The Renton City Council has passed two ordinances that will change housing and zoning in the city because of state house bills.

On June 16, the council approved both a Middle Housing Code Update ordinance and a Commercial to Residential Conversion ordinance with a second and final reading. Both of the ordinances were passed in order for the city to be in compliance with Washington state legislation passed in 2023.

The Middle Housing Code Update revises the city code to allow a broader range of housing types in residential zones previously only allowing single-family development, Renton Senior Planner Katie Buchl-Morales said.

The new state legislation, House Bill (HB) 1110, requires cities like Renton to allow six of the nine middle housing typologies. In Renton, that includes townhouses, duplexes, triplexes, fourplexes, stacked flats, and courtyard apartments in residential zones.

“With the updated code, it’s now possible to build a duplex with two (Accessorty Dwelling Units) or a fourplex where a single-family home once stood,” Buchl-Morales said. “The changes allow for up to four units per lot, and in some cases up to six units, which is a significant shift from the previous allowances.”

The new city ordinance includes requirements for middle housing and ADU parking, density bonuses for middle housing with affordable units, and residential design standards for middle housing.

“Development regulations for single-family residential zones largely remain the same and will be applied to middle housing to encourage compatibility in scale, form, and character with existing neighborhoods,” Buchl-Morales said.

Buchl-Morales said the changes will be gradual, and not all properties will qualify for the maximum number of units per lot. She said local housing data indicates single-family homes have steadily increased in size and, therefore, greater return on investment for developers.

“However, not everyone wants, nor is able to maintain a larger home. Now that more units will be allowed per lot, hopefully we will see more variety in unit size offerings,” Buchl-Morales said.

Buchl-Morales said it is difficult to predict the extent the change will affect housing availability due to external factors such as construction costs, interest rates, tariffs and material availability that could limit middle housing construction.

Through public input during the past year, Buchl-Morales said they have identified parking and added traffic as concerns from Renton residents. She said while they cannot require parking for middle housing within a half-mile walk of a major transit stop, they have crafted incentives to help encourage off-street parking when not required. She also said the current maximum building height will still apply to middle housing.

“After a year of implementation and feedback from property owners, builders, city staff, and other community stakeholders, we will assess and consider what’s working well, opportunities, areas of concern, and determine if further amendments are needed,” Buchl-Morales said.

Commercial to Residential Conversion

The ordinance on Commercial to Residential Conversion was implemented by HB 1042, which requires cities to allow commercial and mixed-use buildings to be converted to residential.

Renton Long Range Planning Manager Angie Mathias said prior to the ordinance, they allowed commercial buildings to convert to residential, but the restrictions from the underlying zoning would restrict the density of the residential allowed.

“One of the changes we were required to make was to allow 50 percent greater density than the underlying zone allows for residential,” Mathias said.

House Bill 1042 does not require additional parking or any exterior design or architectural change beyond health and safety. Unchanged portions cannot be required to meet energy code, but new dwelling units must meet energy code. It also allows cities to require ground floor commercial on major pedestrian corridors if defined by city code.

Mathias said the city has met with property owners considering conversion in the past, but they did not proceed with the concept. She said it can be difficult to make the conversions depending on the commercial space and challenges arise from making sure the individual residential units meet size and living requirements such as exterior windows and adequate fixtures and appliances.

“It will be interesting moving forward to see if the multifamily housing market in Renton is strong enough to make it profitable for the property owners,” Mathias said.