Design and Density (11/03/00)

"Washingtonians hate two things; sprawl and increased densities"
quote from R. Kline

Promoting compact living is one of the primary goal in Washington's GMA. We ask you the following questions:

1. Can "design" make a difference in introducing high density living to a neighborhood? If so, could you name a successful project in your neighborhood/city/county? In addition, do you know of any high density projects that patently failed from a design perspective?
[ response ]

2. Is good design, especially in infill projects, more costly for developers?
[ response ]

3. Are state/county regulations supportive of efforts to promote well designed infill projects?
[ response ]

P. Decker
City of Bellingham
Yes design can make a difference in introducing high density living to a neighborhood. In terms of local examples, we have several good examples and many not so good ones.
a) one good one is located in our Lettered Streets neighborhood just north of downtown
b) another is under construction immdiately adjacent to our downtown area and the Maritime Heritage Park
c) several higher density condominium and rental apartment developments are located along the Boulevard with views of Bellingham Bay.
Please contact Greg Aucutt, Marilyn Vogel, or Chris Koch in my office if you want more specific information about their location or how to contact their designers or developers.

J. Jimerson
Snohomish County
I would like to think so. When evaluating the trade-offs inherent in buying a house (e.g. longer commute for a bigger house and lot) the quality of design can certainly provide an amenity to be factored into the consumers' decision.

However, the benefits of owning a single family detached home provide tough competition for the love and admiration of home buyers. The financial and emotional rewards of owning a detached home are strong. The rewards for living in multi-family housing are not.

Please consider the effect of the design (and availability) of the public realm on consumers housing choice. If there are well designed public gathering spaces in the immediate vicinity of the dense housing, will people be more willing to reduce the amount of land and floor space they consume for the opportunity to better connect with neighbors? Will providing an accessible and attractive forum for social contact reduce this need we seem to have to hide away in our homes? Further Reading: Richard Sennett and Ray Oldenberg .

I'm not sure how "success" is defined in this context - is it a well designed project or is it a project so well designed that it convinced someone to move in who otherwise would want to go the traditional home ownership route?

No, I am not aware of any projects I would offer as a model of good density in Snohomish County.

Again, I'm not sure what to fail means. If it means projects that are poorly designed the answer is yes, there are many examples that I would consider poorly designed. If it is meant that good design has failed to attract residents, I don't know of any.

K. Vinish
City of Snohomish
Before I can answer you question I need to have your definition of "high density". The lowest density in our City is minimum lot size of 7,200 sq. ft. up to 28 units per acre. Rarely are developers willing to maximize density due to the challenges involved in supplying parking, landscaping and other necessities. We did have a recent Planned Residential Development, known as Casino Royale and the development is a good example of good intention yet poor execution. Many changes to our development code have been put in place due to the failure of this development. While I can't give you a list of all of the reasons for the poor quality a couple are worth mentioning. First, the City did not require design of the homes to be a part of the PRD approval process (this has since changed). This resulted in one of the builders orienting homes toward the alley rather than the street. When asked why he couldn't put the garage in back and orient the home toward the street he replied, "We have one house plan, we have been using for years, and it works great for us." Second, the open space component of the project was undeveloped and should have at least included something as simple as grass to soften what later became a dumping ground for the builders. This type of development could never occur again, but it is a good example of the need for constant vigilance on keeping zoning codes up to date.

On a more positive note, recently we updated our bulk regulations for the Mixed Use zone and the comments from our Planning Commission (and later City Council) may be of interest to you. They listed four topics that were paramount for our City: 1.) High quality design; 2) Quality landscaping; 3) Adequate parking; 4) Maximum height of 45 feet. Density was not really an issue, in fact the Planning Commission was willing to have no maximum density if the four items mentioned were adequately addressed.

J. Hill
Pierce County
Indeed! It is a Planned Community Development by the Weyerhauser Corp. known as Northwest Landing. Do you know of any high density projects that patently failed from a design perspective? Comment: Not much fails patently when the price finally meets the design. Remember! "If you build it, they will come."

D. Erickson
City of Renton
Christine, the City of Renton has a number of small lot developments that have resulted in increased densities that the market for new housing has accepted very well. One of our first, Village on Union (NE 6th Street and Union Avenue N) achieved a density of 13.32 du/ac using small lot development. The site of 13.5 acres with 2.8 acres of permanent open space. The are 92 homes, 83 of which are detached. Lot sizes for detached units varied between 3,060 s.f. each to 6,000 s.f. each. Lot size for attached units varied from 1,800 s.f. each to 2,700 s.f. each. Another nearby small lot development is Cherry Wood by Northward which included 63 detached cottages and traditional homes on small lots. It achieved a net density of approximately 8.5 du/ac. Across Duvall Avenue NE> to the east "Blueberry" by the same developer, is a collection of attached townhomes on 9.17 acres. It achieved a density of 6.5 du/ac. Peach Tree across the street at NE 6th Street and Bremerton Avenue NE consists of attached duplex, triples and fourplex townhomes at approximately 11 du/ac. We are also looking at new medium density neighborhoods in our South Downtown area with densities in the 25 to 65 du/ac range.

