Edmonds’ Single-Family Neighborhoods in Grave Peril

Serious attempts to end single family zoning in neighborhoods in Edmonds and all of Washington State are moving quickly in the Washington State Legislature.  If you value your single-family home and your neighborhood, including trees and open space, it is imperative that you contact legislators immediately to let them know that you oppose this work.  To provide your input, go to Bill Information (wa.gov), type in the number of the bill, and click on the “comment on this Bill” bar to the right of the bill number.

Here are the bills of concern:

Please follow the links to read more about these bills of concern:

HB 1782 – Creating additional middle housing near transit (including ferry terminals) and in areas traditionally dedicated to single-family detached housing. WA State House Bill 1782  

This proposed bill, moving along in the legislative session and sponsored by Edmonds’ Rep. Strom Peterson and Rep. Cindy Ryu, would:

• require cities with populations over 20,000 to allow duplexes, triplexes, fourplexes, attached and detached accessory dwelling units, cottage housing, stacked flats, townhouses, and courtyard apartments on all lots that are both currently zoned for detached single-family residential use and within one-half mile of a major transit stop, including ferry terminals.
• require cities with populations over 20,000 to also allow development of duplexes and attached and detached accessory dwelling units on all other lots exceeding 4,500 square feet and for the development of triplexes on corner lots exceeding 5,000 square feet, in areas zoned for single-family residential use.
• may not require more than one off-street parking as a condition of permitting development of middle housing for every three bedrooms on the lot within one-half mile of a major transit stop (including ferry terminals).
• A city may not require zoning, development, siting, or design review standards for middle housing that are more restrictive than those required for detached single-family residences and the same development permit and environmental review processes that apply to detached single-family residences shall be applied to middle housing. This will do away with our local Architectural Design Board review process for these multi-family developments.

SB 5670 – (companion bill to HB 1782) Creating additional middle housing near transit (including ferry terminals) and in areas traditionally dedicated to single-family detached housing. WA State Senate Bill 5670  This bill is sponsored by Sen. Marko Liias and is similar to the one above and will allow up to sixplexes in single-family neighborhoods.

SB 5818 – AN ACT Relating to promoting housing construction in cities through amendments to and limiting appeals under the state environmental policy act (SEPA) and growth management act (GMA).  WA State SB 5818  This bill is also sponsored by Sen. Marko Liias, and limits appeals of the minimal environmental (SEPA) checks and balances on development.

Here are the areas of concern:

Density, the environmental impact, and loss of local control:

HB 1137, SB 5670 and SB5818 all push massive increases in density that remove land use decisions from local control without a holistic approach to environmental, topographical, or infrastructure needs.  If these bills are pushed though it could devastate Edmonds’ fragile environment.

The deleterious effect of increased density on our environment cannot be overstated. Edmonds has 4,772 people/square mile per the 2020 census which exceeds the Growth Management targets.  The truth is that our small town is currently over 7 times the density of the region encompassed by Seattle/Bellevue/Tacoma.  If Edmonds, which occupies only 8.9 square miles, were to triple its density as promoted by these various bills, it would severely impact our runoff to the Sound, our climate, and Edmonds’ fragile environment.  The citizens of Edmonds know best how to protect our environment.  Therefore, it is critical that control over zoning in Edmonds remain local.  The one-size-fits-all state-mandated development in these bills could have tragic consequences.  In California, similar forced up-zoning bills have the state scrambling to reverse the environmental degradation that tree canopy removal for property development has caused, along with the effects of climate change. Los Angeles must add an Urban Tree Canopy Element to “OurLA2040”

Protecting the Salish Sea and other sensitive areas:

Edmonds by virtue of its location on the Salish Sea plays a critical role in the environmental health of the region’s wildlife and marine life.  In the 2019 City of Edmonds Urban Forest Management Plan (Edmonds WA UFMP 2019.pdf), it was noted that of 83% of our tree canopy is on private land, mostly single-family lots, the loss of which will cause our creeks to overheat and dry up.  Water runoff containing pollutants will increase into the Salish Sea, warming the waters of the Sound and threatening marine life.  We need these trees and open spaces to filter stormwater runoff (already over-capacity) that we absorb from Lynnwood and Shoreline.  Passage of these bills could mean we won’t have any salmon-bearing streams, a marsh or Perrinville Woods to protect!

