Council reviews draft DADU ordinance to meet state mandate; parking, fees, sewer cited as concerns

Building Official Tyler Seaman outlined a draft ordinance intended to bring Washington Terrace into compliance with a state requirement to allow detached accessory dwelling units (DADUs) on qualifying lots. Seaman said the state is requiring allowance for lots of 11,000 square feet and that about 349 residential parcels in the city could participate. "the state is mandating that we have to allow anyone with a 11,000 square foot lot to have a detached accessory dwelling unit," Seaman said.

Seaman told the council the draft includes owner-occupancy requirements, a 650-square-foot minimum for DADUs, and prohibitions on short-term rentals and on having both an internal ADU and an external DADU on the same property. He emphasized site-specific controls: zoning setbacks, subordinate massing to the primary home, safe pathways and an additional parking space where needed. Seaman flagged sewer connections as the "biggest challenge," noting building-code requirements to install gravity service where feasible.

City Manager Tom Hanson said fee design remains unresolved but described impact fees as a one-time buy-in to support system capacity. Hanson noted staff will return with detailed fee recommendations and that the city will not permit lot subdivisions to create flag lots as part of the DADU implementation.

Council members asked staff to return with clarifications on parking exemptions, fee calculations and privacy limits such as whether second stories on DADUs should be allowed. The discussion will continue in a future meeting before any ordinance is adopted.