The Legislature will hold hearings on several housing related bills this week, including in both chambers on the Governor’s request bill that contains significant preemptions of city land use authority. Interestingly, a new housing proposal has been introduced by Rep. Pollet that takes a much more collaborative approach. Under the description of each set of bills are two links to sign in to share your position on these bills for the committee record. It is important that city officials share their perspective with the Legislature on these bills and we encourage you to do so before the hearing date.

It is important that city officials share their perspective with the Legislature on these bills and we encourage you to do so before the hearing date.

Governor’s missing middle bills

The two missing middle bills, companions HB 1782 and SB 5670, which we detailed in last week’s Legislative Bulletin, will be heard on Tuesday morning, January 18. AWC will be testifying in opposition to these proposals. Cities agree with the goals of the bills to provide greater access to, and diversity of, affordable housing in our communities. The evidence clearly shows that cities broadly support increasing diversity of housing types. More than half of cities have provided authority to build these middle density housing. Dozens more are involved in community processes to take further action—and represents approximately 79% of the incorporated population. Taking away local community input and decision-making at the scale these bills propose to do is not warranted. The people of these communities elected their local leaders to make these decisions—and to include them in doing so. These mandates silence their voices.

To sign in to share your position on the House bill listed below, follow these instructions.

To sign in to share your position on the Senate bill listed below, follow these instructions.

Dates to remember

SB 5670 will be heard in the Senate Housing & Local Government Committee on Tuesday, January 18 at 8 am.

HB 1782 will be heard in the Senate Housing & Local Government Committee on Tuesday, January 18 at 10 am.

An alternative approach emerges

A new proposal from Rep. Gerry Pollet (D–Seattle) takes a different approach to the question of how to achieve our shared goals around housing.

The proposal is complicated and has many provisions. Some highlights:

• Directs the Department of Commerce (Commerce) to evaluate the full cost of preparation of local comprehensive plans, and creates a new graduated state real estate excise tax (REET) increment to provide grant funding to cities to undertake these planning efforts.
• Creates a pool of planning specialists at Commerce to be a resource for cities across several regions of the state.
• Creates a new local option REET of .25% which can be adopted councilmanically.
• Increases the 101% property tax cap to allow an increase based on population growth and inflation not to exceed 103%. Any increase over 101% must be dedicated to infrastructure, Growth Management Act (GMA) planning, or climate resiliency.
• Adds new antidisplacement, infrastructure, tree canopy protection, and park access planning requirements.
• Amends the GMA Housing Element to require cities to:
  • Provide for various housing types within proximity to transit, based on lot size or
  • Achieve a minimum net density based on population. There are provisions for circumstances where various types of infrastructure capacity make infill infeasible.

There are some very positive provisions here, a lot to fully understand, and some concerning elements. We look forward to your feedback as we begin discussions on this bill.

To sign in and share your position on the House bill listed below, follow these instructions.

Date to remember

HB 1981 will be heard in the House Local Government Committee on Tuesday, January 18 at 10 am.

A zombie housing land use bill

HB 1232, sponsored by Rep. Andrew Barkis (R–Olympia), originally surfaced in 2020. The bill passed the House that year on a strong bipartisan vote but didn’t get out of the Senate. Last year, it fell just short of a vote in the Senate.

The bill has two major elements:

• Requires cities to consider a variety of missing middle housing types (duplexes, triplexes, etc.) in the GMA planning process, and to consider housing locations in relation to employment locations.
• Requires cities to link jurisdictional goals in the housing element to overall county goals. If cities do not authorize all missing middle housing types, then the countywide planning policy must provide for how the county as a whole and its cities will meet the existing and projected housing needs of all economic segments. Countywide plans would also be required to “ensure” that cities and counties are collectively meeting the requirements of the housing element.

The first element seems appropriate to AWC, given the interest in the topic at the state and local levels and the flexibility provided to cities to pursue the work. The second element, on the other hand, is concerning as it potentially involves counties in city decision-making or generating significant interjurisdictional work without resources to support it.

The provision is based on a longstanding theme that housing is a regional issue but that local decisions do not always account for regional considerations. AWC would like to hear from cities about other ways to account for regional issues while also retaining appropriate city decision-making.

To sign in and share your position on the House bill listed below, follow these instructions.

Date to remember

HB 1232 will be heard in the House Local Government Committee on Tuesday, January 18 at 10 am.