Title
Approval of an Ordinance Harmonizing Olympia Municipal Code with the Missing Middle Housing Ordinance
Recommended Action
Committee Recommendation:
Not referred to a committee.
City Manager Recommendation:
Move to approve an Ordinance harmonizing the Olympia Municipal Code with the Missing Middle Housing Ordinance (# 7160).
Report
Issue:
Whether to approve an Ordinance harmonizing the Olympia Municipal Code with the Missing Middle Housing Ordinance (# 7160).
Staff Contact:
Joyce Phillips, Principal Planner, Community Planning and Development, 360.570.3722
Presenter(s):
Joyce Phillips, Principal Planner, Community Planning and Development
Background and Analysis:
On November 13, 2018, the Olympia City Council passed its "Missing Middle" infill housing ordinance, which was primarily designed to increase the variety of housing types allowed in low density residential zoning districts. The ordinance was appealed to the Growth Management Hearings Board (GMHB), which ultimately invalidated the ordinance in July of 2019. The case continued before Superior Court and the Court of Appeals, where the City eventually prevailed. In June of 2023, the Court Appeals reversed the Board's order and remanded it for dismissal. The GMHB dismissed the case on November 9, 2023. This means that the Missing Middle Housing Ordinance is once again valid and in effect.
However, during the time the Missing Middle Housing Ordinance (Ordinance 7160) was invalidated, the City took multiple actions to update Title 18, Unified Development Code. Several of these subsequent actions amend the same sections of code that were amended by the Missing Middle ordinance. Perhaps the most significant of which was the Housing Options Code Amendments (Ordinance 7267 adopted on December 15, 2020), which also increased the variety of housing types allowed in residential zones. Other revisions are also applicable, such as those associated with the Parking and Loading (OMC 18.38) and Admi...
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