Draft code would let shops and cafes open by right in Kenmore residential zones

What the records say

The City of Kenmore Planning Commission's Sept. 15, 2026 agenda included a 'Neighborhood Retail' item with a staff memo and draft code ¹. The staff memo says the draft would change eating and drinking places, personal service, indoor recreational facilities, and retail sales from conditionally permitted uses to outright permitted uses in R-4 through R-24 residential zones, and would add craft production and mobile food service to allowed uses ¹. The draft sets a 2,500-square-foot cap per establishment, limits business hours to 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., and removes minimum off-street parking requirements for these uses ¹. It also creates accessory commercial units — attached or detached commercial buildings up to 2,500 square feet, one per lot — in R-4 through R-24 zones ¹. Staff recommended implementing the draft code based on community feedback and Commission direction ¹. A public hearing is tentatively scheduled for the Commission's Oct. 6, 2026 meeting, with a tentative Commission recommendation to City Council on Oct. 19 ¹. The supplied record is pre-meeting material and does not establish what the Commission did on Sept. 15.

• The draft code would make eating and drinking places, personal service, indoor recreation, and retail sales outright permitted uses in R-4 through R-24 residential zones, instead of conditionally permitted.
• Each establishment would be capped at 2,500 square feet, business hours limited to 6 a.m.–10 p.m., and no minimum off-street parking would be required for these uses.
• The draft adds accessory commercial units — one per lot, up to 2,500 square feet, attached or detached — in R-4 through R-24 zones, plus new craft production and mobile food service (nonmotorized carts only, not in R-1) allowances.
• A public hearing is tentatively set for the Planning Commission's Oct. 6, 2026 meeting, with a tentative Commission recommendation to City Council on Oct. 19 ¹.

Why it matters

If adopted, the change would let a cafe, corner store, salon, or gym open in most residential zones without a conditional-use hearing, and would allow property owners to build or convert a small commercial unit on their lot ¹. The staff memo ties the proposal to resident access to goods and services closer to home ¹. The rules also carry neighborhood-compatibility limits — size caps, hours limits, sign limits, and a drive-through prohibition — so the practical effect on any given street depends on those standards and on any final Council decision ¹.

What changed / what's next

• A draft neighborhood retail code was placed on the Sept. 15 Planning Commission agenda that would change residential-zone use rules to allow small shops, cafes, and similar businesses by right, with size, hours, and development standards ¹.
• The Sept. 15 outcome is not established by this pre-meeting record; this story reflects only what was scheduled and proposed.
• The tentative Oct. 6 hearing and Oct. 19 Council recommendation dates could shift; the record labels both as tentative.
• The available records do not establish the meeting's outcome.