Existing Housing Goals and Policies

To provide fair and equal access to housing for all persons regardless of race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, age, national origin, family status, source of income or disability.

To provide a range of housing types to ensure an adequate choice of living accommodations for those desiring to live in Stanwood.

To ensure strong, stable residential neighborhoods through public investment in infrastructure and in preserving existing housing units.

Encourage the use of affordable housing techniques and incentives to assure housing opportunities for people of all incomes, ages, and assistance needs.

Encourage housing opportunities for those with housing assistance needs through the use of available regional and federal funding programs.

Disperse small scale special needs housing throughout the residential neighborhoods. Special needs housing provides living arrangements for those with physical, mental, or emotional disabilities where appropriate.

Accept and plan for Stanwood’s “fair share” of the County’s affordable housing needs as determined by the Snohomish County Tomorrow planning process.

Utilize appropriate zoning techniques, including density bonuses for affordable housing, in order to meet the City’s “fair share” of affordable housing goals.

Treat residential structures that provide group homes for children and that meet the definition of “familial status” the same as other residential structures.

Encourage the development of a full range of housing types to meet the needs of all citizens of Stanwood. 

Balance the housing needs of the entire community when determining development regulations. 

Encourage single and multi-family housing close to transportation facilities, public services, and employment centers. 

Encourage the development of townhouses or other housing types, utilizing Planned Residential Developments (PRDs) in various areas to promote affordable housing. 

Allow manufactured housing in all residential zones, subject to City development regulations.

Allow qualified senior citizen housing developments, which may include housing for disabled persons, to exceed the maximum zoned density requirements in specified areas. 

Support opportunities to accommodate home buyers and renters with varying income levels.

Encourage a balance of percentages of housing availability for low, moderate, and high income residents.

Locate residential development within the existing sewer service area and phase it into the projected wastewater service areas as shown in the City Wastewater Facilities Plan.

Rely on community input, the vision and values for Stanwood, and the assessed future housing needs to make changes in residential densities. Base recommended changes on:

Maintain quality of residential neighborhoods when providing a mix of housing types and densities. 

On lots where feasible, allow single-family homes to have accessory units or “mother-in-law apartments” where zoning requirements can be met. Discourage use in areas where on-street parking congestion and other safety factors would cause problems. 

Allow mixed residential densities in subdivisions and planned developments where traditional neighborhood goals, designs, and amenities can be achieved for a variety of housing types and densities.

Allow the use of larger lots in areas where there is a demand for larger, more expensive homes and transit service is not as accessible. 

Promote the use of large lot development away from the center of the business district.

Develop incentives to encourage property owners to retain and rehabilitate existing or older housing stock. 

Encourage innovative rehabilitation measures such as adaptive reuse of dilapidated residential structures, and where appropriate, adaptive reuse of commercial buildings for residential purposes.

Continue to seek Community Development Block Grants (CDBG) and other funds in order to continue investments in older neighborhoods.

Involve the Housing Authority of Snohomish County, Snohomish County’s Office of Housing and Community Development, and other service providers in various housing programs. 

Encourage the preservation of the exterior of older housing that is being converted to multi-family units.

Ensure services for new housing developments are in place concurrently with the occupancy of the structures.

Allow for clustering and smaller lot sizes in return for protection and rehabilitation of sensitive areas.

Require the provision of open space and recreational amenities in new developments to serve those developments. 

Create a fee-in-lieu-of program to allow residential developments to pay a fee rather than provide small, non-utilized recreation areas.