In winter 2022, the County launched a public engagement opportunity on the Shared Housing Village Zoning Update. The original proposal amended the zoning code to allow for shared housing villages in the Residential Resource (RR) zone of the Parkland-Spanaway-Midland community plan area through a conditional use permit. Following a public hearing, on January 10, 2023 the Pierce County Planning Commission recommended the proposal for Parkland-Spanaway-Midland community plan area but expanded that allowance to other RR zoned lands found in the Frederickson, Mid-County and South Hill community plans. 

A Shared Housing Village is a type of permanent community housing that is affordable to people with low incomes leased by the month or year.  People live in tiny homes that may not have full kitchen and/or bathroom facilities. Instead, kitchens and/or bathroom facilities are available in shared common spaces. Other shared facilities may be available as well. The Pierce County Code describes the Residential Resources zone as an opportunity as a low-density single-family zone developed to be compatible with environmentally sensitive open spaces.  Policies in the Parkland-Spanaway-Midland, Frederickson, Mid-County and South Hill Community Plans support this by focusing on development that avoids fragmentation of open spaces and applies environmentally sensitive design.  

State, regional, and Pierce County policies support single-family areas including a broad range of housing types to provide different living options at different price points for Pierce County residents. A Shared Housing Village is similar to detached single-family housing because it consists of tiny homes, but the shared facilities and community lay out make it different as well. 

  Residential Use Code FAQs