Published June 2001

County approves tighter limits for PRDs

By Warren Cornwall
Herald Writer

A brand of development favored by builders seeking to fit a lot of houses on a few acres just got less favorable.

Last month, the Snohomish County Council capped more than two years of debate by approving tighter limits on planned residential developments, or PRDs, which have been a flash point between neighborhood activists and developers.

The reforms will mean nearly half the number of houses can be packed onto an acre of land, provide more green space for people to gather and ensure closer scrutiny of architectural designs, landscaping and street design.

“I think that the aesthetics will be much better,” said Councilwoman Barbara Cothern, the Bothell Democrat who was the council’s lead proponent of the changes.

But critics predict it will drive up housing prices and hurt efforts to concentrate growth in and around cities.

“What we have done here is added additional costs for the development community,” said Councilman Kirke Sievers, an Everett Democrat. “By passing this, we will not have affordable homes, period.”

Sievers joined Edmonds Republican Gary Nelson in voting against the reforms. They were consistently defeated in a series of 3-2 votes by Cothern and Democrats Dave Somers of Monroe and Mike Ashley of Silvana.

Among the changes approved:

• No more than seven homes per acre. In the past, an acre was space enough for 12 houses in some cases.
• A quarter of the development would need to be left as open space, with a third of that in one central spot in most cases.
• The developments can be done only on parcels of 5 acres or larger. Previously, there was no limit.
• A developer can no longer apply for approval of a project and a change in the land’s zoning at the same time. The zoning change, allowing more homes per acre, would have to go through a separate, lengthier process.

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