Updating Your Comprehensive Plan and Zoning Code? Consider Corner Stores.

Photo credit: City of Seattle. From the October 2024 report, Updating Seattle’s Neighborhood Residential zones.

Popular until the mid-20th century, corner stores (also known as bodegas or superettes) were a reliable source for everything from newspapers to bread and other daily essentials. These were gathering places in densely populated areas that community members could access by foot, bike, trolley, or streetcar.

As consumer shopping and driving surged, cities started modifying their zoning codes to shift corner stores and other small-scale commercial uses from neighborhoods toward designated commercial areas. New corner stores weren’t allowed as conversions in existing buildings or in new buildings, and those that remained were either demolished or converted to other uses like homes. During the pandemic, however, the benefits of being able to walk to meet daily needs and socialize reemerged, and now communities are seeing a resurgence of interest in small-scale commercial uses near where people live.

In this blog, I discuss the reemergence of corner stores and other small-scale commercial uses in more detail, providing examples of cities in Washington State and elsewhere that are allowing these uses to support reinvestment, entrepreneurs, opportunities for socializing, food security (even better when the corner store offers healthy food options), compact development, and reduced dependency on cars.

Washington Cities that Allow Corner Stores

According to the Congress for the New Urbanism, corner stores range in size from 1,500 to 3,000 square feet (sf) and can be located in stand-alone or mixed-used buildings. Around 1,000 households are needed to support these small-scale commercial uses, making them perfect for primary neighborhood streets near community spaces such as libraries, parks, and schools.

To reduce barriers to redeveloping existing spaces and allowing new buildings with corner stores, local governments can add supportive policies to their comprehensive plans and amend their zoning codes to allow them in more areas and with reasonable standards.

Before diving into the work of revising zoning codes, cities and counties should review their comprehensive plans for policy support. Corner stores were referenced in Seattle’s October 2024 report on fulfilling the requirements of the state’s middle housing bill, which will include changes to Seattle’s comprehensive plan (One Seattle Plan) and zoning and development regulations. The report notes:

We propose to allow limited commercial uses, such as retail and food and beverage services, on corner lots in Neighborhood Residential zones. Commercial uses would be limited to the ground floor and basements, although ancillary uses such as storage and office spaces could be allowed on the upper floors. Rules would apply regarding hours of operation, delivery, noise, odor, and the location and screening of solid waste and other outdoor activities.

Development with commercial uses on corner lots would be required to meet all Neighborhood Residential standards with a few exceptions related setbacks, separations, height, and noise.

After setting the policy foundation in the comprehensive plan, these policies can be turned into action through zoning and development regulations, incentives, and more.

In 2017, Spokane loosened restrictions on neighborhood commercial structures by amending its code to allow buildings that historically functioned as neighborhood commercial structures to reestablish their commercial uses, even in single-family residential zones if the structure was built before 2012. Examples of businesses that these buildings can accommodate include stores selling goods such as groceries, dry goods, household products, and food (i.e., corner stores), as well as laundromats and restaurants. The city requires a conditional use permit with several steps (including a hearing examiner process for larger structures and non-residential uses on sites without frontage on arterial streets) and several development standards, including:

• No expansion of a site.
• No expansion of a structure larger than 5,000 sf.
• Exemption of parking requirements for the first 3,000 sf of a structure.
• No drive-throughs.
• Hours of operation may be determined by project approval.
• Special requirements for storage, screening, signage, and lighting.

Per an October 2, 2024 article in Bloomberg CityLab, now that the changes have been in place for a while, Spokane is considering expanding its policy to neighborhoods that don’t have historic structures. Spencer Gardner, Spokane’s Director of Planning Services, said that the city expects to take up this issue as part of its next comprehensive plan update, which is due in 2026.

