As we come into the home stretch, two voluntary density bills made it across the finish line!

As our avid readers are aware, we have been actively reporting on—and advocating for—the expansion proposal to last year’s HB 1923 – HB 2343. The as-passed version of the bill makes several changes to the underlying law by modifying and adding to the list of voluntary options for cities to choose from, including breaking apart the ADU option into four more attainable options. Notably, now all cities are eligible for a planning grant in connection with taking these actions (the population threshold of 20,000 was eliminated).

All told, 14 new options (!) were added:

• Allow quadplexes, sixplexes, stacked flats, and townhouses in one or more single-family zoning districts or in zones they are not currently authorized in;
• Adopt maximum allowable State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) exemptions for certain types of new minor construction;
• Adopt standards for administrative approval of final plats;
• Create ordinances authorizing administrative review of preliminary plats;
• Adopt permit process improvements;
• Update use matrices and tables to eliminate conditional use permits for all housing types, except for essential public facilities;
• Allow flexibility for on-street and off-street parking standards when private roads are proposed;
• For ADUs:
  • Authorize in one or more zoning districts in which they are currently prohibited;
  • Remove minimum parking requirements;
  • Remove owner occupancy requirements;
  • Adopt new square footage requirements that are less restrictive;
  • Develop local programs that offer financing, design, permitting, or construction for homeowners to build ADUs, with the option for the city to impose an affordability requirement for home ownership or when renting the unit;
• Develop local programs that offer financing, design, permitting, or construction for homeowners to convert a single-family home into a duplex, triplex, or quadplex where such housing is authorized, with the option for the city to impose an affordability requirement for home ownership or when renting the unit.

In other good news, the appeals protections from the Growth Management Act (GMA) and SEPA were extended by two years, until 2023. Further, HB 2343 directs the Department of Ecology to remove parking as an element of the environment and as a component of the SEPA checklist the next time the agency amends SEPA. Because the Senate made amendments to the bill, HB 2343 must go back to the originating chamber to concur on the changes. So, not quite across the finish line.

The second voluntary density bill, HB 2673, modifies the local SEPA categorical exemption for infill development. Under the as-passed bill, infill development may be exempt from SEPA if located where current density or intensity of use is roughly equal to that called for in a the local GMA comprehensive plan. Current law only allows the exemption if the density was lower than comp plan.