Middle Housing

What we heard, reporting back, and analysis:

The middle housing proposals and amendments, starting with corner lot duplexes and accessory dwelling units (ADUs), have been in progress at the City for more than two years.

Summaries and Reports:

Below you'll find summaries of the comments we heard from you at public meetings, analysis and summaries of the survey responses, and other reports as part of the middle housing analysis.

Middle Housing Engagement Summary
Middle Housing Feasibility Study
Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Anti-Displacement Analysis
Eastside For All Outreach and Survey Summary
Community Submitted Comments

Events and Engagement:

Community Forum and Survey 2023

Watch the recording on our City YouTube channel. The recording does not include the small group breakout sessions.
Here is a summary of the comments we heard during the small group discussions. 
2023 Survey: We had 511 total survey responses with 503 provided online and 8 provided in paper copies.

Eastside for All and ARCH Survey and Outreach

Bothell, along with 4 other area cities, partnered with ARCH (A Regional Coalition for Housing) and Eastside for All for additional outreach with community-based organizations. Find a summary of the survey on their website here or in the list of reports above.

Middle Housing Walking Tours

Middle Housing Tour of the historic Lower Maywood neighborhood just north of downtown to look at existing examples of Middle Housing like duplexes, triplexes, ADUs. These tours provide not only a look at actual housing types, but offer a chance to talk with City staff, Planning Commissioners, and sometimes Council about the Middle Housing Strategy, ask questions, and engage in conversation. We held this walking tour 6 times.

Download the Walking Tour Map!

Community Forum and Survey 2022

Please check out the link below for the recording of the zoom meeting. The recording does not include the breakout sessions. https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/share/m9vonKitDx-GxSLSz6CNGp68OL8W-E9KLcwU2Ak5__cBwrojvZX3V0er3p0vGuo.utww0U36zW1QwbPj?startTime=1654045375000
You'll need this passcode: TmuV5ng&

View the Middle Housing overview here! This was the data surrounding the 2022 survey questions. It's also a great resource for what the City of Bothell is proposing in its Middle Housing conversation. Here are the summarized survey results: Middle Housing Survey Summary with Pie Charts (PDF) These questions were part of the initial Middle Housing survey conducted in May 2022. Each question shown in the summary came after an introduction of the topic as well as context for the proposed code amendments. Survey results have been summarized to capture the sentiment of the responses. There were a total of 263 responses to the survey.

What is HB1110?

On May 8, 2023 Governor Inslee signed HB1110. It requires cities like Bothell to allow at least duplexes in primarily residential zones, and up to fourplexes within a ¼ mile walking distance of frequent transit stops. Up to fourplexes must be authorized throughout all residential zones in the city beyond a ¼ mile walking distance from frequent transit if at least one unit is dedicated affordable housing. The City is waiting for further guidance from the Department of Commerce.

What is HB1337?

On May 8, 2023, Governor Inslee signed HB1337 which eases barriers to the construction and use of accessory dwelling units (ADUs). In general, it requires cities to allow up to two ADUs on all lots that allow for single-family homes.

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.