Anacortes allows neighborhood grocery stores with a conditional use permit in most of its residential zones, defining them as small retail establishments that primarily sell food and other convenience and household goods, and may include an area for dining, such as a deli or coffee shop. These stores are limited to 1,200 sf of retail sales net floor area and 3,200 sf of gross floor area. Instituting a separation standard, the city doesn’t allow neighborhood grocery stores within one-quarter mile of another grocery store.

Additional Ways To Allow Commercial Uses in Neighborhoods

A few other concepts that are aimed at re-introducing small-scale commercial uses to neighborhoods are accessory commercial units (ACUs) and live-work units, both of which are associated with a primary residence on the same lot as the commercial use and could accommodate corner stores.

In the same way that accessory dwelling units (ADUs) have often been the first step to allowing denser neighborhoods for many communities, ACUs can serve as its counterpart for commercial uses and are meant to serve as a more affordable, seamless option within new or existing neighborhoods.

Similarly, live-work units are typically defined as a commercial use that is within or attached to a residential structure. A few years ago, Raleigh, North Carolina updated its unified development ordinance to allow some businesses (like a graphic designer working with clients in a home office or a coffee shop at the front of the house) in neighborhoods as in-home spaces or attached to a home. Development and operational standards include:

• One live-work unit per lot.
• Hours of operation are limited to 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
• At least one person must live in the principal structure or ADU as their primary place of residence.
• No more than two employees who don’t live on site.
• No more than five customers on site at one time.
• Compliance with the city’s noise ordinance.

Several cities in Washington allow live-work units, although some only allow these in commercial and mixed-use areas. Anacortes allows them in residential areas and has a Live/Work Overlay designation for combining living and working spaces in individual units, provided the scale and impact are limited. This designation is meant for certain residential zones that are adjacent to mixed-use and industrial zones.

Tacoma allows live-work units in commercial mixed-use and downtown districts and in residential districts as pre-existing non-residential uses and historic structures with a conditional use permit (See Tacoma Code 13.05.010.A.8 and 13.05.010.A.26).

Home-based businesses are another option for introducing commercial uses in residential areas; however, these are typically wholly contained in a home and don’t allow non-resident employees or customers on site, so they’re limited in what they allow.

Broader Sustainable Land Use Concepts

Whereas uses like corner stores, ACUs, and live-work units can provide daily needs within walking distance on a small scale, concepts like complete neighborhoods, 10-minute neighborhoods, and small urban villages apply this concept on an area-wide scale and can nest incremental changes within them as implementation strategies.

Complete neighborhoods include both destinations, like schools, playgrounds, and coffee shops, and accessibility, like connected and well-maintained sidewalks. Kirkland's 10-Minute Neighborhood Analysis and Redmond's Complete Neighborhoods Process have looked at these concepts. Redmond is considering three options for introducing commercial spaces to neighborhoods, including corner stores and other small businesses.

Urban villages are dense, mixed-use, walkable areas, like downtowns and other activity nodes. Some cities have implemented these on a smaller scale to serve nearby neighborhoods. For example, Bainbridge Island's Land Use Element includes Neighborhood Centers (small-scale mixed-use centers), Everett's Land Use Element has a Neighborhood Business zone with small nodes of neighborhood-oriented businesses and mixed uses that are typically surrounded by residential zoning, and Lacey has a Neighborhood Commercial District, whose intent is to:

Provide the opportunity for the development of small commercial facilities in residential areas catering to the day to day needs of consumers for a limited range of convenience goods and services…

Conclusion

To meet community and state goals around compact, walkable communities, many land use approaches will be needed, including middle housing, transit-oriented development, infill development, downtowns, and even small-scale commercial uses in residential areas. Corner stores can help communities meet their land use goals while also providing a neighborhood meeting place, an opportunity for a small business owner, and a place to walk to for a healthy snack.

Now is a good time to add supportive policies related to corner stores to your comprehensive plan and amend your zoning code to remove barriers to their development by allowing them in more locations and with development and operational standards that make sense for your community.