Quincy council approves co-living housing rule

QUINCY — Quincy city residents will be able to set up “co-living housing” units under the terms of an ordinance approved by Quincy City Council members Tuesday. Public Works Director Carl Worley said it’s something new in Quincy, required by recent actions by the Washington Legislature. Worley said city officials weren’t sure there would be much impact in Quincy, but council member Dylan Kling said he thought it could make a big impact.  

“I’m sure it will be. I think this is something that’s probably already happening within the community,” Kling said.  

“Co-living housing” would allow people to build housing with separate bedrooms but shared kitchens and possibly shared bathrooms. A co-living bedroom space can include a sitting room and kitchenette, but not a full kitchen, according to the ordinance adopted by the council. Each bedroom-sitting room space is limited to 300 square feet. 

The city’s code allows property owners to rent rooms in residences located in areas zoned for single-family and multi-family residences. The existing code allows property owners to rent up to four rooms, but co-living developments can be more expansive than that.  

Worley said it’s not clear if existing residences can be converted to co-living facilities under state law.  

“That’s one of the things we need to iron out, is whether something can be converted in an existing area,” Worley said. “It’s typically a new development.”  

Council member Dave Dormier said conversions seemed to be allowed through the conditional use process. He asked if neighbors are notified, if conversion turns out to be allowed. Worley said people living within 300 feet would be notified.  

Dormier said he thought people would apply for conversions unless it was specifically limited.  

“Getting this out into the community and having a strategic plan on how these steps are going to be implemented, and the process are going to be important, because it is so new to us,” Kling said 

In other business, council members approved a letter of support for a project under study by the Port of Moses Lake. The W20 project would give the port and the city of Moses Lake access to Columbia Basin Project water through an existing irrigation canal that runs close to Moses Lake.  

“The W20 project, together with the Homestead Pump Station, should create additional operational capacity in the West Canal,” the letter said. “This added capacity provides important system-wide flexibility that can support future municipal supply needs for the city of Quincy.”