Packy and Kari Rieder - Your Local Real Estate Experts

Sometimes your “spring cleaning” turns into summer…and sometimes what was supposed to be your “weekend project” turns into 6:45 pm on a Wednesday. 🤷🏼‍♀️
•
The point is…home maintenance is important, no matter the timing! And pressure washing then re-staining your decks (especially in the Pacific Northwest with all of our rain!) needs to be done! Also… pressure washing is fun and satisfying… so bonus! You check a chore off your list AND you enjoy doing it! Next up, stain and paint once it all dries!
•
What project is on your list??
•

I was hoping after attending the class this morning regarding Pierce county (specifically Tacoma) and the future of ADU’s I’d have a clear opinion of where I stood with this topic. I don’t. As with most things in life, there are always pros and cons. And although I did get some insight and good knowledge, I also walked away with a lot of questions that I hope to have answers to soon!

I’d like to start with saying I see the need for additional housing, and the lack of resources we have to be able to create it. I see the vision with creating housing opportunities along with an income source for homeowners, but I feel like there are kinks to be worked out first.

First the kinks I see, and then go in to the good things. I see parking as a major obstacle. As of right now, they don’t have to offer any parking options if the ADU is within 1/2 a mile of public transit, which is fine. But, they don’t have a plan to increase parking anywhere within the city, which already has crowded streets to begin with. What about the sewage impact/environmental impact that the are still doing research on and didn’t have clear answers yet? There’s also questions about how transient housing changes they dynamics in current neighborhoods…

Now, the positives! Since Tacoma revised their policies to approve ADU’s in 2019, 341 permits have been issued! Compared to Renton, who has a similar program that also rolled out during the pandemic and has only issued 10 permits! This shows how much of a need housing is in our area!! Tacoma is trying to take this even further by implementing their “Home in Tacoma” program. This will change zoning from “single family” to either “low scale” or “medium scale.” This new zoning will allow hybrid housing to continue to grow (i.e. backyard cottages, multiplexes, row houses, etc). They are also trying to streamline the process by creating pre-approved ADU plans on record at the county that will be FREE of charge! My favorite price! Along with other incentives!

This is my cliffs notes version, and we would love to grab a cup of coffee or a glass of wine and talk more about this if you have questions!
•