Kenmore council was scheduled to consider SRO housing and parking code changes

What the records say

In materials published ahead of the Sept. 8, 2025 meeting, the Kenmore City Council was scheduled to consider adopting Ordinance No. 25-0631, which would amend Titles 15 and 18 of the Kenmore Municipal Code to comply with state laws on single room occupancy (co-living) housing and residential parking ¹. The packet includes the full ordinance text and its Exhibit A, which details the proposed code changes ¹. Under the proposal, single room occupancy housing would be a permitted use in R-4 and R-6 zones but not allowed in R-1, and sleeping units would be calculated as one-quarter of a dwelling unit for density purposes ¹. For parking, no minimum parking would be required for single room occupancy developments within one-half mile walking distance of a major transit stop, and tandem parking stalls would be permitted in all residential land uses and count toward minimum parking requirements ¹. The ordinance text in the packet is dated for the Sept. 8 meeting, but its signature and passage fields are blank, and the supplied records do not establish the meeting's outcome ¹.

• The Kenmore City Council was scheduled to consider adopting Ordinance No. 25-0631 at its Sept. 8, 2025 meeting ¹.
• The ordinance would amend Chapters 15.40 and 18.20 through 18.77 of the Kenmore Municipal Code, covering single room occupancy (SRO) and residential parking regulations ¹.
• Under the proposed text, single room occupancy housing would be a permitted use in R-4 and R-6 zones but not allowed in R-1, and sleeping units would count as one-quarter of a dwelling unit for density calculations ¹.
• The proposed parking rules would require no minimum parking for SRO developments within one-half mile walking distance of a major transit stop, permit tandem parking stalls in all residential land uses, and count tandem stalls toward minimum parking requirements ¹.
• The agenda bill states that if the city does not adopt regulations by Dec. 31, 2025, the State Model Ordinance for single room occupancy housing will go into effect until local regulations are adopted ¹.

Why it matters

These rules determine where small, lower-cost co-living units can be built in Kenmore and how much parking new housing must include. The agenda bill also states that if the city does not adopt regulations by Dec. 31, 2025, the State Model Ordinance for single room occupancy housing will go into effect until the city adopts its own ¹.

What changed / what's next

• Nothing was adopted in the supplied record; the ordinance was only scheduled for consideration. The packet does include the proposed code text, which would permit SRO housing in R-4 and R-6 zones (but not R-1), count sleeping units as one-quarter of a dwelling unit for density, and relax parking requirements for SRO near major transit stops ¹.
• The supplied records do not establish the meeting's outcome. The ordinance text in the packet is dated for the Sept. 8 meeting but its signature and passage fields are blank, so whether Ordinance No. 25-0631 was adopted is not shown ¹.
• The available records do not establish the meeting's outcome.