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Middle Housing
Join us at 6pm on Tuesday, May 31st for a Virtual Forum
You'll learn about ways the City is considering to add more housing, in more affordable forms, to single family zones. You'll also have an opportunity to give your input.
Known as “middle housing,” these are structures the same scale as single-family homes that have multiple units, providing housing types between single family homes and larger apartment complexes and tend to be priced between those housing types.
Please click the link to join the webinar: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82750550078
We want to hear from you!
Please take a moment to fill out this survey (link coming soon!) to help us in the decision making process. Whether you can attend the forum or not, we look forward to seeing your survey answers.
Join us at Affordable Housing Week events!
Affordable Housing Week is May 8 - 14, 2022!
Tuesday, May 10 starting at 6:00 pm
The City Council will be presenting a proclamation on the regional commitment to affordable housing. View the meeting live via zoom, or stream it on YouTube at your convenience.
Wednesday, May 11 at 12:00 pm
NUHSA (North Urban Human Services Alliance) is celebrating the work North King County (NKC) cities are doing to create more options for affordable housing! This event will provide a snapshot of the landscape in NKC, with brief presentations from city council members and staff from Bothell, Kenmore, Lake Forest Park and Shoreline. There will be an opportunity for Q&A and information for becoming more involved in your city.
Duplexes Allowed on Corner Lots
One of the early changes to integrate more middle housing opportunities into our residential neighborhoods was a code update that allows duplexes to be built on all corner lots in residential neighborhoods. There are additional incentives when the original home is retained. See more about this in our code.
Middle Housing Tour
Recently, the Planning Commission hosted a tour of the “Missing Middle” Housing in the Lower Maywood neighborhood. We were joined by Council and Planning Commission members from both Bothell and Kenmore as well as City staff. This rainy-day tour looked at what “missing middle” housing currently exists in Bothell and how to potentially expand it into other neighborhoods.
November 3rd Agenda Packet with Missing Middle Study Session
Photos from the December 18th Walking Tour
What is Middle Housing?
"Missing Middle Housing is a range of house-scale buildings with multiple units--compatible in scale and form with detached single-family homes--located in a walkable neighborhood." - Opticos Design
In this diagram from Opticos, you can see that there are many different types of Middle Housing options both in size and building type. The City of Bothell is specifically discussing duplexes, triplexes, fourplexes, cottage housing, and accessory dwelling units. Middle housing can be provided in a transitional zone between Single Family and Multi-family zones, or scattered throughout many traditional residential areas.
Housing-type definitions:
What do we mean when we say "house sized building" in single family zones? Structures that have the same height and setback regulations as single-family homes.
What is an ADU? Accessory dwelling units, sometimes referred to as “granny flats” or “mother-in-law apartments,” are relatively small dwelling units that are accessory to a primary allowed use, like a single family home. Currently, ADUs are only allowed with single-family homes except in the Downtown Subarea, where they could also be accessory to a multifamily unit, like a townhome. Detached accessory dwelling units (DADUs) are sometimes referred to as “backyard cottages.”
What is a duplex? Structure with 2 independent dwelling units. These could be side by side, stacked, or front to back attached units.
What is a triplex? Structure with 3 independent dwelling units. These could be side by side, stacked, or front to back attached units.
What is a fourplex? Structure with 4 independent dwelling units. These could be side by side, stacked, or front to back attached units.
What is cottage housing? These tend to be smaller scale, detached single family units, built around a shared common courtyard or outdoor space.
What are townhomes? Side by side attached units that often have multiple stories and individual entrances.
Have questions or comments?
Send us an email at imaginebothell@bothellwa.gov.