Renton, a suburb of Seattle dealing with skyrocketing housing prices like many of the communities in the region, is allowing new density in residential neighborhoods in the form of backyard cottages.

Josh Cohen reports on the example of Renton, Washington, which recently slashed permitting fees in the hopes of spurring new developments of accessory dwelling units (ADUs).
Cohen's coverage notes efforts in Portland, Vancouver, California, and Seattle to loosen restrictions on ADUs before turning the attention on suburbs faced with the same challenges of an abundance of single-family zoning and a dearth of affordable housing options.
Faced with its own need for middle-income or “workforce” housing, the Renton City Council voted in October 2017 to cut ADU permit fees in half. Based on the modest success of the program so far — over the past year there were five applications for new ADU permits versus five total between 2010 and 2017 — the city council voted in mid-November to extend the fee cuts [pdf] until the end of 2020.
Cohen adds more details about the changes:
The council resolution cuts construction permit and impact fees in half for all new ADUs. Doing so brings the permitting costs from about $22,000 per backyard cottage to $11,000. To encourage subdivision developers to include ADUs in their projects, the resolution waives all permit and impact fees for every third ADU built in a subdivision with 10 or more houses.
The article includes more details about the market and political contexts in the city of Renton, and reports some of the initial reactions to the fee reductions.
FULL STORY: Facing high housing prices, Renton pushes backyard cottages

Alabama: Trump Terminates Settlements for Black Communities Harmed By Raw Sewage
Trump deemed the landmark civil rights agreement “illegal DEI and environmental justice policy.”

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

The 120 Year Old Tiny Home Villages That Sheltered San Francisco’s Earthquake Refugees
More than a century ago, San Francisco mobilized to house thousands of residents displaced by the 1906 earthquake. Could their strategy offer a model for the present?

Ken Jennings Launches Transit Web Series
The Jeopardy champ wants you to ride public transit.

BLM To Rescind Public Lands Rule
The change will downgrade conservation, once again putting federal land at risk for mining and other extractive uses.

Indy Neighborhood Group Builds Temporary Multi-Use Path
Community members, aided in part by funding from the city, repurposed a vehicle lane to create a protected bike and pedestrian path for the summer season.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Clanton & Associates, Inc.
Jessamine County Fiscal Court
Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
City of Grandview
Harvard GSD Executive Education
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions
Salt Lake City
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service