Legislative Update #2

A Look at Bills on Housing, Agritourism, Rent Stabilization & More

As of this writing (evening of March 19th), we are 66 days into this year’s legislative session, with 39 days to go. That means we are past the cut-off for bills to pass out of their house of origin. So, let’s see where things stand.

HB 1160 - Design Review

The Legislature has tinkered with design review a couple of times in the last few sessions, seeking to address concerns from builders and developers that design standards are often overly complex, discretionary, and occasionally obstructive to getting housing approvals.

Many of the changes proposed in this bill were minor, with the heart of the bill coming in a new requirement placed in RCW 36.70A.630, which would have limited a jurisdiction from requiring more than one design concept for a project to be submitted for review. Although it made it to the second reading in the Rules Committee, it didn’t reach the floor.

HB 1403 - Condo Reform

Although Washington is grappling with a housing crisis, the Legislature has struggled since the early 2000s (when I worked at the Master Builders Association of King and Snohomish Counties and still had hair) to resolve the liability issues arising from construction defect claims that have largely pushed condo builders out of the market. It’s an unfortunate situation because condos can be an affordable housing option and an opportunity for many to first obtain home ownership.

If you are interested in more detail about the liability and warranty issues affecting condos, check out today’s piece in the Washington Observer.

HB 1403 would change the warranty requirements for new condominium projects consisting of 12 or fewer units, hopefully encouraging more small-scale condo projects on infill lots. The bill also includes provisions ensuring that Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) organized in common-interest communities (condos) are exempt from the RCWs that create the condo liability issues. Presumably, by doing this, the Legislature is hoping to maximize the effect of HB 1337 (2023), which established the requirement that up to two accessory dwelling units be allowed on lots inside the urban growth area, by making it more likely that owners of the principal unit on the lot will build ADUs and condominiumize the units so they can be sold. Again, this would create more affordable homeownership opportunities.

HB 1096 - Lot Splitting

Lot splitting is still alive, but it’s matured. When lot splitting first came up as an idea a couple of sessions ago, the intent was to keep things simple—promoting middle housing vis-à-vis the division of single lots into two smaller lots through a one-time process that the average person could navigate affordably. However, as the concept has evolved, lot splitting is starting to resemble a quasi-short subdivision procedure, with new provisions regarding frontage improvements, easements, etc.

Two parts of the bill that stand out to me most are:

• Section 2, subsection 6 states that lots that aren’t buildable “according to locally adopted development regulations” for critical areas, shorelines, stormwater, setbacks, etc. can’t be split.