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Home My WebLink About08-13-2025 YPC Agenda PacketThe meeting will also be recorded and posted on the Y-PAC website. Visit the Yakima Planning Commission webpage for more information, including agenda packets and minutes. DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT Bill Preston, P.E., Director Trevor Martin, AICP, Manager Planning Division 129 North Second Street, 2nd Floor Yakima, Washington 98901 Phone (509) 575-6183 • Fax (509) 575-6105 • Email: ask.planning@yakimawa.gov CITY OF YAKIMA PLANNING COMMISSION Yakima City Hall Council Chambers 129 N 2nd Street, Yakima, WA 98901 August 13, 2025 3:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. YPC MEMBERS: Chair Mary Place, Vice-Chair Anne Knapp, Jeff Baker, Charles Hitchcock, Leanne Hughes-Mickel, Colleda Monick, Philip Ostriem, Kevin Rangel, Arthur Salido, Frieda Stephens, and Shelley White City Council Liaison: Rick Glenn, Janice Deccio CITY PLANNING STAFF: Bill Preston (Community Development Director), Lisa Maxey (Admin. Assistant), Trevor Martin (Planning Manager), Eric Crowell (Senior Planner), Jason Radtke (Senior Planner), Connor Kennedy (Associate Planner), Eva Rivera (Planning Technician), Irene Linos (Department Assistant) AGENDA I.Call to Order II.Roll Call III.Staff Announcements IV.Approval of Minutes – July 23, 2025 Meeting V.Public Comment VI.Study Session: Housing Discussion VII.July Building Permit Report VIII.Other Business IX.Meeting Recap X.Adjourn Next Meeting: August 27, 2025 - 1 - 07/23/2025 YPC Minutes City of Yakima Planning Commission (YPC) Meeting Minutes July 23, 2025 Call to Order Chair Place called the meeting to order at 3:00 p.m. Roll Call YPC Members Present: Chair Mary Place, Vice-Chair Anne Knapp, Jeff Baker, Charles Hitchcock, Leanne Hughes-Mickel, Colleda Monick, Philip Ostriem, Kevin Rangel, Arthur Salido, Shelley White YPC Members Absent: Frieda Stephens, (excused) Staff Present: Trevor Martin; Planning Manager, Jason Radtke; Senior Planner, City Council Liaison: Rick Glenn, Janice Deccio Staff Announcements – None Approval of Minutes from July 9, 2025 - - Commissioner White moved to approve the meeting minutes from July 9, 2025, with the addition of the Comp Plan Amendments on page 2 under Meeting Recap. Commissioner Salido seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously. Public Comment – None BERK Presentation – Martin invited the BERK staff to introduce themselves. After the introductions, they delivered a PowerPoint presentation on the Comprehensive Plan 2050 Update. The presentation covered an overview of the Comprehensive Plan, key highlights from the policy review, updates from the Visioning meeting, and outlined the next steps. They also answered questions the Commissioners had. Other Business - Commissioner Knapp commented on a newspaper article announcing federal grant money for the installation of sewer and water connections in an underserved area of the city. Meeting Recap – Action Items & Decisions: •Downtown Action Plan - staff will determine if the Planning Commission will be involved •Staff will send the Commission a copy of the comprehensive plan slides from the last meeting. •Countywide Planning Policies will likely be finalized before the City's comprehensive plan. Staff will notify and update the Commission when the countywide policies are completed. •Bike and pedestrian planning could be part of the Transportation Plan and transportation planning elements. •Future Discussion Topics: Review of the zoning map, identifying housing gaps, landlord- related burdens and impacts on lower-income residents, development allowed by the County that doesn’t meet City standards. •Any population change data should be shared with Oneza (via Staff). •Staff will provide the dates for the next round of public meetings. Page 2 of 20 - 2 - 07/23/2025 YPC Minutes •Staff will provide the list of Comprehensive Plan steering committees and the Resilient Yakima group. Outstanding Action Items •An orientation or educational item summarizing past Planning Commission actions related to the Housing Action Plan will be developed. It will be a standalone item and is anticipated to be presented within the next couple of meetings, but not at the next agenda •Staff will provide upcoming dates for the next community division/workshops, tentatively scheduled for August and November. •Chair Place will attend upcoming meetings of the subcommittees to explain how information will be shared with the Planning Commission. It was decided that updates or important information from the commission or its subcommittees will