Everett Begins Zoning Changes For Low Barrier Housing

This Wednesday the Everett City Council will get a look at the first of several zoning changes that will allow low barrier housing.
The first of the changes will provide that low barrier housing will be permitted only on land owned by a public agency or that the public agency has transferred to another entity for the purpose of developing supportive housing.

Other zoning changes approved by the Everett Planning Commission and being brought forth for city council consideration on Wednesday include…

• Allowing the city planning director to modify the parking requirements following a planning study to lessen the minimum number of stalls required.
• Access to transit must be within 500 feet of the low barrier housing complex.
• A written management plan
• 24 hour supervision on the site
• Include a neighborhood outreach plan

You can click here to see the proposed zoning changes as they are being presented Wednesday. There will be a public hearing and vote on June 8th.

The City of Everett will likely also have to change several other zoning requirements in order to allow low barrier housing. Many of those were passed in 2008 when Everett updated laws on chronic nuisance properties. (Chapter 9.64)

People who formerly operated clean and sober housing in Everett, but got out of that business after the nuisance law was updated in 2008 tell MyEverettNews.com that many of the street issues we see today happened after the city cracked down on clean and sober homes that had problems complying with the chronic nuisance laws. They say those that had mental issues or substance abuse problems ended up on the streets with no place where they could live.

The Everett law currently says a chronic nuisance property is one that within any 60 day period has three or more nuisance activities occur on the property or within 200 feet of the property. Those nuisances can include disorderly conduct, disorderly house, liquor related offenses, drug possession violations or even yelling, shouting, hooting, whistling or singing on or near the public streets, particularly between the hours of eleven p.m. and seven a.m. or at any time and place so as to unreasonably disturb or interfere with the peace, comfort and repose of owners or possessors of real property.

Another thing that will need to be changed is the city’s Stay Out of Drug Areas map. The proposed low barrier housing project is within one such area that stretches from 47th street south on Evergreen Way to the city limits.