Chapter 18.24A
URBAN RESIDENTIAL ZONE

Sections:

18.24A.010    Intent.

18.24A.020    Use allowances.

18.24A.030    Accessory uses.

18.24A.040    Zoning standards.

18.24A.050    Affordable housing requirements.

18.24A.060    Design requirements.

18.24A.070    Connectivity requirements.

18.24A.080    Wireless communication facilities.

18.24A.010 Intent.

The purpose of the urban residential zone is to reinforce the City’s planned concentration of pedestrian-oriented mixed use residential development at intensities that support and are supported by multi-modal transportation options, including high capacity transit. The urban residential zone provides opportunities for a mix of jobs and high-density residences, cultivates a respectful relationship among development within the area, the natural environment, and nearby traditional neighborhoods, and provides a framework for future infrastructure and service decisions. The urban residential zone provides public benefits in the form of affordable housing, increased pedestrian connectivity, quality design, and incentives to preserve significant tree groves where they exist. [Ord. 23-0574 § 2 (Exh. A).]

18.24A.020 Use allowances.

The following uses listed in Table A are identified as permitted, conditionally permitted or prohibited uses in the urban residential zone:

Table A. Urban Residential Zone Use Allowances 

PERMITTED

CONDITIONALLY PERMITTED

PROHIBITED

Day care

Arts, entertainment, indoor1

Adult entertainment business

Eating and drinking place1

Business service, standard1

Air transportation service

Educational service1

Health care and social assistance1

Ambulatory surgery center

Mobile food service2

Manufacturing, light1, 3

Animal kennel/shelter

Multiple-family dwelling4

Park

Arts, entertainment, outdoor

Office1

Personal service1

Auction house

 

Recreational facility, indoor1

Automotive sales and service, marine

 

Regional land use

Automotive sales and service, non-marine

 

Retail sales1, 3

Business service, intensive

 

Temporary lodging1

Cannabis business

 

 

Cannabis cooperative

 

 

Cemetery, columbarium or mausoleum

 

 

College/university

 

 

Community residential facility

 

 

Construction and trade

 

 

Family child-care home

 

 

Fire or police facility

 

 

Funeral home/crematory

 

 

Hospital

 

 

Laboratory

 

 

Manufactured housing community

 

 

Manufacturing, heavy

 

 

Recreational facility, outdoor

 

 

Religious institution

 

 

Resource land use

 

 

Retail sales, bulk

 

 

Secure facility

 

 

Single detached dwelling unit

 

 

Standalone parking

 

 

Supportive living facility

 

 

Transportation

 

 

Utility facility

 

 

Vehicle or equipment rental

 

 

Vehicle refueling station

 

 

Warehousing

 

 

Wholesale trade

1. Each use is limited to maximum 5,000 square feet per use and 15,000 square feet total contiguous nonresidential area within the development.

2. Mobile food service is permitted subject to the following requirements:

a. For a stand, location shall be on a sidewalk or near a storefront consistent with barrier-free regulations;

b. For a stand, location on the sidewalk or near a storefront shall provide for at least four feet of unobstructed sidewalk between the stand and the sidewalk edge for pedestrian movement;

c. No permanent fencing, walls, or other structures are installed which hinder removal of the structure from the site;

d. No required parking stall shall be blocked or rendered unusable as a result of the mobile food service;

e. Safe ingress and egress to the site shall be maintained. Visibility for transportation and pedestrian access shall be maintained;

f. The limited duration of the mobile food service shall be established as a condition of approval of any applicable permits; if accessory to a use, such operation is removed daily at the time of or prior to the close of business hours;

g. A sign permit is required for exterior signage in accordance with the sign code, Chapter 18.42 KMC.

3. No outdoor storage of materials shall be permitted.

4. A standalone townhouse development is prohibited.

[Ord. 24-0607 § 2 (Exh. A(XI)); Ord. 23-0574 § 2 (Exh. A).]

18.24A.030 Accessory uses.

Accessory uses, when consistent with the definition in Chapter 18.20 KMC, are allowed as determined by the city manager. [Ord. 23-0574 § 2 (Exh. A).]

18.24A.040 Zoning standards.

The following development standards in Table B apply in the urban residential zone:

Table B. Urban Residential Zone Development Standards

STANDARD

REQUIREMENT

Minimum Density: Dwelling Units/Gross Acre

60

Maximum Density: Dwelling Units/Gross Acre

150

Maximum Height

85'2

Minimum Lot Width

30'3

Street Setback

Minimum 10' from SR-522 unless otherwise allowed through Chapter 18.52 KMC, Design Standards; other streets 0'

Maximum 10' unless otherwise allowed through Chapter 18.52 KMC, Design Standards.

Minimum Side Setback4

5'

Minimum Rear Setback4

5'

Maximum Impervious Surface

90%

1 Portions of any property that are within 50 feet of an R-1, R-4, R-6, or MHC zoning district shall have a maximum height of 35 feet within that area to provide a transition in height to the lower intensity uses.

2 Building heights and orientation for proposals within the great blue heron rookery buffer shall be carefully assessed through the required habitat management plan (see Chapter 18.55 KMC, Articles XIII through XV). In particular, potential impacts related to the flyway and shadowing of nest trees shall be evaluated. The city manager may require adjustments to maximum building height and/or building orientation to protect the rookery.

3 Minimum lot width measurement is described in KMC 18.30.110.

4 Any proposed development adjacent to an R-1, R-4, R-6, or MHC zoning district shall be required to provide a setback of 15 feet on the side of the property facing that zone. The setback shall be landscaped with Type II landscaping as described in KMC 18.35.045 to provide a visual buffer.

[Ord. 23-0574 § 2 (Exh. A).]

18.24A.050 Affordable housing requirements.

Development containing residential units shall provide affordable housing as described in Chapter 18.77 KMC. [Ord. 23-0574 § 2 (Exh. A).]

18.24A.060 Design requirements.

Development within the urban residential zone shall comply with Standard 1 provisions of the design standards, as set forth in Chapter 18.52 KMC. [Ord. 23-0574 § 2 (Exh. A).]

18.24A.070 Connectivity requirements.

Development in the urban residential zone should remove impediments to pedestrian use of the district and the downtown area by fostering the creation of an extensive network of sidewalks and pedestrian walkways.

Development proposals shall:

A. Provide any direct pedestrian connections between proposed development and transit facilities, or arterials providing transit access, in order to minimize walking distances to transit.

B. Comply with the design standards pertaining to pedestrian walkways, as set forth in KMC 18.52.100.

C. Properties abutting water bodies (i.e., wetlands or streams) shall provide a public access trail paralleling the water body from one property line to the next with setbacks that are consistent with the requirements of KMC Title 16 and Chapter 18.55 KMC. The public access trail shall connect to a public right-of-way.

1. Where a development proposal abuts a property with a public access trail segment, the public access segment on the subject property shall connect to abutting property public access segment(s).

2. The public access easement for public access trails shall be documented on the face of the plat or plan and recorded with the King County Department of Records and Elections. Public access easements shall run with the land in perpetuity. [Ord. 23-0574 § 2 (Exh. A).]

18.24A.080 Wireless communication facilities.

Use allowances and development regulations for wireless communication facilities in the urban residential zone shall be as specified in Chapter 18.60 KMC for the underlying zoning district. [Ord. 23-0574 § 2 (Exh. A).]