Clyde Hill News: Residents attempt to limit multi-family housing, avoid ban on single-family zoning
Also: Clock ticking on forming HOAs; Council to choose from six applicants for council vacancy
Residents interested in limiting the development of duplexes and other multi-family housing in Clyde Hill and the other Points Communities have started organizing Homeowners Association (HOA) agreements ahead of a new state law coming into effect in July.
More information about this effort, below, along with an update about filling the recently vacated city council seat.
Also, ahead of the disclaimer, I want to emphasize that the goal of this newsletter is to provide a resident’s point of view on local news and issues and to make sure that information is accessible. I am not endorsing or sponsoring the effort described below, or making legal claims about its possible efficacy, or offering legal advice.
Disclaimer: while I am a councilmember on the Clyde Hill City Council, I write this newsletter in my capacity as an individual resident. Any opinions expressed are my own and not necessarily the position of the City. City information and references here are from public sources. I welcome email responses — and if the topic is about City business I will respond from my City email account.
Multi-family housing in Clyde Hill
Single-family housing is the only permitted use of residentially zoned land in Clyde Hill today. Duplexes and other higher-density housing are not currently permitted.
A single Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) on each property is permitted, under strict rules (link). An ADU is a “small, self-contained residential unit located on the same lot as an existing single-family home” (link).
“Suite of bills targeting the housing crisis“
The state legislature passed almost 20 new laws related to housing this session, according to KIRO news (link).
Among them is House Bill (HB) 1110. Starting in mid-July,
any city in Seattle’s suburbs, regardless of size, must allow at least duplexes throughout
once Gov. Jay Inslee signs the bill, according to the Seattle Times (link).
Exemptions: private agreements, not city code
The Times’ headline points out that some communities will be exempt from the ban on single-family zoning.
These communities, according to the article, will “continue to be enclaves of single-family homes even as surrounding areas open up to new development.”
The exemption involves homeowners associations (HOAs), or private agreements and contracts between homeowners regarding zoning rules (link).
The article cites a University of Washington law professor, who explains that private parties “can put restrictive covenants on their properties and you can’t have a law that comes in and wipes that out.”
Points residents consider HOAs
At a recent private local gathering, residents from Clyde Hill, Medina, Yarrow Point, Hunts Point, and Beaux Arts expressed interest in forming homeowners associations (HOAs) in order to restrict multi-family housing development in their neighborhoods ahead of the new state law.
They discussed their preference to keep their communities “single family housing only.” After hearing a state senator describe the complexity of a referendum to reverse House Bill 1110, residents focused on whether homeowners associations could deliver on what they wanted.
Clyde Hill currently has three HOAs: Mercia Heights, Aqua Vista, and Clyde Loch. Here is an excerpt from the Mercia Heights Homeowners Association Covenants that illustrates the restriction some residents are seeking:
If you’re a local resident interested in this effort, let me know and I will introduce you to the people working on this. (I am not publishing their contact information publicly out of respect for their privacy.)
(I will repeat my disclaimer from above that while I am a councilmember, I offer this newsletter in my capacity as a resident. The goal of this newsletter is to provide a resident’s point of view on local news and issues and to make sure that information is accessible — I am not endorsing or sponsoring this effort, or making legal claims about its possible efficacy, or offering legal advice.)
It’s complicated: contradictory indicators, a ticking clock, and a sordid past
As the Times article explains, it appears that HOAs exempt their communities from higher-density housing for now. At the same time, according to the article:
the Legislature has, both in the past and this year, passed other laws telling homeowner associations what they can and cannot do. A bill passed this year, awaiting Inslee’s signature, prohibits common interest communities from barring child care centers on their grounds.
It’s possible that HOAs will not protect communities from the ban on single-family zoning.
Another complication is timing (emphasis added):
The bill does explicitly bar homeowner associations from making new contracts or agreements to try to prohibit duplexes…. But it only applies to future agreements, those enacted after the law becomes effective. It is silent on preexisting agreements.
And, because the law is scheduled to go into effect in mid-July, there could still be about three months for enterprising homeowner associations to enact new restrictions to limit middle housing.
Finally, HOAs as well as CC&Rs (covenants, conditions, and restrictions) that describe what you can and can’t do with your home have some unsavory history.
In 1948, Clyde Hill properties that were subdivided for sale included this restriction:
“This property shall not be resold, leased, rented or occupied except to or by persons of the Aryan race.”
I wrote about this history last year on the 80th anniversary of the executive order resulting in the internment of Japanese-Americans during the Second World War (link).
Clearly some HOA terms and CC&Rs have not aged well.
Meeting to fill council vacancy
Monday night the city council will meet to appoint a replacement for Scott Moore, who resigned from City Council Position #2 last month after putting his house on the market.
The applicants for the vacant seat (as presented in the meeting packet here, link) are Lisa Slivka, Jared Wheeler, Cabot Dow, Steve Sinwell, Mark Kroese, and Ashley Eckel.
A seventh applicant withdrew ahead of the meeting.
Thanks for reading! Please forward and share with your friends and neighbors, and if you are not already getting this newsletter, subscribing is both easy and free.
Dean Hachamovitch