This week the Legislature passed SHB 2538 sponsored by Rep. Joan McBride, D-Kirkland, eliminating impact fees for homeless shelters and emergency domestic violence shelters.
Specifically, the bill excludes construction of these shelters from the definition of “development activity” in the state law authorizing impact fees. The bill has an emergency clause and takes effect on April 1, 2018.
AWC supports this bill as part of a broader effort to address the homelessness crisis. AWC also supported a previous version of the bill, which would have allowed cities to waive fees for low-income housing without having to reimburse those fees from other funds. Those provisions did not pass the Legislature.