Planning Commission packet scheduled Housing Strategy Plan update and neighborhood retail code discussion for July 21

What the records say

The July 21, 2026 Planning Commission meeting packet lists two land-use discussion items: a Neighborhood Retail Update, with a staff memo and draft code, and a 2026 Housing Strategy Plan Update with an accompanying memo ¹. A July 10, 2026 staff memo says staff will present recommendations on neighborhood retail and discuss the draft code at the July 21 meeting, with a public hearing tentatively scheduled for the September 2026 Planning Commission meeting and tentative recommendations to City Council in early October ¹. The packet's Housing Strategy Plan materials include a staff report identifying twelve candidate actions and recommending four near-term priorities: manufactured home community preservation, housing on faith-based and public surplus lands, a calibrated MFTE and inclusionary zoning package for Downtown and TOD areas, and a community housing outcomes report ¹. The available records do not establish what the Commission did with either item on July 21.

• The July 21, 2026 agenda listed a Neighborhood Retail Update (staff memo and draft code) and a 2026 Housing Strategy Plan Update and memo as agenda items for discussion.
• A July 10, 2026 staff memo states staff will present neighborhood retail recommendations and discuss the draft code on July 21, with a public hearing tentatively set for the September 2026 Planning Commission meeting and tentative recommendations to City Council in early October ¹.
• The Housing Strategy Plan materials identify twelve candidate actions and recommend four near-term priorities: manufactured home community preservation, housing on faith-based and public surplus lands, a calibrated MFTE and inclusionary zoning package for Downtown and TOD areas, and a community housing outcomes report.
• The draft retail code would, among other changes, move eating and drinking places, personal service, indoor recreation, and retail sales from conditionally permitted to permitted uses in R-4 through R-24 zones, allow accessory commercial units up to 2,500 square feet, and limit mobile food service to nonmotorized carts in residential zones.

Why it matters

The neighborhood retail draft code would directly affect what businesses can operate in Kenmore's residential zones, including cafes, shops, and small clinics, and the memo lays out a tentative path to a September public hearing and October Council recommendations ¹. The Housing Strategy Plan priorities signal where the City intends to focus affordable-housing work next ¹. Because the packet shows only what was scheduled, residents should treat this as a preview of a discussion, not a decision; the records do not establish the meeting's outcome.

What changed / what's next

• No change was documented; the record shows what was scheduled for the July 21, 2026 meeting, not any decision ¹.
• The packet does not include the outcome of the July 21 discussion, the memo contents in full for every attachment, or any vote results ¹. The September public hearing and early October Council timeline for the retail code are described as tentative in the staff memo ¹.
• The available records do not establish the meeting's outcome.