At a briefing for Seattle City Council members on the mayor's proposal to update the city's multifamily code, Mike Podowski with the Department of Planning Development, said changing the code would not increase capacity over goals established when it was adopted in 1989.

"We are not asking zones to accommodate more development than they reasonably can," Podowski told members of the Planning, Land Use and Neighborhoods Committee March 11.

If the code change is approved, the expected capacity for multifamily zones, which make up about 10 percent of the city, will actually be less than what was originally intended when it was adopted in the 1980's, but more than if the code was left alone, he said.

Work on updating the multifamily code has been underway since 2006, and the council committee plans to tackle the mayor's 277-page proposal this year.

It's work that will take up much the committee's time this year, said committee chair Sally Clark.

"It's a large undertaking," said Clark. We are still strategizing how exactly we're going to tackle that work. We want to make sure we look through it very carefully."

Clark said the proposal from the mayor is dense and that because of budget cuts under the current economic climate, the entire code update proposal will not likely be touched by the council this year. The council plans to spend a lot of time dealing with cuts to the city's budget.

"I don't necessarily anticipate we'll get the whole thing done this year," Clark said," because of some of the important work to be done with the budget. But we intend to break off some pretty significant pieces ..."

Podowski said key topics of the code update include protecting single-family zones, improving townhome design, promoting green building and affordable housing.

Roughly 10 percent of the zoning around the city is zoned multifamily. No other kinds of zoning would be effected by the mayor's proposal, he said.

But 36 percent of the housing built in Seattle is built in multifamily areas, making it "an important resource for us to manage wisely," he said, especially with an expected 47,000 additional households to the city by 2024.

The code change does not create new multifamily zones, but works from within the existing zones.

The reason for the update is based on several factors, said Podowski. One, the code has not been significantly updated since it was adopted in 1982. It's also too complex, the mayor believes, and does nothing to address affordable housing needs in the city.

Within multifamily zones there are lowrise, midrise and highrise zones. Lowrise zones include everything from duplexes to townhomes and apartments. Midrise buildings are six to seven stories and highrise (currently only in First Hill) developments are 160 to 240 feet high.

The code change has been under discussion since 2006, with more than 30 public meetings and focus groups.

"Public involvement has been a very important part of this process," said Podowski. "It's something that we've valued greatly in our work."

The city hopes the changes will increase design flexibility and creativity, as well as smooth transitions between multi and single family zones.

The proposal includes using something called "floor area ratio" to help control the density and scale of building. Using this method, how much floor area allowed within a new building would be based on the size of the lot and result in development roughly along the lines as what is seen today, said Podowski.

The code change also addresses townhome design by requiring wider parking stalls and driveways, improving the design of street facades and more windows.

The incentive zoning component works in line with the Workforce Housing and Incentive Program, passed by the council last year, which offers added development capacity in return for some affordable housing. It won't apply in the less intense zones that are close to single family zones so as not to encourage building higher there.

Typically, development eligible for incentive zoning would be built in urban centers or villages of multifamily zones.

It means, in a lowrise-3 zone, one could build a fourth floor if a certain percentage of affordable units are provided as part of the project. Another floor could also be added to developments in midrise zones. In most cases it will work out to be just a few units.

Next, the council plans to meet with the Seattle Planning Commission and other stakeholders before deciding which parts to take action on first.

"It will be important to work on this and take the time we need to get it right," said council member Tom Rasmussen.