Community Petition to Protect Duvall and Plan Responsibly                                                      09.21.2026

To the City Council of Duvall, Washington:  

Duvall is a small, close-knit community shaped by its scale, rural surroundings, natural environment, and distinct sense of place. As residents, we want to meet our community’s housing needs while preserving these qualities for future generations. 

Community values are clear  

The City’s own survey for the 2024 Comprehensive Plan reinforces these priorities: residents identified small-town feel, natural environment, and rural setting as the qualities they value most. The adopted Comprehensive Plan also identifies the decline of rural character as the most pressing issue respondents saw facing Duvall now and over the next five years, alongside concerns about traffic and the pace and type of development. When community engagement was requested, it was—and continues to be—delivered loud and clear. 

Growth must reflect Duvall’s physical realities  

Duvall also faces fixed geographic constraints including the Snoqualmie River and floodplain, surrounding topography, small geographic footprint, and limited transportation corridors. Roads, schools, emergency services, utilities, stormwater systems, parks, and pedestrian infrastructure must also keep pace with growth. Some infrastructure can be expanded with substantial investment. Duvall’s fundamental geography cannot. Land-use decisions should account for both.

Meet the minimum requirements  

We support a wider variety of housing opportunities and Duvall’s compliance with state housing and planning requirements, while asking the City to roll back discretionary increases in development capacity that are not necessary to meet those requirements.

We specifically urge the City to:

A. Meet—not exceed—applicable affordable housing requirements under HB 1220
Adopt only the additional housing capacity necessary to meet Duvall’s assigned housing obligations. Design policy to support the production of actual affordable housing while minimizing excess market-rate development capacity beyond what is required to meet Duvall’s county assigned obligations.

B. Remove all proposed “Middle-Housing” provisions related to HB 1110, which do not apply to Duvall
Instead, to meet the community’s desire for greater housing choice, develop targeted policies allowing specific housing types that align with the community’s specific objectives—namely cottages and duplexes—in relevant residential zones.

C. Remove discretionary changes beyond applicable requirements

This includes discretionary changes to density, residential density, affordable housing incentives, and development regulations beyond what is necessary for compliance, including but not limited to the following:

• Remove the provision allowing two principal dwelling units per lot
• Restore floor area ratios (FAR) and lot coverage limits in all residential zones.
• Reinstate limits on the number of stories in all zones.   Restore current maximum heights in zones that ARE NOT needed to meet the <80% AMI affordable housing requirements (R12, OT, UT, MT).  In zones that ARE needed to meet that capacity (R20, R30, MU20, MU30 and CO), lower proposed heights where feasible to encourage smaller-scale development and more modestly sized housing units.
• Scale back proposed increases to impervious surface limits in all residential zones
• Remove discretionary height, density and tree credit incentives.
• Eliminate unnecessary reductions in parking requirements so as to reflect the reasonable needs of current and future residents and ensure our streets are not over crowded

D. Update the method used to measure building height,
Prior to adopting a final version of the zoning code, Planning staff should update the City’s method for measuring building height for clarity and to better align with regional norms. If this needs later revisions, or updates, that is acceptable, but the proposed current code is not acceptable and is unclear.  If a more acceptable method of measuring heights is proposed, then the number of stories limitation could be removed.

E. Provide complete and timely evidence if any discretionary changes conflicts with the expressed public preferences as stated in the city survey of residents

If the Council declines to adopt any provision requested in this petition, or any provisions that exceed state required minimums, we ask that the city provide clear and specific reasoning, supported by evidence, explaining why the discretionary change is beneficial to Duvall residents.

F. Retain the current Duvall Guidelines until the community has had a chance to review these more thoroughly and understand what has been changed. Consider this as part of the work to be done in 2027 and include public workshops to help determine what revisions should be made.

We believe that Duvall can meet its housing obligations and reserve capacity for authentic, community-driven affordable and middle-housing without sacrificing the qualities that make it a strong and livable community. We ask the City Council to make only those changes that are necessary, supported by evidence, and responsive to the community it serves.

In a spirit of partnership and an unwavering commitment to the good of all Duvall, we appreciate your attention to our concerns,

Thank you,

Your Neighbors and Residents of Duvall