Pilchuck District
The Pilchuck District was created in 2011 to provide a unified vision for the area around the Centennial Trail south of Sixth Street and north of Wood/Rainier Streets. That vision is to create a cohesive and identifiable neighborhood that is compact and walkable with a variety of land uses. It is intended to be complementary to the nearby Historic District. The Pilchuck District has several unique regulatory aspects that are not used anywhere else in the city.
Form-Based Code
The Pilchuck District development code is a hybrid form-based code (FBC). FBCs use physical form as the organizing principal for the code rather than the separation of incompatible uses. Particular attention is paid to how the building facades of private development interact with the streets, sidewalks, and other public spaces surrounding it. As a result, the Pilchuck District has building and site design regulations that are more detailed than elsewhere in the city.
Planned Action
In developing the Pilchuck District Subarea Plan an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) was completed and the Pilchuck District was designated as a Planned Action. As such, projects proposed in the Pilchuck District consistent with the adopted regulations and policies do not have to go through any additional environmental review process.
Transfer of Development Rights
The Pilchuck District includes designated receiving areas for Snohomish County’s Transfer of Development Rights (TDR) program. Regulations for these areas are as follows:
- Projects zoned Center (the pink zones on the map to the left) can be three stories tall by right and four stories tall with the purchase of TDR credits.
- Projects zoned Center with Height Overlay (the red zones on the map to the left) can be three stories tall by right and five stories tall with the purchase of TDR credits.
Multifamily Property Tax Exemption (MFTE)
Projects in the Pilchuck District are eligible for multifamily property tax exemptions subject to the following requirements:
- 8-year exemption
- 10% of units must be affordable to low-income households (at or below 80% of Snohomish County area median income).
- For projects of fewer than ten units, a minimum of one unit must be affordable.
- 12-year exemption
- 25% of units must be affordable to low-income households (at or below 80% of Snohomish County area median income).
- Or, 10% of units must be affordable to low-income households and 10% of units must be affordable to very low-income households (at or below 50% of Snohomish County area median income.
- For projects of fewer than ten units, a minimum of two units must be affordable.
- 25% of units must be affordable to low-income households (at or below 80% of Snohomish County area median income).
Projects participating in the MFTE program are exempt from property taxes on the value of new construction. Note that property taxes are not exempted for:
- The underlying land
- Commercial spaces in mixed-use buildings
Zones
There are four zones and one overlay area in the Pilchuck District:
- Pilchuck Single-Family: uses limited to detached single-family residential
- Townhouse: allows townhouses and single-family residential with limited commercial use
- Center: a mixed-use zone that allows a wide variety of commercial uses and a full range of residential uses
- Civic: primarily intended for civic and cultural uses, including parking garages
Certain portions of the Center zone have a height overlay to specify where TDR credits can be applied to build four- and five-story buildings.