The Seattle City Council has recently made a significant decision to lift restrictions on micro-apartments in the city. These types of residences, also known as congregate residences or co-living spaces, consist of individual sleeping rooms that share common areas like bathrooms and kitchens. According to the Puget Sound Business Journal, Mayor Bruce Harrell and the council have taken this step in order to address the ongoing housing affordability crisis.
This move comes after a decade ago when minimum unit sizes were imposed on mini-units along with other requirements by the City Council. However, now these restrictions have been lifted as part of efforts to support affordable residential developments for workers. This is just one among many steps taken by city officials towards addressing this pressing issue.
With these changes in place, congregate residences can now be permitted in all multi-family zones throughout Seattle – even those low-rise zones where they were previously prohibited from being built. In addition to this decision by local authorities, it is worth noting that state regulations will require cities across Washington State’s urban growth areas (UGAs)to allow micro-apartments before 2025 ends.
In summary: The Seattle City Council has approved lifting restrictions on micro-apartments or congregate residences which include individual sleeping rooms sharing common spaces such as bathrooms and kitchens.This was done with an aim towards addressing housing affordability issues.In addition,the state will soon require all cities within its urban growth areas (UGAs)to permit construction of such units before 2025 ends.
