Middle Housing Code Project

Background

“Middle housing” refers to buildings that are compatible in scale, form, and character with single-family houses and contain two or more attached, stacked, or clustered homes. Examples include duplexes, triplexes, fourplexes, fiveplexes, sixplexes, townhouses, stacked flats, courtyard apartments, and cottage housing.

In 2023, the Washington State Legislature adopted House Bill 1110, which requires cities across Washington State to allow for middle housing on all lots zoned predominately for residential use. The City of Walla Walla is required to adopt new zoning and development regulations to be in compliance with these new requirements by June 30, 2026.

The City received a grant from the Washington State Department of Commerce to support the City's efforts to study middle housing, engage the community, and ultimately develop new development regulations to be compliant with House Bill 1110.

Documents

Thank you for taking our middle housing survey!

Your feedback is valuable! We are currently analyzing the results of the survey to determine how best to incorporate the results into the proposed middle housing code changes.

The survey closed on Aug. 30, 2024. Please see the results of the survey below.

Survey Results

Middle Housing Grid - 3x1

What is Middle Housing?

Did you know that Middle Housing is not new for Walla Walla?

While middle housing is new for many communities, Walla Walla has a significant amount of existing middle housing, and has been proactively planning for these housing types since 2018 (more on that below). Middle housing types used to be very common, until planning practices and other forces began to prioritize detached single-family homes.

In 2018, the City of Walla Walla made significant zoning code changes; chiefly, the City combined all of the zoning districts that were previously only for single family homes, into a Neighborhood Residential zoning district, which allows up to four dwelling units per lot. This includes many middle housing types, including duplexes, triplexes, fourplexes, townhomes, cottage housing, stacked flats, and others.

Will these new regulations apply in neighborhoods with Codes, Covenants, and Restrictions (CCR's)?

These new regulations will not apply in neighborhoods with Homeowner's association governing documents that restrict middle housing and were created before July 23, 2023. Note that cities do not have a role in regulating or enforcing private covenants. The City will, however, work with applicants to inform them of the importance of checking for any private restrictions prior to submitting applications.

Overview of Bill Requirements

House Bill 1110 has different requirements for cities with a population under 25,000; cities with a population over 25,000 but less than 75,000 (Walla Walla falls into this category); and cities with a population over 75,000.

It is worthy to note that Walla Walla already meets many of the bill's requirements based on code changes that the City made in 2018. Below are the requirements for House Bill 1110 and whether Walla Walla already meets the requirements.

Topic	House Bill 1110 requirement	Does Walla Walla's Neighborhood Residential Zone already meet these standards?
Middle Housing Types	Allow at least six of nine middle housing building types	Yes. The City of Walla Walla already allows single-family residential, duplexes, triplexes, fourplexes, townhomes, cottage housing, tiny homes, stacked flats, and accessory dwelling units.
Increases Unit Density	Allow at least two units per lot.	Yes. The Neighborhood Residential Zone allows for up to four dwelling units per lot.
Subdivision of new lots	Allow subdivision of new lots so they may be owned fee simple rather than in a condominium form of ownership.	No. Subdivision regulations will need to be amended to allow to subdivide attached lots.
Development standards	Requires development standards (for example, building height, building setbacks, lot coverage) for new middle housing development to not be more restrictive than those for single-family detached development.	Yes. It doesn't appear that the City of Walla Walla requires stricter standards for new middle housing development. However, we will review this in greater detail as the project moves forward.
Design review	If a design review board process is required, it must be an administrative process (requiring no discretionary decision for approval).	Yes. The City does not require a design review board process for residential housing.
Parking	May not require more than one off-street parking space for middle housing on lots less than 6,000 square feet before any zero lot line subdivisions or lot split. May not require more than two off-street parking spaces for middle housing on lots greater than 6,000 square feet before any zero lot line subdivisions or lot splits.	No. Currently, the City of Walla Walla requires between one and two off-street parking spaces. The number of spaces depends on the type of housing. Minimum parking standards may need to be adjusted, but the City could incentivize providing more parking in certain areas, and nothing prevents developers from providing more off-street parking.