The Snoqualmie City Council unanimously approved adopting an ordinance that amended the zoning map in downtown Snoqualmie, while adding design guidelines and increasing density and home elevation regulations in certain areas on Monday, Feb. 23. Councilmembers Chelley Patterson and Heather Munden were absent for the vote.

Nicole Sanders, who inherited the zoning ordinance plan from the former planning director Nancy Tucker, said the changes apply to only two zones in the downtown Snoqualmie area. Owners of homes that are already built have no need to call their contractors.

“We have a beautiful downtown historic district, which includes some really good quality housing and some that could maybe use a little upkeep,” Sanders explained. “So, we updated the city comprehensive plan recently, which talked about increasing development in small areas within walking distance of downtown. This ordinance helps bring that closer to reality, incentivizing some landowners to potentially redevelop while keeping with downtown’s historic look.”

The ordinance took effect March 3 and affects zones R-1-10 and R-2. Zone R-1-10 was deemed a single-family district with a minimum lot size of 10,000 square feet; 80 percent of these lots must meet the minimum. R-2 is now a two-and-three family district with a 6,000-square-foot minimum lot size, which increased density in the downtown area, allowing construction of duplexes, triplexes and quadruplexes.

Zone R-2 also calls for a new base-flood elevation of three feet (which is above the 100-year base flood elevation) instead of the former one-foot rule.

The R-2 zone consists of 26 parcels, legal lots developers can build on, along 384th Avenue Southeast, and between Cedar and River Streets. R-1-10 consists of angular lots split between 384th Avenue Southeast just south of Southeast 86th Place, and between Southeast 90th and Southeast 88th Streets on the west side of Railroad Avenue.

The ordinance is “basically a change to the downtown zoning,” Sanders said. “Aside from commercial areas, most of downtown was zoned constrained residential before, partially because all of downtown is in the floodplain or floodway. Originally it was a way to keep development at a level that allowed people to continue living in the downtown area, but that also respected the power of the river.”

The city worked with the architecture and design firm Makers, in Seattle, to establish fresh design guidelines to preserve the features of the historic downtown area and encourage community interaction. Examples are the new trim-and-gutter color guidelines and the revamped base-stoop height regulations that, “encourage social interaction while still maintaining privacy.”

“In many downtown areas, you definitely see a lot of modern developments,” Sanders said. “Which is fine, but when you have a historic zone that’s attracting people based on that feel and celebrating local heritage, you don’t want anything detracting from that and negatively impacting the neighborhood character…

“That’s one area where I think the (Snoqualmie) Ridge has really succeeded,” she said. “A lot of its design standards have resulted in people just knowing their neighbors more. We want to maintain that community feeling in the downtown area too.”