Middle Housing
Back to News Center In Seattle, Seattle King County REALTORS® is poised for a number of wins that will unlock major housing capacity throughout the city. For more than two years, we have been advocating for a bold, housing-focused update to the 20-Year Seattle Comprehensive Plan. The City Council’s recent…
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Back to News Center Seattle King County REALTORS®’ public hearing testimony in support of allowing townhomes in the city’s commercial business (CB) zone was well-received by Maple Valley Planning Commissioners. REALTORS® emphasized the importance and value of quickly updating the city code to incorporate Unit Lot Subdivision changes approved by…
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Back to News Center Under the leadership of Burien Mayor Kevin Schilling, and with the help of a skilled planning staff, the city of Burien not only met the minimum requirements of State comprehensive planning legislation, but the city council also stepped up to address the housing crisis that has…
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Back to News Center Seattle King County REALTORS® continue to support Federal Way’s proactive efforts to address the housing crisis through zoning reform, partnerships, and strategic planning. Earlier this year, REALTORS® backed code changes to promote middle housing and streamline the development of owner-occupied townhomes-making it easier, faster, and more…
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Back to News Center In 2023, the Legislature passed numerous new laws imposing new housing-related mandates on cities. In the four-county Central Puget Sound Region (King, Pierce, Snohomish, and Kitsap counties) cities were required to modify their comprehensive plans, and to modify their development regulations which implement the comprehensive plans.…
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Back to News Center Seattle King County REALTORS® worked with Burien’s Planning Commission and staff, and later with the City Council, on amendments to Burien’s Critical Areas Ordinance, including changes to meet state mandates by: Encouraging housing developments in residential areas across the city. Expanding the number, and type, of…
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Back to News Center Seattle King County REALTORS® advocacy in Federal Way during Q2 of 2025 focused on support for two proposed ordinances for Middle Housing (MH) and Unit Lot Subdivision (ULS). In addition SKCR connected city councilmembers with home builders and representatives of the Master Builders Association to identify…
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Back to News Center The city of Kent has undertaken its own distinctive and timely two-phase “HOUSING RE-CODE” approach in order to complete the major periodic update to its comprehensive plan, incorporate the 2023 housing-related mandates into its planning, and update its development code and regulations in time to meet…
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Back to News Center Background During the last 5 years, the Legislature has tried several different approaches to address our state’s housing crisis: Incentives Beginning in 2019, with support from REALTORS®, the Legislature provided financial incentives to cities if they made specific modifications to development regulations to quickly accommodate more…
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Back to News Center Seattle King County REALTORS® (SKCR) continues to work throughout the region to encourage cities to adopt flexible and bold comprehensive plan policies and related development regulations to encourage ADUs and middle housing in their cities. REALTORS® are encouraging policymakers to view increased housing supply through zoned…
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