The County has areas specifically designated for apartment-style and higher density multi-unit housing near transit and services. CDC standards, when combined together, can make it harder to build the amount of housing these areas were meant for. This can mean fewer homes and higher costs.
Density limits are complicated and unclear. The number of homes allowed depends on multiple overlapping factors and aren’t consistently applied, making it hard to know how much housing can be built on a given site.
Lot coverage limits, setbacks, and landscaping requirements limit buildable space. Buildings can occupy less than half of the lot, setbacks double once a building exceeds 35 feet tall, and landscaping and open space requirements shrink the area available for homes – all working against taller and denser buildings these areas are meant to encourage.
Height step-downs push buildings away from property edges. Near district boundaries, building heights must be reduced, which reduces the buildable area and limits how many homes can fit on a site.
Bicycle parking requirements may be higher than needed. Requiring more bicycle parking than what residents actually need uses up space that could otherwise be used for additional homes.
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