AWC brings you another update on HB 1220,
a bill that addresses housing-related land use planning. Concerningly, it contains two sections (sections 3 and 4) with broad ranging preemptions of local authority on siting emergency shelters, emergency housing, and permanent supportive housing.
We continue to work to find a compromise on the preemption sections because we support the other provisions of the bill.
Despite our efforts, the bill sponsors of HB 1220 have moved the bill out of the House of Representatives with an approach that includes a preemption that would mandate cities allow emergency homeless shelters and other associated facilities
in commercial, mixed use, and multi-family zones where short-term rentals are allowed. Given the structure of the bill, the preemption would also implicate primarily single-family neighborhoods. Cities have pushed to allow more “missing middle”
housing types such as duplexes and triplexes in traditional single-family zones; yet, under the bill, such zones could be construed as “multifamily” and would be subject to the preemption.
AWC urges you to contact your Senate members and express your opposition to this bill if the preemptions are maintained.
Suggested points to make to your legislators:
- Share what your city has done to provide locations for these facilities, and why it is important to you that the local community voice continues to have a say in specific siting decisions.
- Cities know we need to find locations for these facilities but mandating exactly where they must go eliminates local community input from the equation.
- The potential application of this mandate to primarily single-family residential areas is particularly concerning. The potential impacts in that scenario reinforce the need for community input.