Consultant outlines full rewrite of Everett zoning code to cut reliance on variances and align with master plans

Consultant Nels Nelson told the Everett City Council the city is pursuing a full recodification of its zoning code that would replace legacy language, consolidate roughly 34 chapters into about 12, and align zoning with the city’s adopted master plans.

Nelson said the project is not a series of piecemeal amendments but a comprehensive rewrite intended to make the ordinance administrable, remove outdated references and reduce the reliance on variances. He said the team—working with architecture firm Stantec and outside counsel Jonathan Silverstein—expects an internal draft by summer, public review in the fall and adoption aiming toward winter.

The consultant said the rewrite will include a consolidated use and dimensional table, tailored business and residential district types (for example, neighborhood business versus Commercial Triangle), an open-space district and clearer approval pathways so more projects would proceed by right or via special permits instead of routine variance relief.

During council questions, members asked whether the rewrite would alter the city’s six master plans. Nelson said the team expects to fold those plans into the new code where appropriate, not to supersede or rewrite each master plan. He also confirmed inclusionary zoning rules might be reconsidered—noting a discussion about whether 60% area median income (AMI) could be a better baseline than the current 80%.

City counsel and outside counsel flagged legal constraints around any effort to pause permitting during recodification: adopting a zoning moratorium requires its own ordinance process, planning-board review, public hearings and may face litigation. Counsel advised the council that the recodification work by itself does not automatically allow the city to halt all permitting.

Nelson and staff described community engagement plans including a public draft, Planning Board hearings and online surveys to solicit input. Councilors raised parking and Traffic Demand Management (TDM) as significant community concerns; Nelson said parking standards were not slated for a wholesale rewrite in the initial recodification but could be carried forward for later review.

The council directed staff to provide a follow-up report at the May meeting to update progress on the recodification.