Loss of single-family zoning will increase Edmonds’ carbon footprint:

Eliminating single-family zoning in Edmonds will enable for-profit developers to build 2, 3, or up to 6 townhouses on a parcel that now has one home.  Large swaths of green spaces that remove CO2 from the environment will be eliminated.  The amount of impervious surface and number of roof lines will increase.  Edmonds’ population will swell with more motor vehicles, more pavement, less greenspace, and fewer trees.  Temperatures in Edmonds will rise.  Edmonds will produce more CO2 at this critical location along the Salish Sea, not less.

Proposed bills will not increase affordability or housing equity

The goals for this legislation on housing is to 1) address the housing affordability issue in WA, especially Western WA as well as to 2) move to equity in housing. Yonah Freeman has conducted research in both Chicago and NYC with respect to outcomes from upzoning. His findings include the following:

• The cost of housing built under the upzoning changes did not drop, rather it increased.
• The first lots purchased for building duplexes, triplexes, and quadruplexes were the largest lots with the smallest homes. This resulted in a decrease in the affordable housing already in the area.
• The first areas developed happened to result in gentrification of neighborhoods of people of color.

Upzoning Chicago: Impacts of a Zoning Reform on Property Values and Housing Construction – Urban Affairs Forum (urbanaffairsreview.com)

New MIT study suggests the Yimby narrative on housing is wrong – 48 hills

Current townhomes for sale in unincorporated Snohomish County with an Edmonds Zip code are listing for $ 650,000 – 675,000 for 1600 – 1700 sq ft. townhomes. These are new construction with modest interiors and meant to meet middle housing needs.  However, they are not affordable to someone earning the AMI in this area.

And from the well-respected Seattle Times Editorial Board:

Legislature should reject plan to upend single-family zoning (Jan. 25^th, 2022).

“What’s missing is any guarantee that this monumental shift in local land-use policy will actually reduce housing costs, let alone produce more places available for those living on the streets. Instead, developers are likely to cater to the top end of the market, making Seattle’s housing pressures even worse, at least in the short term.” Legislature should reject plan to upend single-family zoning | The Seattle Times

The Alliance of Citizen for Edmonds is urging you to act now; this Tuesday, Feb 15 is the next critical point in advancing bills; please join us to keep these types of decisions in Edmonds under local control.

The Alliance members are interested and involved residents of Edmonds who support responsible development that respects and complements the character of our small city on the shores of the beautiful Salish Sea.

We attempt to provide citizens with accurate information about land use activities and actions that allow them to distinguish between fact and rhetoric so they can make informed decisions and provide relevant input to our elected leaders.

Finally, we promote preservation of the natural environment of the City of Edmonds – its streams, trees, beaches, parks and open space. 

Please go to aceedmonds.org to join or for more information about the Alliance.

We all can have a voice.  Do not put off a response to your legislators. Use the “areas of concern” section in this letter to provide the foundation for your comments or simply craft your own. To provide input, go to Bill Information (wa.gov), type in the number of the bill, and click on the “Comment on this Bill” bar to the right of the bill number.

It is important to email or call local legislators to tell them what you want them to do to represent your wishes.

Rep. Strom Peterson, 21st District. Phone: (206) 556-3194 email: Washington State Legislature – Peterson Email

Rep. Cindi Ryu, 32^nd District. Phone: (206) 466-5741 email: Washington State Legislature – Ryu Email

Sen. Marko Liias, 21^st District. Phone: (360) 786-7640 or 1-800-562-6000 email: Marko.Liias@leg.wa.gov

It is also important to reach out to your Edmonds City Councilmembers at council@edmondswa.gov or find their individual phone numbers by clicking on the councilmember’s photo at City Council – City of Edmonds, WA (edmondswa.gov)

Dr. Michelle Dotsch, President 
The Alliance of Citizens for Edmonds (ACE)