Government Affairs 2023 looks to be the year that the legislature gets serious about the housing crisis.

2023 looks to be the year that the legislature gets serious about the housing crisis. The state legislative session began in early January and hearings kicked off with a wave of new proposals around housing. Legislation was introduced that could potentially address everything from allowing more housing through less restrictive zoning in urban areas, to streamlining the permitting process, to potentially eliminating minimum parking requirements on multi-family housing projects in jurisdictions governed by the Growth Management Act. In all, there have been many ideas introduced that could truly make some headway.

The Building Industry Association of Washington (BIAW) is your statewide organization and the main entity tasked with keeping a close eye on the legislature for bills that impact the building industry in both positive and negative ways. Your Government Affairs Committee here at Olympia Master Builders (OMB) is working to provide any support that BIAW may request. Currently, you may speak directly with your legislators by following the instructions on the “participating in the process” page on the WA Leg website. We urge all members to periodically check in with OMB, BIAW, or on the WA Leg website to stay aware of happenings that may impact your business.

Some of the more important legislation we are watching includes:

SHB 1026 – Concerning local government design review.

(BIAW Support)

Requires any design review of housing development permit applications to be conducted administratively by local government employees, unless the structure or district is listed on a local, state, or federal historic register.

HB 1110 (SB 5190) – Concerning increasing middle housing in areas traditionally dedicated to single-family detached housing. (BIAW Support)

Requires certain cities planning under the Growth Management Act to authorize minimum development densities in residential zones.

Establishes requirements for middle housing development regulations.

Requires the Department of Commerce to provide technical assistance to cities in implementing the requirements and to develop model missing housing ordinances.

HB 1351 (SB5456) – Concerning prohibiting the imposition of minimum parking requirements except under certain circumstances. (BIAW Support)

Removes existing minimum residential parking requirements for cities and counties planning under the Growth Management Act (GMA). Prohibits cities and counties planning under the GMA from imposing minimum parking requirements within certain distances of transit stops receiving various levels of transit services, with exceptions.

There are a variety of other pieces of legislation that we are following and giving input on, and the easiest way to follow them is at BIAW’s Legislative Action Center: https:// www.biaw.com/legislative-action-center/

For more information, please reach out to our Government Affairs Director, Jessie Simmons, at ga@omb. org or (360)7540912 ext. 102.

*Dates and times are subject to change.