Proposed changes to the lowrise sector of Seattle's Multifamily Code could make it more difficult for developers to build cookie-cutter townhouses that don't reflect their neighborhoods and if approved, the provisions will keep cars from being the focal design point.
The Fourth and Roy townhomes in Lower Queen Anne are one of the first developments to exemplify what's possible when architects deviate from the current code and follow the guidelines of the proposed code. The last time the city reviewed the code that defines development guidelines for higher density residential zones-rules for buildings like duplexes, townhouses and apartments buildings-was in the 1980s, before neighborhood plans and the Growth Management Act.
Alterations to midrise and highrise sections of the code were made in December, but the city council will not vote on the lowrise section until June, due to the advocacy of local architects and the Congress on Residential Architecture Northwest (CORA NW)-a grassroots organization of architects dedicated to improving the practice of residential architecture and the quality of the built environment in Seattle.
"The purpose is to create far better townhouse designs and really design buildings that are more responsive to the neighborhood they're in, more livable to occupants and more affordable," said Brandon Nicholson, principal architect at Nicholson Kovalchik Architects and CORA member. "And also, it's definitely something that's more sustainable. You design around the neighborhood and the tenants as opposed to the car they're going to park."
Requiring one parking space per unit means the number and size of units is inherently tied to the lot size, and thus limits the design flexibility. The City Council is currently considering reducing or eliminating parking requirements in urban centers and villages-the most dense and best transit-served neighborhoods. The reduction would mean the ability for varied unit sizes, again adding to the affordability of developments that are meant to be starter homes.
The administrative design review is one of the proposed alterations to the current multifamily.
"The administrative design review engages neighbors early on and can influence what product comes out at the far side," Nicholson said. "4th and Roy shows what can be done with administrative design review; we had a lot of neighborhood interaction in the beginning."
But there are a couple modifications still up for debate, and architects who've worked on the multifamily update worry the City Council won't take on some of the most important pieces without more community support.
Though the current proposal allows for more flexibility, particularly in regards to open space requirements, according to some, there are two significant pieces missing.
"The new problem is we'd like to become denser, so the two big things we're looking at are density limits and parking requirements," said David Neiman, principal architect of David Neiman Architects and CORA member. "We want to see density limits go away. The parking requirement acts as a density limit, and enforces certain density, unit number and size. It has a huge impact on affordability."
Neiman said the proposal to eliminate density limits frightens some neighbors, but not rightfully so because lifting the restriction means developments will actually have more diversity because unit sizes will not be predicated. This means units can be smaller and prices for the average townhouse could be reduced by 25-35 percent.
Other examples of what development can look like when it strays from the current code and follows the flexibility of the proposed code can be seen with Secret Garden on 11th Avenue East and b9 Architects' projects on Capitol Hill, Urban Canyon and Urban Trees.
Apart from these potential code revisions, the updated code gives more flexibility for open space. The former code dictates each unit has to have its own private open space, but the update allows for communal open space instead, which encourages rooftop green spaces and courtyards.
"The biggest positive is the proposed code is more flexible. The current code is very complex and because of its prescriptive approach limits what can be done," said Brad Khouri, CORA member and principal architect at b9 Architects. "The new code will ideally allow for much greater options...The code's going to be easier to use, and hopefully, is going to lead to more affordable housing."
CORA will be hosting a community meeting on the multifamily update process next Saturday, March 20 at 10 a.m. at the Taproot Theatre, 204 N. 85th St. The meeting will focus on density and parking requirement issues, specifically as they relate to rowhouses, apartments and townhomes.
"The biggest thing now is we want people to come to that meeting and speak their mind way or the other," Khouri said. "Hopefully, people understand in order to preserve so much of the single family character of Seattle we have to put density in areas zoned to be multifamily. If we want affordable homes that's what's going to have to happen."[[In-content Ad]]