be communicated to the City Council via a written report •Land Capacity list submitted to BERK will be emailed to the Commission •Staff will email compiled list of Comp Plan topics discussed previously •Staff will look into SB3670 for implementation •Staff will send any updated materials from the Department of Commerce regarding Unit lot subdivisions and lot splitting guidelines •Scan from green book will be emailed to the Commission •Staff will provide the source of the scenic landscape development handout and the source and city the open space development model ordinance came from. •Staff will send a parks inventory •Examples from other cities for landscaping standards will be emailed to the Commission •Staff will coordinate a future roundtable with experts to discuss design standards •Trevor will email the Bike and Ped Committee on how they can participate in the Transportation Plan or the Transportation Element of the Comprehensive Plan. A motion to adjourn to August 13, 2025, was passed with a unanimous vote. The meeting adjourned at approximately 4:36 p.m. Chair Place Date This meeting was filmed by YPAC. Minutes for this meeting submitted by: Eva Rivera, Planning Technician. Page 3 of 20 Recent Housing Legislation 2023-2025 Page 4 of 20 2023 Legislation requiring changes to city code. Page 5 of 20 House Bill 1337 Eliminates the requirement that homeowners must live on-site to build or rent out an accessory dwelling unit (ADU) or detached accessory dwelling unit (DADU). Allows homeowners to build two ADUs per lot, whether attached or detached. Prohibits cities from setting maximum ADU sizes below 1,000 square feet. If your property is within ½ mile of a major transit stop, you no longer need to provide parking for your ADU or DADU. Requires cities to simplify their permitting processes for ADUs and DADUs. Effective date: July 1, 2025. Page 6 of 20 House Bill 1110 Yakima must: allow a range of middle housing types on all residential lots, including at least six of a prescribed list of nine housing types: duplex, triplex, fourplex, fiveplex, sixplex, townhouses, stacked flats, courtyard apartments, and cottage housing; allow at least 4 units on all residential lots; and allow at least 6 units on all residential lots if: a) located within a quarter mile of a “major transit stop” or b) at least two are affordable units. Additionally, HB 1110 has requirements for streamlining design review processes; placing restrictions on the ability to require off-street parking; and placing limits on development standards that may create barriers to middle housing. Effective date: July 23, 2023. Page 7 of 20 2023 Legislation possibly requiring changes to city code. Page 8 of 20 House Bill 1026 Yakima may only require an administrative design review to determine compliance of a housing development permit application with design standards. The administrative design review must be solely conducted by local government employees without either a public meeting or review by an external board. Effective date: July 23, 2023. Page 9 of 20 2024 Legislation requiring changes to city code. Page 10 of 20 House Bill 2071 Directs the State Building Code Council to convene two technical advisory groups: one to recommend changes needed to apply the International Residential Code (IRC) to multiplex housing; and another to recommend changes needed to the International Building Code (IBC) to allow dwelling units with less than 190 square feet. Requires the Office of Regulatory and Innovation Assistance to contract for the development of an optional standard plan set that meets or exceeds all energy code regulations for residential housing subject to the IRC. Requires cities and counties to modify setback, height limit, and gross floor area requirements for retrofits of existing buildings to be used for residential housing and for new residential construction meeting passive house requirements. Prohibits cities and counties from requiring off-street parking for: residential projects meeting passive house requirements; or for other residential projects if compliance with tree retention or protection requirements otherwise make a proposed residential development infeasible. Effective date: July 1, 2026. Page 11 of 20 Senate Bill 6015 Prohibits the requirement of garages or carports to meet minimum parking requirements. Allows parking spaces to be enclosed or unenclosed; counts tandem parking spaces towards minimum requirements. Allows the use of existing gravel-surfaced parking spaces up to a maximum of 6 spaces. Sets a maximum parking space size of 8 feet by 20 feet, except for disability