Kenmore council retreats to craft 30‑year vision, weighs walkable downtown and pre‑planned ADUs

Mayor pro tem Michael opened the council’s retreat by outlining a two‑day agenda meant to shift focus from routine business to long‑range planning and budget priorities. The first day centered on what several council members called a 30‑ to 100‑year vision for Kenmore.

Council member Melanie framed the conversation around design that prioritizes people and nature rather than “dehumanizing” dense blocks. She said Seaside and other New Urbanist examples informed her thinking and urged the city to pursue a long‑range “century agenda” that pairs design standards with workforce development, including apprenticeship pathways tied to construction and craft trades.

Other council members picked up recurring themes: shifting parking away from storefront fronts to improve walkability, adding alleys and mid‑block crossings, protecting tree canopy and green spaces, and using design contests and study tours to refine local standards that fit Kenmore’s Pacific Northwest context. Several speakers urged retention of neighborhood character while identifying specific infill opportunities along 522 and at Lake Point.

On concrete tools, members discussed pre‑planned ADU packages that the city could make available to homeowners so accessory units could be built faster and more affordably; the proposal is intended to lower barriers for gentle infill while preserving design quality. Councilors also raised apprenticeships and partnerships with regional institutions (including the Port of Seattle and universities) as ways to link local development to job creation.

For downtown activation, presenters recommended piloting pop‑up retail and food‑truck clusters, and reserving street‑level spaces for incubator shops that allow home‑based entrepreneurs to test operations with low overhead. Council members noted past local incubator efforts and cautioned programs need clear pathways to permanent space and realistic expectations about outcomes.

The retreat closed with an agreement to fold the design priorities into the upcoming downtown planning work and to explore targeted actions (pre‑designed ADU templates, study tours, and pilot pop‑up programs) that staff can scope and cost for the council to consider alongside budget deliberations.