City to host ‘missing middle housing’ open house
AIRWAY HEIGHTS – The City of Airway Heights will hold an open house to gather community feedback on the Missing Middle Housing Update on July 31 at the Airway Heights Recreation Center.
The open house aims to engage residents in the development of new policies, zoning, and development standards required by recent state legislation.
In 2023, the Washington Legislature passed Engrossed 2nd Substitute House Bill 1110, which mandates 77 jurisdictions to adopt regulations allowing for middle housing on all lots zoned predominantly for residential use.
Additionally, House Bill 1337 requires municipalities to permit at least two Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) on all lots within urban growth areas that allow single-family homes.
Airway Heights is crafting policies to comply with these bills, focusing on middle housing for cities with populations under 25,000, and enabling two of these dwellings per lot.
This initiative includes updating the city’s Comprehensive Plan and Code language, maps, graphics, and images to ensure clear communication of the vision and direction.
According to RCW 36.70A.030, "middle housing" refers to buildings that are compatible in scale, form, and character with single-family houses and contain two or more attached, stacked, or clustered homes.
This includes duplexes, triplexes, fourplexes, fiveplexes, sixplexes, townhouses, stacked flats, courtyard apartments, and cottage housing. An "accessory dwelling unit" is defined as a dwelling unit on the same lot as a single-family housing unit, duplex, triplex, townhome, or other housing unit.
The project schedule includes:
• May to July: Zoning, Development Code, and Comprehensive Plan Audit focused on middle housing
• July to September: Community Engagement
• September to December: Zoning, Code, and Comprehensive Plan Updates
The city invites residents to share their insights and feedback on development features that reflect the local context and community living style.
Airway Heights Recreation Center is located at 11405 West Deno Road, Spokane, WA 99224.
Clare is an Eastern Washington University graduate and a reporter at Free Press Publishing.
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