The City also adopted design guidelines for higher density multi-family in its urban centers which we are using now in our downtown, which is undergoing a renaissance with a new transit center, urban plaza, and more than 400 units of new housing over commercial.

We believe higher densities can be achieved and will be accepted in the community if properly sited and good design is provided. The key is being neighborly.

R. Lewandowski
City of Redmond
Design makes a huge difference in community acceptability of density. A case in point is the YWCA family village in Downtown Redmond, designed by Michael Pyatok. This is probably the most popular multifamily project in the city, and is transitional (homeless) housing. Because of the good experience with this project, we were able to site another transitional housing project in the city, with community support. Other projects that are popular in Redmond because of their design are LionsGate, a mixed use project with live/work units, and two other Trammel Crow mixed use projects downtown. These are not very dense, e.g. less than 50 d.u./acre, but getting there for our downtown.

Some of the "dense" projects that are failures? Look at the U district, on 25th just north of U Village or on Brooklyn or 11th or Roosevest for some hideous 60's and 70's projects that give multifamily a bad name. Who would want those in their city? There are also some good examples, like that Spanish style project or the Caledonia, but very few.

G. Mabley
City of Puyallyup
GENERAL COMMENTS
1. Good design is crucial to a projects' function and appearance, particularly for small lot infill.
2. Very seldom can good design be legislated, and usually involves someone with a strong understanding of design. It is possible to have a design, which meets the letter of the law, but which functions poorly or is out of character with the surrounding area.
3. Unfortunately, my experience has been the neighbors are more concerned about the type of occupancy (renter vs. owner) than necessarily good design. An applicant can proposed a well designed project, but the neighbors can't get past the fact it will be occupied by renters, even though most of us have lived in rental units at some point in our lives by choice or economic conditions.
4. To gain an appreciation and understanding of the functional aspects and inherent benefits of various design characteristics, I recommend reviewing the publication "The Hidden Design In Land Use Ordinances" by Paula M. Craighead (March 1991), published by the University of Southern Maine and available through the APA Bookstore.

Design can make a huge difference in terms of interface and compatibility with the existing neighborhood. I processed a small (20-unit) 2-story condominium project adjacent to a one-story single-family neighborhood. By proper orientation of the windows, landscape treatment, and private & common openspace, the developer was able to address the concern about infringement on privacy in the neighboring backyards. Unfortunately, poorly-designed high density projects are "a dime a dozen".

M. Pywell
City of Issaquah
"Good design" can help sell a project anywhere but it is essential when dealing with high density projects. The flaws with poor design work quickly become evident and are more expensive and more difficult to deal with once a project is constructed then in the design phase of a project. A good example of a "High Density" A good example would be the Highlands development in Issaquah. For further information you should contact Keith Niven, Project Manager, at 425-837-3430. For the most part this has been a very successful project but a few flaws have shown up in the details of building out the project.

S. Croft
City of Spokane
See the graphic below. These two "houses" accomodate the equivalent of 44 dwelling units per acre, with all the required parking on site. This is a picture taken by Mark Hinshaw. Contact Mark for the name of the developer. The project is on the west side somewhere, I believe.

R. Hough
City of Lynnwood
We should be careful in tossing around such terms as "high density" without a clear definition. The City of Lynnwood doesn't even have a High Density designation in its Comprehensive Plan and its "Medium Density" designation allows up to 20 units per acre. In some communities that have virtually no multi-family development, a density of 10 units per acre might be considered "high". Back to the question . . . Yes, design is critically important and often determines how well a new higher density development will be accepted into a community. Some of today's high quality well-designed developments suffer from old perceptions of density, based on poorly-designed projects that were built decades ago and that either failed or remain as obviously bad examples. There are some very good examples of higher-density housing projects. I like these:

Amberleigh in Mill Creek [attached SFRs at 8.5 DU/ac. on 4,000 sq.ft. lot]
Savannah in Bellevue [clustered SFRs on small lots. Theme design]
Northwest Landing in DuPont [neo-traditional community, etc.]
Lions Gate in Redmond [high density with mixed use at street level)
G. Fewins
City of Federal Way
I believe design can make a big difference in an existing neighborhood's acceptance of high density development as infill. Can't think of any good examples or failures in Federal Way since incorporation in 1990. You might check into some of the infill subdivisions in Sumner, Dupont and Poulsbo.

