Chapter 18.30
“RH” (RESIDENTIAL, HIGH DENSITY) DISTRICT

Sections:

18.30.010    Purpose.

18.30.020    Permitted uses.

18.30.030    Additional uses.

18.30.040    Development standards.

18.30.990    Severability.

18.30.010 Purpose.

The purpose of the RH district is to establish areas for multiple-family residential buildings and promote a suitable residential environment. The district is a transitional area between commercial and low and medium density residential areas. (Ord. 1917 § 1 (part), 1997).

18.30.020 Permitted uses.

The following uses are the only uses permitted in an RH district:

A.    Residential buildings with a minimum of three dwelling units per lot;

B.    Rooming and boarding houses (18.60.120 and 18.75.050);

C.    Nursing homes, homes for the aged;

D.    Family day care homes (18.60.190); and

E.    Accessory uses and structures related to a permitted use. (Ord. 2215 § 1, 2001: Ord. 1917 § 1 (part), 1997).

18.30.030 Additional uses.

The following uses require a permit in accord with Chapter 18.75:

A.    Public and quasi-public uses (18.75.050);

B.    Mini-storage units for the storage of personal effects normally associated with a dwelling unit (no commercial or industrial merchandise or equipment) (18.75.050);

C.    Home occupations (18.75.060);

D.    Bed and breakfast operations (18.60.240 and 18.75.050); and

E.    Nursery schools and day care centers (18.60.060 and 18.75.050). (Ord. 2215 § 2, 2001: Ord. 1917 § 1 (part), 1997).

18.30.040 Development standards.

Development standards for residential, high density (RH) districts are as follows:

A.    Minimum lot area: six thousand square feet required for the first unit, and one thousand five hundred square feet for each additional unit. The minimum number of dwelling units is three per lot.

B.    Minimum lot width: sixty feet.

C.    Setbacks: street frontage, twenty feet; sides, five feet and ten feet on the garage side; rear, twenty feet.

D.    Building height: thirty-five feet. Approval of a conditional use in accord with Chapter 18.75 is required for any structure higher than thirty-five feet. In developments with three or more dwelling units, the administrator may limit the building height to one story pursuant to subsection G of this section.

E.    Off-Street Parking. Off-street parking shall be provided in accordance with Chapter 18.63.

F.    Signs. Signs must conform to Chapter 18.72.

G.    Site Review. Site review, in accord with Chapter 18.75, will be required for developments having three or more units per parcel and in addition to the provisions of Chapter 18.75 a site plan shall be submitted which shows the scale and location of all buildings, parking areas, driveways, recreational facilities, building elevations, landscaping, screening and fencing. In addition to the provisions of Chapter 18.75, the administrator may require the following measures to mitigate the impact of development upon adjacent RR, RL, or RM districts in developments having three or more dwelling units per parcel: additional setbacks, buffers, fencing, screening, landscaping to conform with the character of adjacent districts; limiting building height to one story to conform with the character of the adjacent districts; and exterior architectural design to conform with the character of the adjacent districts.

H.    Solid Waste Receptacles. All solid waste receptacles must be surrounded on at least three sides by a minimum five-foot-high sight-obscuring fence or wall. Such enclosures and receptacles are not permitted within required street frontage areas.

I.    Each development must provide for usable common open space or a public park in an amount determined through review pursuant to Chapter 16.04. The city and developer may agree to a cash payment to the city in lieu of the provision for open space; provided, that such payment is sufficient for the city to construct or enhance a park elsewhere in the city. Any agreement between the city and the developer shall comply with RCW 82.02.020 as now codified or as hereafter amended. If the open common space is private, it must be concentrated in a large, homogenous, centrally located parcel designed to provide for active or passive recreation. Private common open space shall not include:

1.    Areas reserved for the exclusive use or benefit of individual property owners; and

2.    Dedicated vehicular and pedestrian right-of-way, easement or off-street parking areas. There must be adequate provisions for permanent retention and maintenance of such private common open space.

J.    The maximum permitted number of dwelling units for any development in the RH zoning district is determined by dividing the gross area of the parcel in square feet by forty-three thousand five hundred sixty square feet, multiplied by the allowed maximum density of fifteen. The closest or next lowest whole number is the permitted maximum number of lots. If the maximum density limitation would prevent a triplex from being built in the RH zoning district, on a lot which was legally existing at the time this section was enacted, then maximum density shall not apply to that lot, and a triplex may be constructed on such lot. (Ord. 2771 § 1, 2012: Ord. 2215 § 3, 2001: Ord. 1917 § 1 (part), 1997).

18.30.990 Severability.

Reserved. (Ord. 2771 § 2, 2012)