Backyard Cottages in Seattle?

Here's an interesting article from the Seattle Times regarding a current proposal from the Seattle City Council. If the council approves the proposal, homeowners throughout Seattle will be allowed to build backyard cottages up to 800 square feet. While attached mother-in-law style units have been allowed since 1994, the city more recently explored the idea of allowing property owners to develop what they're calling 'backyard cottages'. The technical term for such a structure is called a 'detached accessory dwelling unit'.

In 2006, the city decided to experiment with the idea by allowing only residents in Southeast Seattle to build these cottages. To this point, only 17 have been built. While the idea is meeting significant Resistance, a city survey reveals that neighbors either like the units or don't notice them.

In general, the city views this as an affordable and creative means for residents to downsize or allow family to live nearby. It also adds density without major development. Opponents of the plan suggest that the proposal in-effect rezones the entire city to multi-family zoning.

Read the full article here.

New town home guidelines

Seattle mayor Greg Nickles called for mandatory design review for all new townhomes built in the city. This new process would provide more checks and balances in regards to the design of townhomes and other small multi-family developments. According to the Seattle Times,

The changes also would offer builders more flexibility in building
configuration, parking and open space. In some areas, structures could be
closer to the street. But some neighborhood groups believe the proposed changes could yield disastrous results: bigger, bulkier buildings, smaller yards and less open
space on the ground level.

It sounds like the proposal has good intentions as many townhomes built in Seattle are unattractive and do not fit in with their surrounding neighborhoods. Seattle is continuing to change their laws and zoning regulations as it attempts to accommodate the foreseen lack of housing in the city's future.

Read the full article here.