M. Blackman
City of Tacoma
Apartment infill project on Oakes south of 6th Avenue has enhanced pedestrian presence on 6th Avenue.

Several other projects on 6th Avenue that are retrofits with apartments above and retail below (between Oakes and State Streets) have added to a revitalizing older business district with enhanced pedestrian presence on 6th Avenue.

There is also the business district at 26th and Proctor that has a building with a good design (NW corner of 26th and Proctor) because it is inviting to pedestrians at street level and structurally provides for a mix of uses with offices above and a consumer retail orientation below (in a district with residents living nearby).

Do you know of any high density projects that patently failed from a design perspective?

No, but we don't have too much in terms of recent high density projects. If a project is too isolated from other residences, arterials, or shopping places, I would think it can readily be a failure.

P. Decker
City of Bellingham
Yes I do believe good design is more costly, whether in terms of infill or not. Attention to detail and site-specific conditions is key and tends to be more costly than designs developed without regard to their location. Good design may not end up being more costly to developers, because I believe there is a market for urban housing that is willing to pay more for better design. We are just beginning to see multifamily development marketed to that segment of the population. Part of the reason we are seeing it is that Bellingham adopted a Multi-family Tax Exemption Program for areas in and around our downtown area. This program provides for a 10 year property tax exemption for qualified projects and requires designs that are compatible with neighboring architecture and that address livability and safety of residents in and around the development. We are also in the midst of adopting Multi-family Design Guidelines that will be applied to all new multi-family developmnt projects.

J. Jimerson
Snohomish County
It is my perception that more money is not a pre-requisite to meeting the basic elements of good design, but obviously, more money can certainly increase the degree of amenity in the design. If the idea is to encourage more people to accept higher density, then it may be that more money would need to be spent on amenity.

K. Vinish
City of Snohomish
We have not found good design to be more costly. In most cases it is a matter of attention to detail - fitting the development into the community rather than using a "stock" plan (e.g. Rite Aid). One architect in our town, who works part time, produces some of the finest new construction around and her compensation is very competitive with other design firms that are more costly and have little sensitivity to neighborhood compatibility.

J. Hill
Pierce County
Infill is largely dependent on size and location. When designed to surrounding constraints, is always considered more expensive when the total project cost is calculated.

R. Lewandowski
City of Redmond
Good design is slightly more costly. For example, it costs 10% of project costs to hire an architect -- using architects instead of engineers in building design was not the standard approach 10 years ago. Also, modulation, better window treatments, and better materials on the outside do raise costs. These can be offset by allowing more units, which we could encourage by regulating via FAR rather than density. Under this approach, the builder could include two 500 square foot units, still get $1.50/square foot, and still keep it affordable to a big percent of the market. When we regulate by density, it tends to force larger units, which are affordable to fewer households at the same square footage rent, over a larger unit.

G. Mabley
City of Puyallyup
Good design does not have to cost the developer more money. The simple orientation of a structure towards existing amenities or views can actually increase the profit return for a developer. Good design could result in a reduction in the initial capital costs for infrastructure, and long term benefits from reduced future maintenance and/or replacement costs. I have also seen instances where initial upfront costs for building design & layout, native vegetation retention, etc. have produced long term profits in terms of lower vacancy rates, higher rental or sale prices, lower turnover, and/or above market increases in resale prices.

M. Pywell
City of Issaquah
There is some more expense involved with designing a good project in that you have to pay staff to keep working a better or improved design solution rather than accepting the first one that comes along. But in the long run good design pays for itself so Planners reviewing development plans should not always accept the first design solution that is proposed to them but in many instances it helps to keep working with the developer to improve the project both in appearance and how it will function.

R. Hough
City of Lynnwood
Not an easy question. Some developers will tell you that the design features and amenities that are sometimes required of them will add to their costs and be passed along to the buyers and they may argue that those "requirements" don't necessarily result in "good design". Example: Redmond required a new REI store to include an abundance of exterior windows. A similar store in Lynnwood has very few. Both buildings are relatively attractive but one was more expensive to build and maintain. Whether or not one is a better design than the other may be a matter of local preference, or possibly influenced by its location (site). The other side of the coin is that good design saves money in the long run because it produces a better product that is more efficient, more desirable, more attractive, can demand a higher price (or rent) and will last longer.

G. Fewins
City of Federal Way
Good design can be more expensive to construct. However it appears that costs are recoverable based on creating desirable neighborhoods- people seem to willing to pay a premium for quality design. The added expense of some design elements may strain affordable housing opportunities. Some design costs may be offset by increased density in bonus types situations. However housing and improvements don't have to look bad to be affordable.

