Royal City development expanding

ROYAL CITY — Additional apartments will be coming to Royal City as part of the next phase at a development on Ahlers Avenue North. Alex Kovach, the city’s planner, said the new apartments in the Pratt Hills development will give Royal City residents options they don’t have now.  

“It diversifies the city’s portfolio of housing,” he said. 

Most existing apartments in Royal City are subject to income requirements, he said, something that won’t be the case with the Pratt Hills development. 

“It’s kind of a mix of buildings,” he said.  

The development will include 44 units, he said. Buildings will be of various sizes, with the largest housing nine units. 

The property already is partially developed with a mix of single-family homes and duplexes, Kovach said. The entire development is zoned for multi-family housing. 

Kovach said there is demand for apartments in Royal City that are not subject to income requirements, even more than for single family residences.  

Royal City, like all Washington cities in counties under growth management regulations, are being directed by the state to increase its housing supply, Kovach said.  

“They want us to plan for it,” Kovach said. “The question is, where can we fit that housing?” 

Mixed-use developments are one way to answer that question, he said.  

CAD Homes, Moses Lake, is the developer. The company has up to three years to submit a final development plan.  

In other city business, Royal City City Council members discussed revisions to the food truck ordinance Tuesday, a process that’s been underway since last spring.  

Royal City Finance Director Janice Flynn said the revised ordinance is close to a final form, but that council members wanted one more review before putting it to a vote.  

The existing ordnance establishes distance guidelines, prohibiting a food truck from operating within a designated distance of a restaurant serving the same food. Royal City’s business district is small enough that the restriction is impractical, and council members wanted to make some changes. 

Some restrictions would remain in place; events on city property would still have restrictions, as well as schools in session.