Hybrid neighborhoods offer a vibrant alternative

Mix of housing types exemplifies community

BY RAY AND MARY JOHNSTON

Housing is on everyone’s mind these days, in communities large and small around the country and here in the Methow. The pressure to increase the quantity of housing is certainly strong, but it’s worthwhile to take a look at the quality of the housing we are building from a community design perspective.

It’s easier to develop homogenous enclaves rather than “hybrid” neighborhoods that include several different housing types appealing to a wider demographic. Market forces and traditional zoning restrictions lead developers to build affordable housing where land is cheap and luxury housing where land is high-priced, and apartments, duplexes and townhouses isolated from single-family houses. Market conditions reflect the geography and topography of the land chosen for development.

Conceptually, hybrid developments include a variety of thoughtfully placed housing types.

Affordable and lower-cost housing is frequently in areas that are less desirable. They may have limited views, diminished solar access or they may be close to noise and pollution generators like airports, train tracks or busy roads. The hills above, graced with regional views and ample sunlight, tend to be developed with housing for the more affluent. We also tend to sort and partition elder housing into areas separate from other demographic groups. The “retirement home” is frequently just down the street from the hospital or the mall and not tied to great views, parks, lakes, shorelines and other amenities, not to mention housing for other demographic groups. But there is a better way.

An Integrated Model

A both old and new vision of community reflects a more integrated model of housing. Within the walls of a medieval village, for example, most demographics were represented. Houses varied in size and relationship to the town square, but within a short distance, a variety of housing types and a varied group of occupants were frequently present.

Today, the most forward-thinking town planning encourages a mix of housing types — hybrid housing — that mixes all types of residents from seniors to young families to singles.

Communities that have more varied housing can take advantage of “hybrid vigor.” The work force housing down the street from the block dominated by the professional class benefit from the synergy between these groups. The elder housing, around the corner from that work force housing, might be near schools and parks.

Those in the work force benefit by proximity of jobs related to the elderly or the schools. Likewise, the elderly gain benefits from interaction with those very same institutions. They can volunteer at the school or take a walk to the park next to the small downtown. What does this mean in places like the Methow? Each of our towns holds opportunities. These can be identified as vacant lands that hold the potential to connect aspects of the community.

In Winthrop, the vacant land between Norfolk Way and the site of the new library and the Highway 20 frontage near The Barnyard Theater and East 20 Pizza is large and holds wonderful potential. It is linked by the Susie Stephens Trail, but also can be accessed from several points in the vicinity. It could hold housing for a variety of demographics and is large enough to also include amenities for that varied housing.

In Twisp, the missing urban teeth such as the former site of The Merc Playhouse barn and the old site of the original Twisp Pub are begging for re-development. Each of these sites connects with amenities or other varied housing types.

The nearly 20 acres between the Twisp-Winthrop Eastside Road and the river just south of Twisp are ripe for the development of a hybrid community. That acreage could accommodate all types of uses and provide a connection between housing, public amenities and the river along its length.

WHAT TO DO?

If we agree that hybrid housing has intrinsic values creating rich and varied communities, then what can we do to promote this concept?

First, a willingness amongst jurisdictional authorities to find zoning solutions for complex mixes is essential. Some zones allow this kind of mix outright, but others require a “planned development” allowing a variety of densities within the context of overlying zoning.

Second, we need to support those who are willing to work with the community to create unique and synergistic places for folks to live.

There are good examples of successful planned developments we can learn from. On the west side, Grow Communities on Bainbridge Island has succeeded in creating a vibrant, hybrid environment by mixing size and types of housing. There are flats, townhouses, duplexes and triplexes linked by paths, gardens, P-patches and other amenities.

On the outskirts of this development, three-story walk up apartments form a solid block linking access to garden courts on one side and access drives for parking on the other.

Today, in the Methow, we are lucky to have an abundance of imaginative people and organizations working on the problem, and thinking about the next steps. The stellar Methow Housing Trust has made great strides in creating affordable housing, but also hybrid housing, mixing income-level thresholds and creating an equitable core community.

Jamie’s Place, a wonderful community asset, is hoping to expand and also to house their staff closer to work. Methow At Home provides some excellent alternatives to moving, but there is a whole cohort of seniors in the valley who are finding it hard to work the garden every year, shovel the snow or manage movement in the mud seasons and would love to live in a vibrant, close-in and age-diverse environment where community is much like family.

Our community has a great opportunity right now to be leaders and innovators in addressing one of the big challenges facing towns big and small: how to provide places to live that serve all our neighbors, keep our valley recognizable and familiar, and make us all feel at home.

Ray and Mary Johnston are principals in Johnston Architecture.