PORT TOWNSEND — Changes to Port Townsend’s zoning codes may give the port additional options for providing housing though no plans yet exist to do so.
Port of Port Townsend commissioners were briefed during a workshop on Wednesday on recent changes to city code that allow employer-provided housing as well as on tiny home communities the port may be able to utilize.
The City of Port Townsend recently updated its zoning code to increase the amount of what it’s been calling “tactical infill” housing, or adding more types of housing unit types to various city zones. The updated code allows for employers to provide housing in certain commercial and industrial zones through the use of a conditional-use permit.
Emma Bolin, the city’s director of planning and community development, told Port of Port Townsend commissioners on Wednesday that there are two kinds of allowable housing the port may be able to provide.
The first is housing in upper levels above a commercial space. Bolin said the city wanted to allow for employers to be able to provide housing for workers while still “making sure the intended use for these zones is not going to be diminished.”
The second kind of housing that may be available to the port, and which took up the bulk of the presentation, are new allowances for communities of tiny homes on wheels. Tiny homes on wheels, or THOWs, are built with stricter design and construction standards than traditional recreational vehicles or trailers but still must be roadworthy under state standards.
The city has its own standards for allowable THOWs, which include design elements such as gabled roofs and trim on windows and doors to ensure the homes fit in with the aesthetic of the community, Bolin said. The homes are also built with wooden frames similar to homes that make them more durable than RVs or trailers.
A THOW community must have at least four units and no more than 12, Bolin said, and include 200 square feet of common area for each unit.
The city code allows for employers to provide housing to their workers, but the Port of Port Townsend mainly leases land to businesses under fairly tight requirements, limiting them to boat building, sales or other marine industries, according to port Deputy Director Eric Toews.
Toews also said it would be difficult for the port to manage residential leases as well as commercial and industrial ones.
“In terms of the portfolio of lease agreements, we find it really challenging to manage commercial and industrial lease arrangements,” Toews said.
“Managing housing under the (Residential Landlord Tenant Act) introduces a whole host of new complexities.”
Port Commissioners Pam Petranek and Carol Hasse both expressed interest in the possibility of hosting tiny home manufacturing businesses, potentially at the Jefferson County International Airport, which the port also manages.
Bolin said the manufacture of tiny homes was regulated by state and international building codes, and that tiny homes to be placed in Port Townsend also must follow the city’s own design and engineering standards.
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Reporter Peter Segall can be reached at peter.segall@peninsuladailynews.com.
