Committee OKs backyard cottages
SEATTLE — The Seattle City Council's land-use committee voted to allow development of backyard cottages in single-family zones across Seattle.
For more than a decade city officials have debated the issue. In 2006, the city began allowing cottage construction in Southeast Seattle. Eighty-three percent of area neighbors supported the experiment, according to a 2008 city survey.
Under the recommended legislation, which goes before the full council on Nov. 2, an unlimited number of cottages could be built citywide. Owners would have to live on site. Cottages could not be more than 800 square feet, and in most instances could not be more than 22 feet tall.
The committee initially proposed capping the number of cottages that could be built in a year at 50. Most committee members, however, do not expect a crush of cottage development, so pulled that cap from the bill.
