What's opening up for the next generation of Eastside homeowners.

Site Lines by Rami Al-Kabra
What's changing on the Eastside, explained by someone who helps shape it.

Most homeowners haven't looked it up. But the rules on what can be built on a standard residential lot changed about a year ago, and not just in one city.

In Bothell, a city law passed in March 2024 allows two to four homes on a single lot. Outside of a transit corridor, that means a duplex (two homes sharing a lot). Within roughly a quarter mile of a qualifying transit stop, and with at least one unit meeting affordability requirements, it goes up to a fourplex. That's already in effect. Not a proposal.

Kirkland is moving the same direction. Its 20-year growth plan explicitly prioritizes more missing middle housing, the range of options between a detached single-family home and a full apartment building: duplexes, triplexes, fourplexes, cottage clusters, townhomes. The city still needs to finish writing the implementing rules, but the direction is clear. Kenmore is currently updating its building rules under a state law requiring cities to allow at least six approved missing middle housing types in low-density residential zones.

None of this is coordinated between cities. It's the same pressure arriving everywhere at roughly the same time.

I pay attention to this because the policy side moves first. Early-stage permit requests for residential projects in Bothell nearly doubled in 2025, and land use applications jumped 980% year over year. That's not a coincidence. It's what happens when cities change what's financially viable to build. The sequence is always the same: rule changes, then developer interest, then construction, then more housing options at more price points. The missing middle is the part of that sequence most people haven't been paying attention to.

What does it mean for you? If you own a larger lot anywhere on the Eastside, it's worth knowing what's now allowed on it. The specifics depend on your city and how close you are to a transit stop. But the direction is consistent across Bothell, Kirkland, and Kenmore, and it's moving the same way in Redmond and Bellevue. For a lot of owners, that means real options that didn't exist a few years ago, whether that's building a backyard unit for a family member, creating rental income, or simply knowing your property has more flexibility than you thought.

For buyers, this is also worth understanding for a different reason. More missing middle housing means more entry points into Eastside neighborhoods, including for adult children and younger family members who've been priced out of the cities they grew up in. The same policy changes that are opening up options for existing owners are also slowly widening the door for the next generation.

And if you own near a transit corridor, the proximity question is worth asking. In Bothell, a quarter mile draws a meaningful line between a duplex and a fourplex. Other cities are writing similar thresholds. Where your address falls is becoming a real variable in what your property can do.

Next issue: the other rule change from 2025 that made all of this financially viable in the first place. It has nothing to do with how many units you can build.

Rami Al-Kabra
Real Estate Broker, eXp Realty
(206) 701-9272
[email protected]
https://ramialkabra.exprealty.com/

P.S. I sit on the Bothell City Council and work in real estate, which puts me in planning meetings most agents never attend and gives me a read on regional policy decisions that drive market change before most other agents do, and all of it is public. If you know anyone sitting on a real estate question, the best thing you can do is connect us directly. No strings attached. Just a conversation.

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