SEATTLE — The Seattle City Council on Tuesday approved lifting restrictions on congregate residences in the city following a change in state law.
Congregate residences, also known as co-living spaces or micro-apartments, include individual sleeping rooms that can lock but share common spaces such as kitchens and bathrooms.
In 2014, the Seattle City Council passed an ordinance placing restrictions on the type of residence. The ordinance specified apartment units couldn't be less than 220 square feet and included bathroom and food preparation requirements. It also limited where the type of units could be built.
A council memo cited a 2021 study that showed permitting for the construction of these types of units dropped because of the ordinance, after a short boom and amid an affordable housing shortage.
Earlier this year, the Washington State Legislature passed House Bill 1998, which required cities to allow micro-apartments in any urban growth area by 2025, in a move to address the affordable housing shortage.
On Tuesday, the council lifted the restrictions placed in 2014 and updated the ordinance language to align with the state law. Now, congregate residences can be permitted in all multi-family zones throughout the city, including in low-rise zones where they were prohibited.
