Washington Legislative Update #4

An update on housing, land use, and environmental bills

We’ve included updates on all the bills we’ve been following, but reserved detailed analysis for select bills behind a paywall for our paid subscribers. Here’s your change to become a paid subscriber and we’re offering a modest discount if you switch over before Feb 16th:

THE CUT OFF - PART II

Monday at 5pm was the last day for bills to pass out of fiscal committees in their house of origin. The next cut-off is February 13th when bills must have passed out of their house of origin, or they die.

HB 1245 Lot Splitting (Companion SB 5364)

HB 1245 raced through the house on day one to send a message to the Senate to act on this bill. It has been introduced in the Senate and referred to the Senate’s Local Government, Land Use & Tribal Affairs Committee. Still no hearing in the Senate on the House’s bill. It’s companion bill similarly was introduced but was not referred to the committee. Since 1245 was passed out of its house of origin, there is still time for this bill to get traction in the Senate. But expect little action until the Senate finishes its work on its own bills before the Feb 13th cutoff.

HB 2321 Modifying middle housing requirements and the definitions of transit stop.

This bill was passed out of the House Committee on Housing and is in Rules. It is up against the 5pm February 13th deadline to clear the House. But it could be pulled to the floor at any time.

The bill proposes some fixes and clarifications to last year’s watershed missing middle housing bill (HB 1110), which amendments will help this bill’s implementation at the local level.

SB 5118 Concerning modifying the multifamily property tax exemption to promote development of long-term affordable housing.

This bill had a hearing in the Senate Committee on Ways & Means on Feb 1st. It was scheduled for executive session on Feb 5th but was not passed out of committee. It’s dead. This bill would have made changes to the multifamily tax exemption program as recommended by the Department of Commerce and others who use these exemptions to create multifamily housing.

Similarly, HB 2141, which would have allowed the exemption to be used in urban unincorporated areas within the largest counties in the state, died in House Finance at the Feb 5th cut-off.

HB 2160 Promoting transit-oriented housing (Companion SB 6024)

This bill is still alive, but it’s been substituted twice in committee. It currently sits in the rules committee pending being pulled to the floor.

The current version of this bill would require certain 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).

It specifically prohibits jurisdictions from adopting regulations that prohibit multifamily development in these areas; requires a 3.5 FAR in those areas within one-half mile of a train station and 2.5 FAR within one-quarter mile of a fixed route high capacity transit stop; allows a bonus 1.5 FAR for projects with all its units qualifying as permanent supportive housing; allows jurisdictions to exclude certain multifamily units from counting towards the FAR; requires at least 10% of all units be maintain as affordable housing for 50 years; as well as a few other restrictions.

The companion bill had a hearing in the Senate Committee on Local Government, Land Use & Tribal Affairs on January 11th but died in committee in the Senate.

HB 1998 Co-Living (Companion SB 5901)

A substitute version of the house bill is on the floor calendar awaiting a vote.

What is Co-living Housing? It is housing that consists of multiple ‘micro’ housing units within the same structure, which typically use common kitchens and other areas. Think of boarding houses as an example.

This bill would require jurisdictions to allow co-living 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.

The companion bill has seen similar action. It’s been placed in the Rules Committee, and it could get pulled to the floor.

HB 2158 Urban Growth Area Expansions

As reported previously, this bill is dead.

The bill would have required that jurisdictions planning under GMA expand their UGAs at the next periodic update. Such expansions would add parcels to the UGAs that share common boundaries with other parcels along the UGA or are along a road that serves as the boundary for the UGA.

This bill was essentially a Washington version of the legislation Oregon’s Governor is proposing in their legislative session, allowing jurisdictions a one-time expansion of urban growth areas for purposes of housing.

SB 5834 - UGA Swaps

This passed the Senate yesterday on a unanimous vote and it’s headed to the house.

SB 5834 proposes to amend RCW 36.70A.110, adding a provision to allow UGA Swaps during a county’s annual review process (aka the annual docket cycle). It would impose the same types of conditions as previously approved swap legislation which limited swaps to the periodic update.

HB 1351 - Prohibiting Minimum Parking Reqs (Companion SB 5456)

These bills failed to make it out of committee. They are dead for this year.

The bills sought to prohibit minimum parking regulations on certain types of housing to encourage transit-oriented development, as well as struck existing minimum parking requirements from RCW 36.70A.620 and replaced it with a prohibition that cities and counties may not impose minimum parking on new residential and commercial developments, except for off-street parking permanently marked for the exclusive use of disabled persons when the project is within 1/4 mile walking distance of a major transit stop.

HB 1252 - Impact Fee Deferrals

This bill is dead. The bill would have helped to defray some of the carrying cost of impact fees by eliminating the limit on the number of payment deferrals allowed per applicant. 

SB 5875 - Balancing Energy Efficiency with Housing Affordability

This bill is dead. Momentum in Olympia clearly favors those who have been pushing for the quick implementation of the state’s new energy code to tackle climate change. This bill would have required that new efficiency standards can be adopted “as long as the benefits of increasing energy efficiency are not outweighed by considerations of housing affordability, development costs, feasibility, or other similar factors apart from energy efficiency.”

HB 2008 - Housing Cost Driver Taskforce

This bill died in Appropriations after failing to be passed out by the Feb 5th cut-off. It proposes to create a legislative task force to look at the primary cost drivers for housing in Washington State.

SB 5934 - Concerning Pollinator Habitat

This bill has passed out of the Committee on Local Government, Land Use & Tribal Affairs and is now in Rules awaiting second reading.

The goal of the bill is to help create more pollinator habitat by requiring 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. It is these last four words that may help this bill move forward. Local governments would need to adopt the list of native forage plants developed by the department of agriculture.

Here are some summary updates on other legislation we’ve been following. Full updates on these bills are for paid subscribers only:

• HB 2070 Environmental Justice - dead

• HB 2114 Rent Stabilization (capping rent increases) - alive (substitute bill)

• HB 2113 Compliance with Housing Element (aka Builders Remedy) - alive

• HB 2354 Concerning Tax Increment Financing - alive (substitute bill)

• HB 2343 Latecomer Agreements - dead

• HB 2344 Concerning the Effective Filing Date of Annexations - alive

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