Cottage housing is intended to be a more community-minded, smaller scale alternative to typical development in Sultan's residential zones. Smaller buildings create opportunities for higher densities while also allowing for a more sensitive response to vegetation, topography, and drainage.
Ideally, cottage housing will take the form of compact homes clustered in pockets around shared yards. Unit clustering promotes a sense of community while providing flexibility to preserve site topography by minimizing grading, maintaining natural drainage patterns, and retaining existing vegetation. New landscaping should blend with or reinstate existing forest ecosystems. The presence of vehicles should be minimized. Opportunities to walk and bike around the site should be prioritized, and connections to existing trail systems within the neighborhood are encouraged.
(Ord. 1418-25, 7/24/2025)
The standards in this chapter apply to cottage housing in the following zones:
A. 
Low Density Residential;
B. 
Moderate Density Residential;
C. 
High Density Residential; and
D. 
Neighborhood Commercial.
(Ord. 1418-25, 7/24/2025)
A. 
Site Entry. Cottage developments should have welcoming pedestrian entrances facing the public right of way. Pedestrian entrances may incorporate gates, trellises, landscaping, benches, stacked stones, pillars, or other inviting ornamental features.
B. 
Private Yards. Private yards help to ensure the ongoing maintenance and sense of ownership within the site. Each unit must have an associated private yard that is clearly defined through the use of low fences, low stone walls, plantings, paving, or similar features. Private yards should encompass a series of spaces around the perimeter of a unit, creating a transitional buffer zone between the unit and the rest of the development. Providing private yard space with several different exposures, and access to sunlight at different times of year, is encouraged. Private yards may encroach into setbacks. Private yards may be forested.
C. 
Roofs. Gables, dormers, shed roofs, shed dormers, and upper-level decks are all permitted as long as all roofs conform to the minimum pitch standards.
(Ord. 1418-25, 7/24/2025)
A. 
Lot and Building Placement (see diagram and table below).
LDR
MDR
HDR/NC
Lot and Building Placement
A
Lot Area (min)
4,000 sq. ft. per unit
2,500 sq. ft. per unit
1,500 sq. ft. per unit
B
Building Coverage (max)
50%
60%
60%
Building Placement
C
Front Yard Setback (min)
20 ft
20 ft
15 ft
D
Interior Side Yard Setback (min)
5 ft
5 ft
5 ft
E
Rear Yard Setback [alley/no alley] (min)
10 ft/15 ft
5 ft/10 ft
5 ft/10 ft
F
Building Spacing (min)
15 ft
10 ft
10 ft
G
Unit Clustering (min)
75% of all units must be included in a cluster
B. 
Building Form (see diagram and table below).
Building Form
Two types of cottages are permitted to maximize flexibility in building placement and lot coverage while retaining existing site features. Projects are encouraged to mix cottage types to provide increased housing diversity.
Building form must conform to the standards in either Type A or B cottages. Standards for Type A and B cannot be mixed within the same unit but may be mixed within the same development. Alternative building configurations will be considered through administrative review if warranted by significant site features such as dense forest, large trees, steep hills, or other sensitive areas.
Height & Massing
Type A
Type B
A
Height (max) [stories/ft]
1.5/26 ft
2/28 ft
Building Footprint/Floor Area (max per building)
800 sq ft footprint
1,400 sq ft floor area
B
Roof Pitch
primary roof: 6:12 dormer roof: 4:12
primary roof: 6:12 dormer roof: 4:12
Street- or Shared Yard-Facing Entrances Required
Front Porches: Every unit must have a covered entry porch oriented toward common space or street. The porch must be open on at least two sides and not be enclosed. Each porch must have a minimum area of 70 sf. Porches must be associated with the primary point of entry. Porches may encroach into primary and side street setbacks.
Orientation: At least 75% of interior-unit entries must face a shared yard. Street-adjacent-units must be oriented so that:
1.
An entrance faces the public ROW; or
2.
So that the primary entrance facade is set within 90 degrees to and visible from the public ROW; or
3.
They are oriented towards a shared yard and screened with a minimum 15-foot landscape buffer so as not to be visible from the ROW. The landscape buffer may be in the setback.
(Ord. 1418-25, 7/24/2025)