Unit lot subdivision advances to Leavenworth City Council following Planning Commission approval

LEAVENWORTH – The Planning Commission unanimously approved drafted code for unit lot subdivision, which is intended to allow more flexible creation of lots of varying sizes and types. The drafted code will be proposed to the City Council for consideration of adoption.

“This is intended to increase home ownership options. We're looking at other codes to address affordability, but really, this is similar to the condo code that was recently adopted. The main difference is having that ownership of the land,” said Interim Community Development Director Maggie Boles during the Sept. 4 Planning Commission meeting.

Unit lot subdivision divides a piece of land, or parent parcel, into smaller lots for individual ownership, in which residents own their dwelling unit and the land beneath it. Unit lot subdivisions are processed through a short or major subdivision process, depending on the number of units.

If adopted, unit lot subdivision may be used in all zoning districts for two or more units, such as accessory dwelling units (ADUs), duplexes, townhomes, and cottage housing, as allowed by the underlying zoning district. The subdivision does not change the density or design standards of the parent parcel. 

The Planning Commission received no public comments during its Sept. 4 public hearing regarding unit lot subdivision. However, it did receive written comments from the advocacy group Residents Coalition of Chelan County (RC3), who had concerns of the proposed code, and community member Maggie Richter, who was in support of the changes.

RC3 recommended that defensible space, structural hardness measures, and project specific assessments on evacuation and critical infrastructure be required in unit lot subdivision. The group provided “Best Practices for Wildfire-Resilient Subdivision Planning” document published by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) as guidance. 

Additionally, RC3 requested that the city pause code changes in single-family zoning until it evaluates the impacts that prior changes have made on the neighborhoods, and prioritize exploration of inclusionary zoning instead. In its recommendations to the Planning Commission, RC3 proposed a requirement that 25 percent of the housing units in any unit lot subdivision be permanently established as affordable housing.

“If the city chooses to proceed with the proposed unit lot subdivision ordinance without pausing to consider a comprehensive assessment of the impacts of recent code changes, at minimum RC3 recommends the life-safety focused changes redlines into the attached draft be included in the final ordinance,” said RC3 Board of Directors in their written comment.

In response to the concerns, Boles noted that new structures in the City of Leavenworth are required to comply with Leavenworth Municipal Code (LMC) 15.06, Wildland-Urban Interface Building Standards, which includes both building requirements and Fire District #3 recommendations.

“I want to note the fire district did talk to me last week, and has no concerns with the proposed code as drafted. They found that the FEMA code that was provided by RC3 is applicable across the country, and more specifically, to communities that haven't adopted a Wildland-Urban Interface to code,” said Boles.

Under the proposed code, the parent parcel can be no greater than one acre, and must meet LMC 18.30 Dimensional Standards of its zoning district such as setbacks, lot size and coverage. The unit lots are limited to one dwelling unit and are subject to LMC 13 to 18. They are not subject to LMC 18.30, but they must meet building and fire separation standards. The parent parcel and each unit lot also must make adequate provisions for ingress and egress, as well as parking. 

Unit lot subdivision was placed on the 2024 Planning Commission Docket, and is pursuant of RCW 58.17.060 amended by State Bill 5258, which requires all cities and towns to adopt procedures for unit lot subdivisions, allowing the division of a parent lot into separately owned unit lots.

Taylor Caldwell: 509-433-7276 or taylor@ward.media