| HeraldNet - Snohomish County's online news source |
 SATURDAY, MARCH 20, 2010 11:49 pm |
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Local News 
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Everett building rules may be loosened EVERETT — City leaders are mulling allowing separate mother- in-law apartments and other changes to city code that could affect those who want to build or remodel homes.Mother-in-law apartments offer pluses for the city. They allow homeowners an extra source of income and they provide a source of affordable housing, said Allan Giffen, Everett's director of planning and community development. Now, owners are allowed to create a mother-in-law apartment within their homes, but not a separate unit elsewhere on the property. Homeowners also have to live in one of the units, and they have to share utility meters — measures designed to prevent a glut of duplex rentals. The proposed changes would do away with those requirements, including the one about owners needing to live on-site. It would allow property owners north of 41st Street to build detached units so long as those apartments are 600 square feet or less and located in the back yard. There are other requirements, too, including that there be a sliver of yard left between the two buildings of at least 18 feet. The idea is to keep mother- in-law apartments small, partly so large families aren't moving in and overloading neighborhood streets with too many cars, Giffen said. Under state law, cities with a population of more than 20,000 are required to allow homeowners to add some kind of extra unit, but the law doesn't tell cities what standards to set. Everett's population is more than five times that number. The city's Planning Commission put its stamp of approval on the plan, and it's set to go to the City Council in the next month or two. A date hasn't been set yet. The Planning Commission had a harder time agreeing on whether the city should extend more stringent design standards to parts of Everett. In a separate matter, the commissioners considered extending some of the design standards that already exist for small lots in traditional neighborhoods. The idea was to protect the historical character of north Everett, and the suggestions focus on basic standards that are supposed to keep neighborhoods attractive. For instance, homes wouldn't take up more than half of a small lot of 5,000 square feet — that's to discourage someone from squeezing a megahouse onto a small lot. City staff drove around the areas and determined that the proposed standards, which focused partly on pre-World War II architecture, were probably too restrictive for most neighborhoods. Many areas, even in older parts of Everett, contain a mix of architectural styles drawn from various eras. Instead, the commission ended up focusing on just the Lowell Neighborhood, which has the most cohesive character. Commissioners at a Nov. 17 meeting liked some of the design recommendations but got hung up on requirements for steepness of roofs and vertical windows. Commissioners struggled with whether it was more important to give homeowners latitude or protect the character of neighborhoods. Loren Sand, one of the commissioners who voted against the recommendations, said the changes bordered too closely for him on proactively changing the existing neighborhoods. “I'm not convinced in my own mind whether we're talking about protecting these neighborhoods or we're trying to covert the neighborhoods,” he said. The standards, if approved, would be only for major remodels or new construction. For the first time in years, the commission plans to pass a plan on to the council without a recommendation. The matter will likely come before the council in the next several weeks. Debra Smith: 425-339-3197, dsmith@heraldnet.com. |
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COMMENTS
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Everett's existing stock of mother in law housing tends to house less than desirable characters in the one bedroom or less illegally built and grandfathered in units. Parking is the least of the problems.
To keep the neighborhood safe and from deterioration, keep in the owner occupation clause, and prevent renting the unit to anyone convicted of a drug or assault misdemeanor, or any felony, within the last five years. Then we will truly see MIL apts used as intended, not as a tool to destroy single family dwelling neighborhoods so that developers can buy up whole blocks to build mega complexes of apartments.
jon coulter | Nov 28, 2009 5:56 am | 0 replies | Request removal
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