Alexandria officials are considering new co-living proposal, which could increase housing options for Alexandria residents by allowing property owners to rent out individual bedrooms.
City staff presented the initial proposal to allow co-living at Thursday night’s Planning Commission Meeting.
The proposal defines co-living as a “private bedroom suite [with] access to communal areas like kitchen and living spaces. Suites do not include separate cooking facilities and may or may not have a private bathroom.” Co-living units are a portion of a building that contain six or fewer housing suites, which are private bedrooms that may or may not have a private bathroom. Suites cannot house more than eight individuals, according to the proposal, and each suite can have no more than two residents.
City staff say co-living is necessary in order to preserve and create more affordable housing options in the City and enable more diverse and equitable neighborhoods.
While no members of the public spoke at the meeting, the proposal has been criticized in the past for it's potential to create "flop houses" or single room occupancy situations.
(Article continues below...)
The new proposal would allow co-living units to be put on a property with an administrative Special Use Permit (SUP) instead of a full-hearing SUP.
There would be a number of limitations on the co-living units. Those limits include only allowing co-living in commercial, high/medium density residential, multifamily, mixed-use and office zones — but not in single-family or duplex neighborhoods.
Buildings with more than two co-living units would require a full-hearing SUP.
In addition, the co-living building would need to provide one parking space per four suites/bedrooms with a max of 3 spaces required. The building would need to have an owner occupant or a designated manager on site and the minimum lease would be 30 days. Applications to create co-living units would be conditional on proof of written notice to immediate neighbors.
Members of the Planning Commission had some concerns over the difference between co-living and regular apartments and the definition of what constitutes a kitchen. Other members were concerned that the owner occupancy or onsite manager requirement and the full-hearing SUP for buildings with more than two co-living units could be too restrictive for potential developers.
The co-living proposal went through a series of public meetings, input and refinement before Thursday’s presentation. The Planning Commission will make a decision on the proposal at their Oct. 5 meeting before it is reviewed by City Council on Oct. 16.
