Today is the 50th day in a 60-day short session in Olympia and is also the day most bill die if they don’t make it through House fiscal committees and the Senate Ways & Means and Transportation committees. Let’s start with one of the biggest issues still standing: Rent Stabilization (aka Rent Control).
HB 2114 Improving housing stability for tenants
The Senate Ways & Means committee met this morning for Executive Session on HB 2114 but took no action. Then, late this afternoon, Ways and Means Chair June Robinson announced she would not call for a vote on the bill (see Puget Sound Business Journal Story for more details on Sen. Robinson’s announcement).
HB 2114 would have capped the maximum rent increase to 7% annually. Death of rent stabilization in the Senate is nothing new. It happened earlier this session with 2114’s companion bill SB 5961. However, the process leading up to HB 2114’s death was a little unusual. As we said in our last update, instead of going to the Senate Committee on Housing (where its companion bill had been heard), 2114 was dispatched to Ways & Means giving it additional time between the Feb 21st cut-off for non-fiscal bills and the Feb 26th cut for proposals to clear their fiscal committee. It appears that extra time was not enough to secure the votes to bring the bill out of committee.
HB 2321 Modifying middle housing requirements and the definitions of transit stop.
No change. It sits in Senat rules for second reading. A floor amendment in the house added an exemption for parcels and tracts with critical areas or their buffers from meeting minimum density requirements. It also changed language regarding the definition of a major transit stop from a bus rapid transit route funded within a 6-year plan to being a stop under construction. This is likely to reduce the number of locations in which the middle housing mandates will be required. That should make cities happy, but disappoint missing middle housing advocates. It makes the TOD bill more important.
HB 2160 Promoting transit-oriented housing (Companion SB 6024)
This bill passed the house and made its way through the Senate Committee on Local Government, Land Use & Tribal Affairs. But, it died today in Ways & Means with no action being taken.
The bill would have required specific levels of development intensity (via floor area ratios or FARs) at station areas, which are those areas within one-half mile of a train station (light rail), or one-fourth mile of a fixed route transit stop (rapid transit lines).
Note: the companion bill never moved out of committee in the Senate.
HB 1998 Co-Living
This bill has passed both houses and will await the Governor’s signature. It requires jurisdictions allow co-living/single room occupancy (SRO) housing as permitted use in any zone allowing multifamily housing. It would also limit required parking to 0.25 stalls per sleeping unit and prohibit parking requirements altogether if located within one-half mile of a major transit stop. Like several bills last year, it would require cities and counties to adopt these allowances within 6 months of their next periodic comprehensive plan update.
SB 5934 - Concerning Pollinator Habitat
This passed the Senate 48-1 on Feb 13th. It’s been sitting in Rules in the House since the 21st. The bill would require that local governments update the landscaping standards in new commercial and residential projects to include at least 25% of the planted area as pollinator habitat to the extent practicable.
HB 2296 - Extending the Comprehensive Plan Review Schedule for Certain Local Governments
This easily passed the House and Senate and awaits the Governor’s signature. For those jurisdictions required to complete their periodic comprehensive plan reviews and updates in 2025, this would extend the completion deadline from June 30, 2025 to December 31, 2025. This impacts 10 counties (Clark, Clallam, Island, Jefferson, Lewis, Mason, San Juan, Skagit, Thurston, and Whatcom) and their cities.
SB 5834 - UGA Swaps
This passed the Senate on a unanimous vote and Rules Committee in the House has been relieved of consideration with this now on second ready in the house. SB 5834 would amend RCW 36.70A.110, adding a provision to allow UGA Swaps during a county’s annual review process (aka the annual docket cycle).