (full council) 

June 14, 2023 (built environment committee) 

December 12, 2022 (planning committee) 

Planning Commission Meetings 

March 1, 2022

October 18, 2022

November 15, 2022

December 6, 2022

Citizen Comments

  1. Citizen Comment - Belote
  2. Citizen Comment - Belote 2
  3. Citizen Comment - Dahl 2
  1. Citizen Comment - James
  2. Citizen Comment - Roe 2

Other Project Documents

  1. SEPA Checklist - Accessory Dwelling Unit Code Amendments
  1. SEPA Determination on NonSignificance - REVISED

HOMELESS SHELTERS AND HOUSING 

Status: On September 14, 2022, City Council adopted Ordinance 3895-22 amending the Everett Municipal Code (EMC) to bring into conformance with recently enacted changes in state housing laws (HB 1220).  The ordinance was effective on October 5, 2022.  The changes affect the following uses:  

  • Group Housing, Temporary Shelter (deleted)
  • Emergency Housing (new)
  • Emergency Shelter, Indoor (new)
  • Emergency Shelter, Outdoor (new)
  • Temporary Extreme Weather Shelter (new)
  • (Permanent) Supportive Housing (revisions)
  • Offices-Clinics, social or human service facility, community services (split into “Clinics” and a new “Social Services”)
  • Social services (new)
  • Dwelling (revised)
  • Rooming House (deleted)
  • Bed and Breakfast House (deleted)
  • Short Term Rental (revised)
  • Group Housing Category 1/2/3 (revised and renamed)

  The primary catalyst for this update to city development regulations is the need to address several bills passed by the state legislature in recent years specifically HB 1220 (2021) supporting emergency shelters and housing through local planning and development regulations. The House Bill includes new requirements to accommodate indoor emergency housing and indoor emergency shelter as well as transitional and permanent supportive housing serving people experiencing homelessness. The section of the bill took effect on September 30, 2021, is codified as RCW 35.21.683. Updates to the city's development regulations include amendments to definitions and other provisions that will help clarify and streamline the city’s land use approval process for new facilities.

City Council Public Hearing - September 14, 2022

City Council Public Hearing - August 31, 2022

City Council Briefing - August 10, 2022

Project Documents

Planning Commission Briefing

Planning Commission Public Hearing

Removing Limits on the Number of unrelated Persons who may live in a Dwelling

Status: On September 14, 2022, City Council adopted Ordinance 3896-22 amending the Everett Municipal Code (EMC) to bring into conformance with recently enacted changes in state housing laws (SB 5235).  The ordinance was effective on October 5, 2022.   

 The state legislature passed Engrossed Substitute Senate Bill 5235 on April 14, 2021 and the Governor signed the legislation on May 13, 2021, codified in RCW 35.21.682. The bill, which prohibits cities from regulating or limiting the number of unrelated persons that may occupy a household or dwelling unit, became effective on July 25, 2021. Amendments to the city’s regulations include revising the definitions of “dwelling” and “family” to remove the limit on the number of unrelated persons that may reside in a dwelling in Everett, deleting rooming and boarding house uses, and revising the definition of short-term rentals to include rentals of a portion of a dwelling.

City Council Public Hearing - August 31 and September 14, 2022 

  • No new documents 

City Council Briefing - August 10, 2022

Project Documents

Planning Commission Briefing

Planning Commission Public Hearing