MOUNT VERNON – When Marsha Ware became ill and could no longer care for her organic farm near Arlington, she and her husband looked for alternative housing – something with a small yard in a safe neighborhood.
The Wares found what they were looking for in a cottage housing development east of Sedro-Woolley called WildFlower.
Ten cottage homes – small houses of similar size and shapes clustered around courtyards – have been built so far at the 61-lot WildFlower development on the northeast corner of the Sauk Mountain View Golf Course.
Most of the people who live in the homes, none of which are larger than 1,400 square feet, are single or older couples looking for a smaller homes with little yard maintenance, Ware said.
“I’m just thrilled with the house,” Ware said of her cottage as she strolled through the combination kitchen, dining room and living area. “Somebody like us who has had a larger home with property – it’s a lot of change.”
The WildFlower development is a perfect example of smaller community-oriented housing that’s likely to become the norm in the next decade, said Bill Kreager, architect with Mithun Architects, Designers and Planners of Seattle.
“Other than some town houses and stacked flats, there aren’t many housing alternatives in Skagit County,” Kreager said from his office in Seattle.
Cottage housing developments such as WildFlower consist of compact homes that use every nook and cranny. They are built close together but situated to provide privacy, Kreager said. They take advantage of extra-small lots that are ideal for vacant land surrounded by existing neighborhoods.
Many people still cringe when they think of how apartments have been crammed into single-family neighborhoods, forever changing the surrounding area and the lifestyle of the neighbors, Kreager said.
That doesn’t have to be the case, he said.
They key to denser housing and what’s called “infill” development is making sure the new homes are designed and built like the surrounding homes, he said. Landscaping is critical to preserve privacy, while pocket parks – small neighborhood spaces – provide community gathering spots.
“When you’re talking about infill housing, you have to take the character and context of where you are and reflect it,” Kreager said. “You don’t come in and put three flat-roofed apartment houses in a single-family neighborhood.”
Denser housing is a direct result of the state Growth Management Act, passed in 1990. The law mandates that 80 percent of new growth must take place within cities and their urban-growth areas – land just outside city limits slated for eventual annexation.
The law aims to place new development within close reach of city services, including water, sewer and police and fire protection. It also requires minimum housing densities of four homes per acre within city limits.
Developers and builders now realize that lot sizes will continue to shrink, while the number of houses on each lot will continue to grow, said Wayne Crider, executive officer of Skagit-Island Counties Builders Association.
“We’re going to have to start some innovative ways of providing more units,” Crider said.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
