Planning Commission

**State Legislative Context:** Lyon explained that Bellingham, as a Tier 1 city with over 75,000 residents, must allow up to four units per lot under HB 1110, with potential for five to six units in transit-adjacent areas or with affordability components. The state requires jurisdictions to accommodate at least six of nine specified housing types, moving from subjective to objective design standards. **Middle Housing Implementation:** The city identified eight middle housing types including cottage housing, townhomes, duplexes, triplexes, fourplexes, small lots, and ADUs. Staff noted that 13% of Bellingham's existing housing stock already represents middle housing forms, with representation in all residential neighborhoods except Western Washington University's campus and the predominantly industrial Irongate area. **Building and Fire Code Challenges:** Significant discussion focused on implementation barriers. Cook explained that while single-family and duplex construction can use the streamlined International Residential Code (IRC), three or more units must follow the International Building Code (IBC), which applies the same requirements to a three-unit building as a 300-unit building. The state building code council is developing a "multiplex" code category but implementation has been delayed. Fire code …

No public testimony was provided as no community members attended the meeting.…

**Blake Lyon, on state mandate compliance:** "If local jurisdictions such as ours didn't adopt these development regulations, the state developed a model code and if we didn't do it by the timeline, then the model code would supersede our local development regulations." **Lyon, on existing middle housing:** "We have about 13% of our existing housing stock is in middle housing form as of today. So we have representations in all but two of our neighborhoods already." **Lyon, on affordability c…

The meeting provided Planning Commissioners with comprehensive understanding of how three major state housing laws are being implemented in Bellingham. The briefing established a foundation for upcoming work on permanent residential zoning updates that will replace the current interim ordinance approach. Commission members gained detai…

### Meeting Overview The Bellingham Planning Commission met on April 16, 2026, for an informational presentation on the city's implementation of interim ordinances for middle housing, ADUs, and design review. Blake Lyon, Director of Planning and Community Development, led the briefing with staff experts to share lessons learned from these temporary regulations adopted to comply with state housing laws. ### Key Terms and Concepts **Middle Housing:** Housing types between single-family homes and large apartment buildings, including duplexes, triplexes, fourplexes, townhomes, and cottage clusters. Required by state law to increase housing options. **ADU (Accessory Dwelling Unit):** A smaller housing unit on the same lot as a primary residence. New state law allows up to two ADUs per lot, up to 1,000 square feet each, with no owner-occupancy requirement. **Floor Area Ratio (FAR):** The ratio of total building floor area to lot size. For example, a FAR of 1.0 means you can build 5,000 square feet of floor space on a 5,000 square foot lot across multiple stories. **Interim Ordinance:** Temporary regulations that allow cities to test new rules while developing permanent versions. Bellingham used these to meet state deadlines while learning from real applications. **Objective Design Standards:** Measurable design requirements (like "windows must cover 15% of wall area") rather than subjective ones (like "shall meet general character"). Required by state law to streamline approvals. **Condominiumization:** Converting rental units into separately-owned condominiums. Allowed for ADUs under state law but rarely used due to financing complications. **Tier One City:** Cities with population over 75,000 (Bellingham is the only one in Whatcom County). Must allow up to 4 units per lot, with 5-6 units allowed near transit or for affordable housing. ### Key People at This Meeting | Name | Role / Affili…