Cheney is mostly multifamily

Cheney single-family to multifamily housing ratio has undergone some significant changes in the past decade, as evidenced by a staff report presented to the city’s Planning Commission at its Feb. 13 meeting.

According to information from Public Works Director Todd Ableman, the city’s housing mixture has shifted over the past 20 years, with multifamily construction accounting for 64.4 percent of the total housing units in 2016. In 1996, the percentage of multifamily to single family was 51 percent — 1,284 total single-family units compared to 1,338 multifamily.

The percentage declined over the next several years, dipping as low as 49.6 percent in 2000 before climbing again the following year. It continued to rise each year, but took a sharp increase beginning in 2008, jumping to 56.1 percent from 53.9 percent in 2007.

It jumped again in 2009 to 59.1 percent, beginning a period where more apartment units were built in the city than homes. From 2009-2014, 794 multifamily units were built in Cheney, while only 37 single-family homes were constructed.

Much of the single-family construction has taken place in areas in north Cheney such as Golden Hills, Avalon Place and the Orchards. The approval of the Harvest Bluff subdivision at Betz and Murphy roads has been the genesis of recent construction, accounting for most of the 51 new homes built in 2015–2016.

By contrast, large apartment complexes have sprung up along Betz Road across from and behind the Safeway Plaza and along Simpson Parkway to the south. Other developments have occurred to the west of Eastern Washington University on Seventh Street, Cheney-Spokane Road, Alki Street east of the railroad tracks, and most notably, Eagle Point apartments at Washington Street and Betz Road.

Multifamily housing has also taken place around EWU as some single-family units have been modified or torn down and replaced. Additionally, the Salnave Glen apartment complex on West First Street will add another 72 units when it opens later this summer, with a 115-unit complex being proposed for construction at North Eighth and Cedar streets across from the city’s swimming pool.

Ableman told the commission that EWU accounted for 207 of the total multifamily units through construction of Brewster Hall (41 units) on Second Street downtown in 2002, and the snyamncut residence hall (166) in 2013. Eliminating these from Cheney’s total count still left multifamily housing accounting for 62.77 percent of the units in the city.

Commissioner Dan Turbeville said it was “disconcerting” to see the degree of change of single family to multifamily. He added the information didn’t show the amount of single-family housing that is currently being used as multifamily, something he and other commissioners expressed concerns about at their January meeting and which would be in violation of Cheney’s municipal code.

The city’s code defines a family as a group of individuals who are all related to each other through either blood, marriage or legal adoption. The code also allows a “functional family” to legally occupy a single-family residence.

A functional family is defined as “a group of unrelated persons, limited to not more than two adult persons (together with their respective family members), living together as a single housekeeping unit and sharing and operating a unified and common household.” The code also allows for one additional non-related individual to live with a family under the single-family definition.

Ableman said it would be difficult to ascertain how many single-family homes are serving as multifamily residences. It would require people —including landlords knowingly renting a house to several unrelated individuals —to essentially admit they were violating the law.

Ableman added that a “nonscientific extrapolation” might put this figure between 22-23 percent of single-family homes.

“The balance is inherently dangerous for the livability of Cheney,” Turbeville said. “I think you would find support in Cheney for changing this.”

John McCallum can be reached at [email protected].