Planning Commission to continue Housing Strategy Plan Update discussion April 21, with staff report detailing 2044 affordability targets

What the records say

Kenmore's Planning Commission was scheduled to continue its discussion of the Housing Strategy Plan (HSP) Update at its Tuesday, April 21, 2026, 7:00 PM meeting, with ARCH staff Mike Stanger and Andrew Bjorn attending to answer questions. The packet includes a detailed staff report framing the update: Kenmore has sufficient zoned capacity to exceed its 2019–2044 growth target of 3,070 units, but production of lower-income units (below 80% AMI) has lagged, and the update must implement the 2024 Housing Element, new state laws (HBs 1110, 1337, 1220), and the DEIA Strategic Plan. The packet does not establish what the Commission decided on April 21; the minutes included in the file are from the prior April 7 meeting, which approved the March 3 minutes and covered earlier HSP discussion. ¹

• The April 21, 2026, meeting was scheduled for 7:00 PM, with the Housing Strategy Plan Update as an agenda item, a staff memo from Principal Planner Todd Hall, and a presentation; ARCH staff were to attend to answer questions.
• Kenmore's 2020–2044 housing targets include 1,063 extremely low-income units (non-PSH), 559 PSH units, 483 very low-income, 393 low-income, 160 moderate-income, 412 above moderate-income units, and 587 emergency beds, per the 2021 King County Countywide Planning Policies (amended 2023).
• The staff report states Kenmore has a surplus of 3,678 dwelling units of zoned capacity against its 3,070-unit 2044 target, but production at lower income levels has lagged.
• TOD overlay inclusionary standards require 25% of rental units affordable at 50% AMI or below (80% AMI for ownership housing), with a different standard west of 73rd Ave NE (25% at 70% AMI); MFTE currently applies only within the TOD overlay and Kenmore Village along SR-522, and Beechwood II is the only TOD-zone project to use the new inclusionary/MFTE provisions (48 market-rate, 5 affordable at 50–70% AMI).
• Kenmore's 2025–26 contribution to the ARCH Housing Trust Fund was $148,644, out of a 2025 round of $3.5 million available.
• The staff presentation's next steps call for continued staff and ARCH discussions with the Commission through spring/summer 2026, ongoing community engagement, and a public hearing, Planning Commission recommendation, and Council adoption in late 2026.

Why it matters

The Housing Strategy Plan update will guide how Kenmore plans for housing across income levels through 2044, including where affordability requirements apply, whether the MFTE program expands beyond the SR-522 corridor, how manufactured housing communities are preserved, and how emergency and supportive housing (STEP) is sited. The staff report shows the city has zoned capacity to spare but is behind on lower-income production, so the Commission's choices on incentives and regulations could shape what actually gets built and how affordable it is. Residents can follow the process through a planned late-2026 public hearing before Council adoption. ¹

What changed / what's next

• The April 21, 2026, Planning Commission agenda added a continued discussion of the Housing Strategy Plan Update, supported by a staff memo with follow-up answers from the April 7 meeting, covering inclusionary zoning locations, the MFTE program, peer-city comparisons, and the ARCH Housing Trust Fund. ¹
• The packet does not establish the outcome of the April 21 meeting; the minutes included in the file are from the April 7 meeting, and the next scheduled meeting was Tuesday, May 5 at 7 PM. ¹
• Open questions in the staff report include whether MFTE should expand to additional zones, what citywide inclusionary requirements should look like, and how to preserve manufactured housing communities, including potential rezoning of four MHC sites north of SR-522. ¹
• The available records do not establish the meeting's outcome.