M. Blackman
City of Tacoma
Not necessarily. It can be but doesn't have to be. It takes more forethought. On the other hand, bad design can be especially costly to developers because more change orders and retrofits are costly to them.

P. Decker
City of Bellingham
I believe state regulations are supportive (the program we adopted was enabled through state legislation). The county has no direct influence over city regulations. City regulations can be applied to development in the City Urban Growth Area through conditions/requirements for those property owners requesting extension of utilities outside city limits. We also work cooperatively with the county on identifying mechanisms for achieving densities to provide housing to support anticipated population growth, consistent with State Growth Management Act goals.

J. Jimerson
Snohomish County
Is the emphasis on "well-designed" or on "infill projects?" Regarding the former, typical zoning regulations (setbacks, parking requirements) can adversely affect a developer's ability to do a good job in design. It seems to me there was a PAS report or book a few years back on the hidden design ramifications of our zoning laws.

If the emphasis is on "in-fill", that becomes a more complex question, in which issues such as hazardous wastes, public participation and concurrency rules can create difficulties in building a project (whether well or poorly designed). One expressed concern with concurrency is that it will prematurely pressure development to the urban fringes where the streets are not yet congested, thus leaving the infill properties untouched.

If the emphasis is on "in-fill", that becomes a more complex question, in which issues such as hazardous wastes, public participation and concurrency rules can create difficulties in building a project (whether well or poorly designed). One expressed concern with concurrency is that it will prematurely pressure development to the urban fringes where the streets are not yet congested, thus leaving the infill properties untouched.

K. Vinish
City of Snohomish
Ironically the Building Code creates circumstances where a strict interpretation of the code would lead to poor quality in design. For example the separation requirements for buildings adjacent to the street or property lines would require architects to produce some very odd buildings if the local building dept. strictly interprets the code. Even the Fire Code can lead to poor design. Our Fire Official frequently laments about buildings up against the sidewalk, she is worried that in case of fire, folks on the ground will be in harms way.

R. Lewandowski
City of Redmond
The most supportive actions the state or county could do would be to help with infrastructure planning, funding, and transit, which they are not doing much in the suburbs. Tacoma is proposing a new law that would allow cities to keep the state portion of the sales tax (the 7%) to use to pay for infrastructure for specified redevelopment efforts. That would help a lot, since most of our infill sites are on outdates water and sewer systems, and non-existant stormwater management systems, so the cost of upgrading discourages infill, even in a hot market like we have now.

G. Mabley
City of Puyallyup
Yes and No. This is a complex issue. For example, while regulations may require the retention and incorporation of significant natural features into the project design, they don't require the developer to take advantage of the retained natural features. While Growth Management is requiring higher densities in urban growth areas, it may result in a loss of non-density producing open space and natural features, which can be crucial to the character of the community. A prime example are some of the views of suburban residential development from Hwy. 1 near Vancouver, BC, where the hillsides and skylines are covered with multistory development so dense the natural features and vegetation appear non-existent. As noted above, it is difficult to legislate good design.

M. Pywell
City of Issaquah
For the most part County and State regulations are written to broadly to promote or deny "good design". It is up to the local jurisdiction to work within the general guidelines and establish their own criteria for what is "good design". The term can mean different things in different communities so a one size fits all approach at the State level will not work.

R. Hough
City of Lynnwood
Some are and some aren't supportive of infill. Older regs. are generally not designed to deal with the unusual situations that often accompany infill projects. When the flexibility is not built into the regs., the applicant has to resort to special exceptions, variances, or a final product of lesser quality. Many communities are very cautious about infill development, especially in residential neighborhoods. They want the newer infill project to blend in and be of similar design, quality and density. This is achievable, of course, through sensitive design. However, more often than not, the infill lot is bought by a developer with a stock plan in his back pocket that has nothing in common with the neighborhood, but it "pencils out" and gets built. In our community, for example, the stock plan will build a two-story 3-bedroom, 3-bath home, with a two car garage on an 8,500 sq.ft. lot that will sell for $247,995. Our code does not include any design guidelines for single-family dwellings, nor any requirements that their design is compatible with the surrounding neighborhood. Thus, it's open season on infill lots.

G. Fewins
City of Federal Way
I can't think of any state requirements that mandate good design. To the contrary, I can't think of any state requirements that discourage good design. I believe the state has left design to local choice. Federal Way codes actually establish commercial and residential design requirements for both site and architectural improvements.

M. Blackman
City of Tacoma
At the county level the regulations are not as supportive as they could be to promote well designed infill projects. The county has been slow to take a design supportive orientation or an orientation that supports urban infil. Their development standards tend to follow a more traditionally suburban model.