Living space: Othello OKs plan to make housing construction easier

OTHELLO — Changing zoning laws to encourage more residential development, reviewing the rules on accessory dwelling units and reviewing development standards for parking are among the recommendations of the housing action plan adopted by the Othello City Council Monday.

The vote was 6-1, with council member Corey Everett voting “no.”

Othello planning director Anne Henning said during the meeting it’s a set of recommendations, and city officials can implement all of them, some of them or none of them. The plan includes suggestions city officials may not want to implement now, but try later, Henning said.

Mayor Shawn Logan said the city needs more housing generally and more affordable housing, in particular. City officials need to figure out the rules and processes that will make it easier rather than harder to provide more housing, he said.

“These are the first steps to get there,” Logan said.

City officials started working on the plan last year, after the city received a $25,000 grant from the Washington State Department of Commerce. City officials worked with Seattle-based BERK Consulting to write the plan.

The plan evaluates the city’s current housing inventory and how it matches up with current and future needs. It also includes recommendations for adapting zoning laws and development standards to make it easier to build more housing.

The plan recommends adopting guidelines for residential development and redevelopment, whether it’s single-family homes or multi-family units.

“The city should work to ensure these (development) projects can take advantage of higher densities to allow housing to be created more efficiently with existing supplies of land,” the plan’s authors wrote.

It recommends reviewing standards for off-street parking, offering incentives for developing affordable housing, and periodic reviews of development standards.

City officials should look at setback and landscaping standards, as well as consider making changes to minimum lot sizes. The city also should evaluate and consider rezoning its residential areas to maximize the potential for more residential development, plan authors said.

The city should adopt residential design standards, and work to ensure new development and redevelopment fits with existing housing.

The plan recommends incentives to develop affordable housing, both for buyers and renters. The options include incentives for higher density projects, fee waivers and tax credits. City officials also could offer alternative development standards for qualifying projects.

City officials are urged to work on a new ordinance for auxiliary dwelling units, or ADUs, sometimes called mother-in-law apartments, in existing neighborhoods. If it’s feasible, the report recommended relaxing off-street parking and owner occupancy requirements to make ADU development easier. The plan suggests pilot projects with ADU zoning in a few neighborhoods first.

Some already exist, so city officials should provide clear regulations for them.

The city also should explore alternatives like small lot housing – which is basically what it sounds like – houses built on smaller pieces of land. There’s also cottage housing, where single-family houses, duplexes or triplexes on small lots are grouped around a central feature.

Parking came in for a separate list of recommendations. City officials should review the requirements for parking in homes where there are lower rates of car ownership.

Development rules should encourage parking accessed from the alley, parking at the rear of the residence and shared parking, the plan said. It recommended the city also should consider reducing the width of streets in residential neighborhoods.

City officials also should do what they can to make the permitting process easier, the plan said.