Kenmore Council took up STEP housing zoning ordinance 26-0642 on July 20

What the records say

The July 20, 2026 City Council agenda placed adoption of Ordinance 26-0642 on the consent agenda, with a motion to adopt the STEP Housing Regulations ¹. The accompanying agenda bill and Exhibit A detail the proposed changes: permanent supportive housing and transitional housing would become permitted uses in zones where residential uses are allowed, including R-1 through R-24 residential zones, manufactured housing community, neighborhood and community business, downtown residential and commercial, urban residential and corridor, waterfront and regional business, TOD overlay, and limited areas of the public/semi-public zone ¹. Emergency housing and emergency shelters would become permitted uses in zones where hotels are allowed, including downtown commercial, urban corridor, waterfront commercial, regional business, urban residential, and the TOD overlay ¹. STEP housing projects would be reviewed as a Type 1 administrative process (decision by the Development Services Director, no administrative appeal), rising to Type 2 if the project also involves a short plat, variance, conditional use permit, shoreline permit, site plan, or critical area modification ¹. The ordinance would also add certification requirements for indoor emergency shelters and emergency housing, and allow the City to contract with sponsors on health and safety requirements where it has a stated interest ¹. The ordinance text states it would take effect five days after publication ¹. The supplied records do not establish the outcome of the July 20 vote on Ordinance 26-0642; the ordinance's adoption-date block is blank in the packet ¹.

• The July 20, 2026 agenda listed adoption of Ordinance 26-0642 (STEP Housing Regulations) on the consent agenda, with a motion to adopt ¹.
• The ordinance would add permanent supportive housing and transitional housing as permitted uses in zones where residential uses are allowed, spanning residential, business, downtown, waterfront, TOD overlay, and limited public/semi-public zones ¹.
• Emergency housing and emergency shelters would become permitted uses in zones where hotels are allowed, including downtown commercial, urban corridor, waterfront commercial, regional business, urban residential, and the TOD overlay ¹.
• STEP housing projects would be reviewed as a Type 1 administrative process with no administrative appeal, or Type 2 (appealable to the Hearing Examiner) if combined with a short plat, variance, conditional use permit, shoreline permit, site plan, or critical area modification ¹.
• The agenda bill notes the draft was revised after the July 13, 2026 public hearing to address scriveners errors and formatting; the agenda lists the bill and attachments as updated 7/17 ¹.
• The supplied records do not establish the outcome of the July 20 vote on Ordinance 26-0642; its adoption-date block is blank in the packet ¹.

Why it matters

These are zoning use tables, so the ordinance would determine whether emergency shelter, transitional housing, emergency housing, and permanent supportive housing can be located in Kenmore's residential and commercial zones, and by what permitting process ¹. The packet shows the changes stem from state law requirements (HB 1220 and ESHB 2266) that cities not prohibit transitional or permanent supportive housing in zones allowing residential units, and not prohibit indoor emergency shelters or housing in zones allowing hotels ¹. Residents can read the specific zone-by-zone changes in Exhibit A of the agenda packet ¹.

What changed / what's next

• Ordinance 26-0642 was scheduled for adoption on the July 20, 2026 consent agenda, with the agenda bill and attachments updated July 17 ¹.
• The draft ordinance would amend Kenmore Municipal Code Titles 18 and 19 to permit STEP housing types across most zoning districts and set a Type 1 administrative review process ¹.
• The packet does not show whether the Council adopted Ordinance 26-0642 on July 20; the ordinance's adoption-date block is blank ¹.
• If adopted, the ordinance takes effect five days after publication in the City's official newspaper; the packet does not show a publication date ¹.
• The agenda bill notes prior Council actions on the STEP regulations, including a 4-3 motion on May 11, 2026 striking good neighbor agreement language and a 5-2 motion on the review process for projects over 100 units ¹.
• The available records do not establish the meeting's outcome.