parking. Exempts residential projects from off-street parking requirements if compliance with tree retention would make the project infeasible. Allows grass block pavers to count towards minimum parking requirements. Effective date: June 6, 2024. Page 12 of 20 2025 Legislation requiring changes to city code. Page 13 of 20 House Bill 1491 Requires cities planning under the Growth Management Act to allow new residential and mixed-use development within a station area at certain transit-oriented development densities. Establishes affordability requirements and authorizes a 20-year property tax exemption for residential and mixed-use buildings constructed within a station area. Requires the Department of Commerce to administer a grant program to assist cities in providing the infrastructure, planning, and staffing necessary to implement the transit- oriented development requirements. Effective date: July 27, 2025. Page 14 of 20 Recommended Language RCW 36.70B.160 Page 15 of 20 Additional project review encouraged— Construction Each local government is encouraged to adopt further project review provisions to provide prompt, coordinated, and objective review and ensure accountability to applicants and the public, including expedited review for project permit applications for projects that are consistent with adopted development regulations or that include dwelling units that are affordable to low-income or moderate-income households and within the capacity of systemwide infrastructure improvements. For the purposes of updating code: A dwelling unit is affordable if it requires payment of monthly housing costs, including utilities other than telephone, of no more than 30 percent of the family's income. "Dwelling unit" means a residential living unit that provides complete independent living facilities for one or more persons and that includes permanent provisions for living, sleeping, eating, cooking, and sanitation, and that is sold or rented separately from other dwelling units. "Low-income household" means a single person, family, or unrelated persons living together whose adjusted income is less than 80 percent of the median family income, adjusted for household size, for the county where the household is located, as reported by the United States department of housing and urban development, or less than 80 percent of the city's median income if the project is located in the city, the city has median income of more than 20 percent above the county median income, and the city has adopted an alternative local median income. "Moderate-income household" means a single person, family, or unrelated persons living together whose adjusted income is at or below 120 percent of the median household income, adjusted for household size, for the county where the household is located, as reported by the United States department of housing and urban development, or less than 120 percent of the city's median income if the project is located in the city, the city has median income of more than 20 percent above the county median income, and the city has adopted an alternative local median income. Page 16 of 20 Additional measures for certain jurisdictions Each local government is encouraged to adopt further project review and code provisions to provide prompt, coordinated review and ensure accountability to applicants and the public by: Expediting review for project permit applications for projects that are consistent with adopted development regulations; Imposing reasonable fees, consistent with RCW 82.02.020, on applicants for permits or other governmental approvals to cover the cost to the city, town, county, or other municipal corporation of processing applications, inspecting and reviewing plans, or preparing detailed statements required by chapter 43.21C RCW. The fees imposed may not include a fee for the cost of processing administrative appeals. Nothing in this subsection limits the ability of a county or city to impose a fee for the processing of administrative appeals as otherwise authorized by law; Entering into an interlocal agreement with another jurisdiction to share permitting staff and resources; Maintaining and budgeting for on-call permitting assistance for when permit volumes or staffing levels change rapidly; Having new positions budgeted that are contingent on increased permit revenue; Page 17 of 20 Additional measures for certain jurisdictions (cont.) Each local government is encouraged to adopt further project review and code provisions to provide prompt, coordinated review and ensure accountability to applicants and the public by: Adopting development regulations which