Puyallup City Council Study Session – March 31, 2026

On Tuesday, March 31, 2026, the Puyallup City Council held a study session at 6:30 PM in Council Chambers. The meeting covered three planning-related agenda items: Middle Housing Code Amendments, Phase 2 Zoning Map & Code policy for Mixed-Use Zones, and Phase 2 Zoning Map & Code for Commercial Zones. Planning Manager Katie Baker presented all three items, Council gave policy direction, and the meeting adjourned at 8:11 PM. The agenda was approved 7-0.

Consent Calendar

• Motion by Deputy Mayor Johnson, seconded by Councilmember Gilliam, to approve the agenda passed 7-0.

Public Comments & Testimony

• Andrelyn Izquierdo (the transcript transcribes the name as “Angeline Slido”; this discrepancy is noted) urged Council to expand middle housing applicability to unincorporated South Hill, citing an estimated 70,000 residents who identify as Puyallup and face limited affordable housing options.
• Art Seeley, a former Planning Commission member, argued that the lahar hazard has long been overlooked in city planning, called the current middle housing exception unfair because it restricts new allowances in the valley while pushing density to South Hill, and urged Council to spread middle housing opportunities evenly across the city.

Discussion Items

Middle Housing Code Amendments

• Planning Manager Katie Baker explained that permanent middle housing regulations must replace interim ordinance 3323 before it expires June 30, 2026. State HB 1110 requires Puyallup, as a Tier 2 city, to allow at least two units per residential lot, up to four units near the Sounder station or when one unit is affordable, and at least six of nine state-defined middle housing types in every residential zone.
• The interim ordinance excludes approximately 31% of single-family residential lots from new middle housing and ADU allowances due to a lahar/volcanic hazard zone exception. State law permits excluding up to 25% of lots, and the Department of Commerce had expressed concern that the 31% figure may not comply. Using updated USGS lahar boundary data would reduce the exclusion to 13%.
• The Planning Commission recommended removing the lahar zone exception entirely. Council did not reach a single position: Deputy Mayor Johnson and Councilmember Kastama favored adjusting the buffer to meet exactly the 25% threshold; Mayor Witting, Councilmember King, and Councilmember Gilliam supported the 13% updated-data approach; Councilmember Smolko raised concerns about displacement, demographics, and notification; Councilmember Adler asked for alternative options.
• Council discussed middle housing parking standards, including a half-mile transit-stop provision and thresholds of one off-street space on lots 6,000 square feet or less and up to two spaces on larger lots, as well as possible future state parking law changes near transit. Members expressed differing views on likely impacts.
• Staff was directed to bring back buffer strategy options, explore allowing one ADU in the excluded areas, and include demographic and displacement analysis. Staff aims to finalize the ordinance in April; extending the interim ordinance remains possible if more time is needed.

Phase 2 Zoning Map & Code – Mixed-Use Zones

• Baker reviewed the city’s five mixed-use zones: LMX, CMX, RMX, UCX, and CCX. The focus was the River Road Mixed-Use (RMX) zone (approximately 54 acres) and the Community Mixed-Use (CMX) zone (approximately 30 acres at Shaw/Pioneer).
• For RMX, adopted with the 2011 River Road Corridor Plan, the original pedestrian-oriented vision has seen little development due to market conditions. Staff presented three options: repeal the River Road Corridor Plan, revise it to remove auto-oriented use prohibitions, or launch a new community planning process.
• Council broadly supported revising the plan (Option 2) while directing higher density and height allowances, removal of density caps, and expanded commercial and auto-oriented uses. Councilmember Gilliam suggested considering CCX zoning instead of UCX; Mayor Witting and others supported going vertical. Councilmember Smolko asked for anti-displacement policies to protect renters and small businesses.
• For CMX, established in 2009 and still undeveloped, the required master site plan and hearing examiner process was seen as burdensome. Council favored rezoning the area to UCX to allow greater flexibility for residential and commercial diversity, remove density caps, and allow a broader range of commercial activities—though auto sales were generally considered inappropriate for that location. Councilmember Adler raised traffic concerns; Councilmember Smolko asked about small business impacts and notice requirements.

Phase 2 Zoning Map & Code – Commercial Zones

• Baker presented the five commercial zones: CBD Core, CBD, Community Business (CB), General Commercial (CG), and Limited Commercial (CL). Chapter 20.30 has not been comprehensively updated in nearly 20 years.
• Staff proposed removing the CL zone because it is largely redundant with the Limited Mixed-Use (LMX) zone. Remaining CL parcels—at 31st Avenue and 9th Street SW, parts of downtown, and between the downtown Safeway and the bypass—would transition primarily to LMX.
• Council supported the LMX transition, particularly the area behind Safeway near Kalles Junior High, and expressed concern that CL parcels be rezoned to General Commercial would harm neighborhood character. Staff confirmed property owners would be notified, though the city’s capacity for extensive economic impact analysis is limited.

Key Outcomes

• No formal votes were taken on the policy items; Council provided informal direction for staff.
• Staff will return with a synthesized summary of policy directions at a June study session, with Planning Commission review through spring/summer, a public hearing expected in fall, and final ordinances anticipated in November–December 2026.
• Councilmember Kastama, during a point of privilege cited an FBI Behavioral Analysis Unit conclusion regarding a threatening letter sent to the Planning Commission chair; this was not an agenda item.
• The meeting adjourned at 8:11 PM.