Lynnwood Reviews Eight Backyard Cottage Plans for Its First Pre-Approved DADU Catalog

Lynnwood, Washington, is getting close to opening a catalog of pre-approved backyard cottage plans. City planners are reviewing eight detached accessory dwelling unit (DADU) designs and aim to put the catalog in front of the public later this fall, My Edmonds News reported late last month.

The idea is simple: a homeowner picks a plan the city has already reviewed, and the building permit moves faster because much of the plan review is done.

What's in the catalog

Lynnwood put out a call for designs from May 20 to July 2 and got 23 plans back. The city's program page says staff contacted the designers picked for a second round of review in August, and every owner of a selected plan has to sign an agreement with the city before it is listed.

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Senior Planner Catherine Kato said all eight plans still in review are under 1,000 square feet. Some are one story and some are two. Some include a garage. Bedroom counts vary.

Why Lynnwood is doing it

Community Planning Manager Karl Almgren tied the program to state housing laws, House Bill 1337 on ADUs and HB 1110 on middle housing. "We get a lot of questions at the counter and people coming in not knowing where to start," he said.

Once the catalog is live, a homeowner will contact the plan's architect or designer to prepare the building permit and site plan. City reviewers will still check where the cottage sits on the lot and the other non-building pieces. "Overall, it will be able to go through the process at a slightly quicker rate," Almgren said.

What it costs

A pre-approved plan is not a fixed price. One Everett-area developer with a design in Everett's catalog said the design license alone runs roughly $1,000, and an architect still has to look at setbacks, trees, electrical service and water and sewer lines. A civil engineer and a soils engineer also visit the site. With all of that, he said, the total can go up to $450,000.

Edmonds is next door, and waiting

Edmonds launched its own pre-approved DADU program in late July but has no catalog yet because no designer has formally applied, permitting program manager Ted Corey said. Demand is there: "We see quite a few DADUs being permitted more every year since we've allowed them, especially since we allowed two on one lot," Corey said.

Mountlake Terrace does not have a program and is only in early talks. Everett published three pre-approved designs in late June, and one of them is also under review in Lynnwood.

What's next

Lynnwood has not set a launch date beyond "later this fall." When it opens, the catalog will sit on the city's planning pages alongside its regular backyard cottage permit rules.

Sources

• Where does South Snohomish County stand with pre-approved DADUs?, My Edmonds News
• Pre-Approved Accessory Dwelling Units (DADUs), City of Lynnwood