Chewelah faces a variety of housing issues, which the city’s adopted Housing Action Plan provides strategies to address. Most of the strategies identified in the plan involve updates to existing development regulations (code updates). With grant funding support from the Washington State Department of Commerce, the city seeks to implement several code update strategies identified by the plan with the intent to:

  • Increase the supply and variety of housing types

  • Reduce displacement of low-income residents

  • Ensure affordable opportunities for residents at varying income levels

  • Create homeownership opportunities

  • Support aging in place.

Update Strategies Overview

Development regulations can make or break housing production and supply specifically related to zoning, which regulates permitted uses. Zoning determines where and what can be built, including housing density, size, and type.

The City of Chewelah 2023 Housing Action Plan contains a housing needs assessment, an analysis of existing housing policies and regulations, and stakeholder and community engagement results. Based on the plan’s findings, the following list is an overview of updates that may be considered during this effort:

  • Reduce parking minimums where warranted and consider eliminating them within the downtown.

  • Increase allowable density and adjust other development standards to make building more variety of housing types, including multi-family, more feasible.

  • Add cottage housing, townhomes, and other innovative housing types to the use chart and permit where appropriate.

  • Update the development regulations and create accompanying graphics for simplicity and usability.

  • Permit infill housing development where appropriate.

  • Update zoning code to accommodate permanent supportive housing, transitional housing, indoor emergency shelters, and indoor emergency housing, per recent state legislation.

  • Consider revising sidewalk requirements when subdividing to better meet the city's needs while providing flexibility for new development.

  • Streamline permitting for wetland buffer reductions and mitigation strategies.

These updates will require careful consideration by the City’s Code Committee, Staff, the City Council, and the broader community. This site will be updated as meetings and engagement opportunities are scheduled. Interested stakeholders and community members may also reach out at any time via the “Get in Touch” button above.