The city's Department of Planning and Development is putting the final touches on a proposal that would increase height limits and change development standards in areas zoned multifamily, which make up much of residential Ballard and Crown Hill.

The changes are meant to simplify the code, which has been revised several times since it was adopted in 1982. The revisions have resulted in a "complex layering" of requirements and processes that often add to the cost of development and housing, said Mike Podowski, an urban planning supervisor with the planning department.

"It has been over 20 years since this code was updated in a comprehensive way," Podowski said. "The city has changed a lot since then. We think the proposed code would do a better job of helping to promote development that fits into neighborhoods and addresses environmental and affordable housing goals."

Though it involves a height and possibly a capacity increase, the city wants to make clear the proposed ordinance is not a rezone or upzone but a change in the development standards within the existing code.

Deputy Director of the planning department, Alan Justad, said a common misconception is that the city has done major upzoning in many multifamily zones where an older home is torn down and replaced with several townhomes. But the land has only recently become valuable enough to be developed at its full capacity.

"We haven't been upzoning systemically at all," said Justad. "Sites that have been zoned for multifamily since at least the 1980's, and in some areas for much longer, often have single family homes from the 1950's and earlier. The recent strong housing market and the aging of the homes changed the economic equation."

No single-family zones would be changed. Podowski expects a final draft to be ready for submittal to the Seattle City Council's planning and land use committee by June.

Just 7 percent of the city is zoned multi-family, which makes it a really important resource in the city because it's often where people find the most affordable housing, said Podowski.

Seattle has taken in 60,000 residents since 1994 and the city is predicting another 100,000 here in the next two decades. Multifamily and neighborhood commercial zones, which provide various types of housing, are expected to accommodate much of that growth.

"We need that housing," Justad said. "It's the smartest thing we can do ... build in urban centers and near transit."

Height increases part of plan

The proposed ordinance would result in gradual height increases within the code and could bring in about 4,000 more residential units than anticipated if the zoning does not change.

"That is potential," reminded Justad. "People don't build to potential now."

About three quarters of the new units are expected to be absorbed within the city's urban villages and centers, resulting in a 13 percent increase in units. A little more than 1,000 additional units would likely be built outside those hubs for a 7 percent increase in outlying zones.

The Lowrise Duplex Triplex zone, typically two to three story housing structures, would be changed to Lowrise Residential Triplex and have a height increase of about 5 feet.

Lowrise Residential 1 and 2, two to three story townhomes or apartment buildings, would also see a 5-foot increase in height allowance. It's the same height now allowed in single-family zones, which abut many multifamily zones.

Currently, the structures in these three areas are limited to 25 feet, which can make it difficult to build three and four story structures. A height of 30 to 35 feet is generally needed to accommodate buildings with at least three floors, common for most multifamily developments.

For multifamily zones with height limits below 40 feet, an additional 2 feet would be allowed for green roofs. Now, floor to ceiling height must be reduced or floors lost to accommodate them.

There are no height increases proposed for zones Lowrise Residential 3 and 4 (three to four story apartment buildings or townhomes, 30 to 37 foot limit), Midrise (six stories, 65 feet) and Highrise (multi-floor apartment towers, only in First Hill, 240 to 300 feet), but additional height would be permitted if the development can provide some kind of public benefit, such as affordable housing.

'Affordable' housing through incentive zoning

Additional height and floor area would be granted in exchange for developers who include some affordable units. Assuming all eligible development makes use of the incentive zoning program, about 845 units affordable to moderate wage workers could be produced.

"It's not a dramatically large number but it's an important number," said Podowski.

Only Lowrise 3, Midrise and Highrise zones are eligible to use the incentive program. Lowrise zones must be located in urban centers or urban villages and not abut a single family zoned lot.

In most cases, the extra height will amount to about one extra floor. In exchange for the extra capacity, builders would have to provide 11 percent of the bonus floor area as "affordable" to those earning between 80 percent and 100 percent of area median income, or $50,000 to $63,500 a year.

According to the city's Office of Housing, a typical development in a Midrise zone would be about five to six stories. Developers who use the incentive and build an extra floor would go from being able to build a 74 unit building to 94 units. It calculates out to about three affordable, said Hooper.

For Lowrise areas, a typical 20 to 30-unit project might only yield one to two units of affordable housing. A development in a Highrise zone could produce up to 12 moderate-income units.

The lower intensity zones aren't considered appropriate for incentive zoning because most are located outside of urban villages and are considered transition zones between higher and lower capacity zones.

New standards meant to address "homogeneous" townhouse design

The city hears often from the public about the design and scale of townhome developments that do not fit in with the character of their neighborhoods, said Justad.

Structures with less than eight housing units are not subject to the city's design review boards, which assess private developments in Seattle. The proposed design standards would be applied to all multifamily development below design review thresholds.

Windows and doors must make for at least 20 percent of street facing facades to avoid the "blank walls" and ensure "eyes on the street." Facades more than 750 square feet would have to be divided into smaller areas.

Ground level townhouse units must have a pedestrian entrance facing the street. Surface parking will be limited, too. Every six stalls would need to be separated by some landscaping or screening.

Standards like limiting the height of fences to 4 feet and wider driving aisles are intended to make the design more interesting and functional, said Podowski.

Other aspects of the multifamily code revision include reducing parking requirements, eliminating them in some areas, and encouraging "green building."

Review the city's entire proposal to update the multifamily code at http://www.seattle.gov/DPD/Planning/Multifamily_Code_Update/Overview/.

Rebekah Schilperoort may be reached at 783.1244 or rebekahs@robinsonnews.com