Zoning Map Amendment

The Zoning Map clearly shows areas were different uses and development patterns are appropriate within the City. The map, like the Comprehensive Plan it implements, benefits the community by:

• Identifying where changes in neighborhood character and property values are and are not likely,
• Protecting the stability and health of existing businesses,
• Laying out the scope of the City’s regulatory authority and intentions,
• Guiding the City’s investments in transportation, water, wastewater and other utility services,
• Indicating where investors are and are not likely to capitalize on the investments of the City, its partner agencies, and other savvy investors.

The Stevenson Comprehensive Plan identifies large areas of the city’s core where smaller lot sizes and multi-family housing could be considered. However, the Zoning Map limits much of this area to single-family development. The scope of this limitation was identified in the 2020 Skamania County Housing Needs Assessment:

“The residential zoning designations for vacant and partially vacant land in the Stevenson area are primarily zoned for single family uses (98%). Multi-family zoning applies to less than 2% of these areas.”

To address how wildly out of alignment this distribution is with the housing needs of our community, the following Zoning Map amendments are being considered: