9. Housing
The Totem Lake Business District is a focus for employment, retail and health services that contains significant existing residential areas and offers opportunities to expand the housing supply. A central housing goal for the City is to increase housing opportunities while preserving neighborhood quality. Strong residential areas contribute to a sense of community, support retail and service activity, make the business district a more desirable business location and fulfill Citywide housing objectives.
This section provides policy direction regarding residential land uses in the Totem Lake Business District. Broad Citywide housing policies are found in the Housing Element (Chapter VII). These policies, while not repeated here, are applicable to the Totem Lake Business District.
Goal TL-19: Preserve existing multifamily residential areas and continue to expand housing opportunities in the Business District.
Policy TL-19.1: Preserve existing residential areas, while allowing greater densities where appropriate within the Urban Center.
West of I-405, established residential areas are primarily located north and south of NE 124th Street. East of I-405, residential areas are located in the vicinity of the Evergreen Health Medical Center, extending east to the eastern boundary of the Business District (see Figure TL-2). These established residential areas, with allowable densities ranging from 12 to 24 units per acre, should be retained and strengthened. Increases in residential densities in these areas may be appropriate since they are well served by transit.
Policy TL-19.2: Protect multifamily areas outside of the district’s core from potentially adverse impacts of nonresidential, commercial and office uses.
Some Totem Lake residential areas abut commercial or office uses and may be adversely impacted by these uses. Existing City regulations provide for protection of low-density residential areas from incompatible uses through landscape buffers, building height and location and other measures. To protect the multifamily areas in the Totem Lake Business District, similar measures should be provided for moderate and high-density residential areas.
Policy TL-19.3: Seek opportunities to expand housing in the Totem Lake Business District.
In the Totem Lake Business District, expanded housing opportunities are provided through high residential densities, including a minimum density of 50 units per acre within the district’s core. Mixed-use development is also encouraged within the core area. These measures provide for a significant amount of additional housing while preserving existing multifamily and single-family areas in and adjacent to the Totem Lake Business District.
Housing is also allowed and in some cases encouraged within some of the general commercial areas of the district. To encourage developers to choose to provide housing, an increase in height is allowed in some commercial areas when upper story residential use is provided. This incentive enables residential use to be included either in mixed-use projects, or in stand-alone developments where commercial use is not mandated as a ground floor use.
The areas listed below and shown in Figure TL-9 are “Housing Incentive Areas,” where residential use is allowed within the perimeter of an otherwise nonresidential area, or a greater building height is allowed for structures containing residential use:
1. Totem Lake West, north of NE 124th Street, west of 116th Avenue NE,
2. Properties east of 124th Avenue NE, north of NE 116th Street and west of Slater Avenue,
3. Properties east of 124th Avenue NE, south of NE 124th Street,
4. Properties south of NE 116th Street, west of the Cross Kirkland Corridor, and
5. Property north of NE 116th Street, south of NE 118th Street, and west of the Cross Kirkland Corridor.
Within these areas, properties north and south of NE 116th Street and west of I-405 (Incentive Areas 4 and 5 in Figure TL-9) should be allowed additional height only if residential uses are provided. As these areas are located near residential uses to the west, and are situated at the southeast gateway to the Totem Lake Business District, residential use in this area will provide an appropriate transition to the commercial areas to the east.
Another possible opportunity for expanded housing supply is through transit-oriented-development (TOD) at the Kingsgate Park and Ride, located in the northwest corner of the Totem Lake Business District. At this location, development of housing in conjunction with transit services, retail and commercial uses would provide additional housing supply, support transit usage, increase the possibility for greater affordability and contribute to activity in the district. The Kingsgate Park and Ride site, is owned by the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT). City representatives have initiated discussions with WSDOT representatives regarding the concept and they have indicated that the agency has no long-term plans for the site that might preclude its use for TOD. The City should continue discussions with WSDOT regarding the potential for TOD at this site.
Goal TL-20: Encourage housing that is affordable to the local workforce and meets diverse housing needs.
Policy TL-20.1:
Seek ways to expand development incentives, requirements and other measures to encourage development of affordable housing. 
Francis Village
Figure TL-9: Totem Lake Housing Incentive Areas
The Totem Lake Business District provides an important source of housing that is affordable to local service and office employees. Zoning and regulatory incentives help make housing more affordable to low to moderate income households. Additional incentives, such as bonus densities, public funding programs, public land donations, and development fee waivers, may also be needed to develop affordable housing projects. Similarly, partnerships with other public agencies and the private sector can introduce more diverse resources, which can help fund affordable housing. The assortment of affordability measures should be expanded to help support housing projects in the Totem Lake Business District.
Policy TL-20.2: Provide incentives that encourage variety in housing style, size and services.
The Totem Lake Business District provides a range of housing types, including ownership and rental multifamily housing, and senior and assisted housing. Regulations encourage continued variety in housing types, such as housing in mixed-use developments and housing oriented to use of transit facilities. Additional height is granted for residential use in many areas of Totem Lake. Incentives including reduced parking requirements and increases in the floor area allowed for housing should also be provided where appropriate.
Mixed-use housing is another housing option that can increase housing opportunity and add vitality to the business district. Incentives for mixed-use housing are provided in the core of the business district and in defined Housing Incentive Areas.