only require public hearings for permit applications that are required to have a public hearing by statute; Adopting development regulations which make preapplication meetings optional rather than a requirement of permit application submittal; Adopting development regulations which make housing types an outright permitted use in all zones where the housing type is permitted; Adopting a program to allow for outside professionals with appropriate professional licenses to certify components of applications consistent with their license; or Meeting with the applicant to attempt to resolve outstanding issues during the review process. The meeting must be scheduled within 14 days of a second request for corrections during permit review. If the meeting cannot resolve the issues and a local government proceeds with a third request for additional information or corrections, the local government must approve or deny the application upon receiving the additional information or corrections. Page 18 of 20 Questions? Page 19 of 20 Strategy Lead Potential Partners Timeline Investment Effort Priority Affordability?Housing Supply?Homeownership?Older Adult?Stability?Ant-Displacement Develop acquire, and sell surplus and under-utilized city property.City Homeless Network of Yakima Short-term Moderate Moderate 1 Yes No No No Yes Yes Update city regulations to remove barriers to innovative housing types.City Catholic Charities Housing Services; Central Washington Homebuilders Association; Yakima Housing Authority; independent architecture or design firms; Justice Housing Yakima; Next Step Housing; nonprofit housing developers; Yakima County; Yakima County Homeless Coalition; Homeless Network of Yakima County Mid-term Minimal Moderate 1 Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes Encourage rent-to-own opportunities and sweat equity programs Partner Catholic Charities Housing Services; Yakima Valley Landlords Habitat for Humanity; Yakima County Homeless Coalition; Homeless Network of Yakima County Mid-term Minimal Minimal 1 Yes No Yes No Yes Yes Create design standards for multifamily and mixed-use development.City Central Washington Home Builders Association Short-term Moderate Moderate 2 Yes No No Yes No No Ensure code enforcement does not displace residents.City Homeless Network of Yakima Mid-term Moderate Moderate 2 Yes No No Bo Yes Yes Revise parking standards in key areas.Partner Short-term Moderate Moderate 2 Yes Yes No Yes No No Improve permitting and environmental review process.City Washington State Dept. of Commerce; Central Washington Home Builders Association Short-term Minimal Moderate 2 Yes No No No No No as severe weather shelters.Partner Yakima County Homless Coalition; Homeless Network of Yakima Mid-term Minimal Moderate 2 No No No No Yes Yes providers.Partner Yakima Housing Authority; Yakima County Homeless Coalition; Homeless network of Yakima County Mid-term Minimal Minimal 2 Yes No No No Yes Yes Address mobile home parks that are dilapidated.Partner Local mobile/manufactured home park owners; Yakima County Homeless Coalition; Homeless Network of Yakima County Mid-term Moderate Moderate 3 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Recalibrate the Multi-Family Tax Exemption (MFTE) program.City Mid-term Moderate Moderate 3 Yes Yes No No No No Engage with local employers to support wrkforce housing.City Association; Yakima County Farm Mid-term Minimal Moderate 3 Yes Yes No No No No Encourage micro-retail and flexible cultural space design.City Commerce; Yakima County Homeless Coalition; Homeless Mid-term Minimal Moderate 3 No No No No Yes Yes Support aging-in-place services.Partner Homeless Network of Yakima Short-term Minimal Moderate 3 Yes No No Yes Yes Yes Minimize barriers to development of housing serving multiple populations.City Central Washington Home Builders Association; Yakima County Homeless Coalition; Homeless Network of Yakima County Short-term Minimal Moderate 3 Yes No Yes No Yes Yes Put in place Just Cause eviction prectices.City Homeless Network of Yakima Short-term Minimal Moderate 3 Yes No No No Yes Yes Incentivize backyard cottages and cottage housing City Central Washington Homebuilders Association; Yakima County Homeless Coalition; Homeless Network of Yakima County Short-term Minimal Moderate 3 Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes Adopt a Notice of Intent for Sell/Sale ordinance.City Homeless Network of Yakima Mid-term Minimal Moderate 3 Yes No No No Yes Yes Put in place community benefits/development agreements.City Homeless Network of Yakima Long-term Minimal Moderate 3 Yes No No No Yes Yes Page 20 of 20