Planning Commission was scheduled to vote on transportation impact fee and code update

What the records say

In materials for the February 4, 2026 meeting, the Planning Commission was scheduled to hold a vote on a draft Findings, Conclusions, and Recommendations document for updates to Bothell's transportation impact fee (TIF) and Bothell Municipal Code (BMC) Title 17, which sets the rules for charging that fee ¹. Commission members could approve the draft, approve it with revisions, or deny it, and the final recommendation was to go to the City Council ¹. The updates follow a December 17, 2025 public hearing at which no public comments were received ¹.

• Planning Commission was scheduled to vote on draft findings for the TIF and Title 17 update, with options to approve, approve with revisions, or deny.
• The proposed per-person trip fee rate is $9,928, and $99 million of $370 million in project costs would be eligible for TIF funding over the 12-year planning period.
• TIF revenue is estimated at $75.8 million to $93 million over the 12-year period.
• Title 17 updates would switch to multimodal level of service and streamline concurrency evaluation and permitting.
• Proposed fee reductions cover affordable housing, residential development near transit and growth centers, and a change-of-use exemption.
• Next steps include a Washington State Department of Commerce review expected by Feb. 16, 2026, and City Council consideration on March 10, 2026.

Why it matters

The transportation impact fee is charged to new development to help pay for transportation improvements that growth requires, and the money can only fund the proportional share of project costs reasonably related to new development ¹. The proposed per-person trip rate is $9,928, with about $99 million of the $370 million in planned project costs eligible for TIF funding over 12 years ¹. Proposed fee reductions for affordable housing and residential development near transit and growth centers, plus a change-of-use exemption, could lower costs on qualifying projects, while streamlined permitting rules could speed up approvals ¹.

What changed / what's next

• The proposed per-person trip rate would be $9,928 ¹.
• The code update would replace the vehicle-based level of service with a multimodal level of service (MMLOS) framework ¹.
• New fee reductions would apply to affordable housing and residential development near transit and in growth centers, with a change-of-use exemption ¹.
• Concurrency evaluation and permitting processes would be streamlined, with approval timelines aligned to subdivision and building permit timelines ¹.
• The available records do not establish the meeting's outcome, including whether the Planning Commission approved, revised, or denied the draft findings ¹.
• The City Council was scheduled to hold a public hearing on Feb. 3, 2026, and consider adopting the Title 17 updates on March 10, 2026 ¹.
• The state Department of Commerce review of the draft updates was expected to finish by Feb. 16, 2026 ¹.