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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 18, 2025
MEDIA CONTACT
Kelly Schutz, Communications Manager
kschutz@redmond.gov, 425-556-2453
Redmond 2050 Rewrites How the City Will Be Built
City Council adopts new code updates
REDMOND, WA - Last night, the Redmond City Council adopted updated development regulations that implement the vision adopted last fall in the Redmond 2050 Comprehensive Plan update. These updates continue Redmond’s transition from a suburb to a city and are informed by community collaboration. They focus on equity and inclusion, sustainability, and resiliency, as well as simplifying and modernizing regulations.
“These code updates reflect years of community input and a shared vision for a more inclusive, sustainable, and vibrant future,” said Redmond Mayor Angela Birney. “With these changes, we’re building a city that works for everyone, both today and for generations to come.”
The updates will impact nearly every property in the City, changing how Redmond will be built for decades. Some highlights include:
- Consolidates the zoning code from 50 to 20 zoning districts and restructures and rewrites the code to make it easier to use and understand.
- Updates use regulations, such as adding more entertainment and food uses, including adding food truck courts; makes home-based business regulations more flexible; and creates new opportunities for neighborhood mixed-use.
- Provides new opportunities for transit-oriented development around Redmond’s light rail stations, with bonuses for implementing the new Marymoor Village Arts and Cultural District and inclusive neighborhood pilot project.
- Significant updates to design standards to advance equity and inclusion, sustainability, and resiliency priorities; meet new state law; and encourage creativity.
- Adopts new mandatory green building requirements that includes provisions for EV-ready parking and additional flexibility for green building techniques like mass timber and passive house construction.
- Adopts universal design standards and incentives to help make Redmond’s buildings and neighborhoods more welcoming and inclusive.
- Adopts a new citywide incentive program that emphasizes child-friendly, inclusive community, and arts and cultural options, as well as helps further affordable housing and sustainability goals.
- Updates affordable housing requirements and furthers middle housing implementation.
“The Redmond 2050 community outreach was a genuine effort by the City to hear from voices that are often underrepresented in traditional forums,” said Guillermo Rivera from Eastside For All. "By partnering with community-based organizations, the City didn’t just ‘go where the people are’ — it took a thoughtful and intentional approach to outreach. Together, they co-created and co-designed strategies to connect with the community in the most effective and meaningful ways.”
Leanna Namovic from Disability Empowerment Center said, “It is great to see how the feedback from our community listening session directly impacted areas of the Redmond 2050 code updates. One attendee brought up issues with the current accessibility design codes not reflecting the size or types of mobility devices used today, and we can see how Redmond took that feedback to heart in their universal design code updates and incentives.”
The City’s Planning Commission Vice Chair Jeannine Woodyear said, “Redmond 2050 code update is more than just a zoning update. It's a reflection of our community's diverse voices and values, and a vision for a future we can lean towards. Through a lot of thoughtful engagement and meaningful dialogue, I'm excited that we've been able to balance the diverse needs of our community members, embrace resiliency, and ensure our city remains welcoming, sustainable, and vibrant for all.”
To learn more, visit the 2025 Code Updates webpage or redmond.gov/Redmond2050.
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