Z-0614.2
SENATE BILL 6024
State of Washington 68th Legislature 2024 Regular Session
By Senators Trudeau, Saldaña, Frame, Kuderer, Lovelett, Lovick,
Nguyen, Nobles, Valdez, and C. Wilson; by request of Office of the
Governor
Prefiled 01/05/24. Read first time 01/08/24. Referred to Committee
on Local Government, Land Use & Tribal Affairs.
1 AN ACT Relating to promoting community and transit-oriented
2 housing development; amending RCW 36.70A.500, 36.70A.620, and
3 43.21C.229; reenacting and amending RCW 36.70A.030; adding a new
4 section to chapter 47.01 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 36.70A
5 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 44.28 RCW; adding a new section
6 to chapter 64.38 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 64.90 RCW;
7 adding a new section to chapter 64.34 RCW; adding a new section to
8 chapter 64.32 RCW; and creating a new section.
9 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
10 NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. The legislature finds that the state has
11 made groundbreaking investments in state-of-the-art mass transit and
12 intermodal infrastructure. The legislature finds that to maximize the
13 state's return on these investments, land use policies and practices
14 must allow housing development to keep pace with progress being
15 implemented in transportation infrastructure development. The
16 legislature also intends new development to reflect the state's
17 commitment to affordable housing and vibrant, walkable, accessible
18 urban environments that improve health, expand multimodal
19 transportation options, and include varied community facilities,
20 parks, and green spaces that are open to people of all income levels.
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1 The legislature recognizes that cities planning under chapter
2 36.70A RCW require direction and technical assistance to ensure the
3 benefits of state transportation investments are maximized and shared
4 equitably while avoiding unnecessary programmatic and cost burdens to
5 local governments in their comprehensive planning, code enactment,
6 and permit processing workloads. The legislature further recognizes
7 that regulatory flexibility and local control are also important
8 features of optimal planning outcomes.
9 NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. A new section is added to chapter 47.01
10 RCW to read as follows:
11 (1) The department must create a new division within its agency
12 or expand an existing division within its agency and designate a
13 liaison to serve as a point of contact and resource for the
14 department, local governments, and project proponents regarding land
15 use decisions and processing development permit applications. The
16 liaison's priority must be to facilitate and expedite any department
17 decisions required for project approval.
18 (2) The department must adopt any rules necessary to implement
19 this section.
20 Sec. 3. RCW 36.70A.030 and 2023 c 332 s 2 and 2023 c 228 s 14
21 are each reenacted and amended to read as follows:
22 Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, the definitions in
23 this section apply throughout this chapter.
24 (1) "Active transportation" means forms of pedestrian mobility
25 including walking or running, the use of a mobility assistive device
26 such as a wheelchair, bicycling and cycling irrespective of the
27 number of wheels, and the use of small personal devices such as foot
28 scooters or skateboards. Active transportation includes both
29 traditional and electric assist bicycles and other devices. Planning
30 for active transportation must consider and address accommodation
31 pursuant to the Americans with disabilities act and the distinct
32 needs of each form of active transportation.
33 (2) "Active transportation facilities" means facilities provided
34 for the safety and mobility of active transportation users including,
35 but not limited to, trails, as defined in RCW 47.30.005, sidewalks,
36 bike lanes, shared-use paths, and other facilities in the public
37 right-of-way.
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 1 (3) "Administrative design review" means a development permit
2 process whereby an application is reviewed, approved, or denied by
3 the planning director or the planning director's designee based
4 solely on objective design and development standards without a public
5 predecision hearing, unless such review is otherwise required by
6 state or federal law, or the structure is a designated landmark or
7 historic district established under a local preservation ordinance. A
8 city may utilize public meetings, hearings, or voluntary review
9 boards to consider, recommend, or approve requests for variances from
10 locally established design review standards.
11 (4) "Adopt a comprehensive land use plan" means to enact a new
12 comprehensive land use plan or to update an existing comprehensive
13 land use plan.
14 (5) "Affordable housing" means, unless the context clearly
15 indicates otherwise, residential housing whose monthly costs,
16 including utilities other than telephone, do not exceed ((thirty)) 30
17 percent of the monthly income of a household whose income is:
18 (a) For rental housing, 60 percent of the median household income
19 adjusted for household size, for the county where the household is
20 located, as reported by the United States department of housing and
21 urban development; or
22 (b) For owner-occupied housing, 80 percent of the median
23 household income adjusted for household size, for the county where
24 the household is located, as reported by the United States department
25 of housing and urban development.
26 (6) "Agricultural land" means land primarily devoted to the
27 commercial production of horticultural, viticultural, floricultural,
28 dairy, apiary, vegetable, or animal products or of berries, grain,
29 hay, straw, turf, seed, Christmas trees not subject to the excise tax
30 imposed by RCW 84.33.100 through 84.33.140, finfish in upland
31 hatcheries, or livestock, and that has long-term commercial
32 significance for agricultural production.
33 (7) "City" means any city or town, including a code city.
34 (8) "Comprehensive land use plan," "comprehensive plan," or
35 "plan" means a generalized coordinated land use policy statement of
36 the governing body of a county or city that is adopted pursuant to
37 this chapter.
38 (9) "Cottage housing" means residential units on a lot with a
39 common open space that either: (a) Is owned in common; or (b) has
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 1 units owned as condominium units with property owned in common and a
2 minimum of 20 percent of the lot size as open space.
3 (10) "Courtyard apartments" means up to four attached dwelling
4 units arranged on two or three sides of a yard or court.
5 (11) "Critical areas" include the following areas and ecosystems:
6 (a) Wetlands; (b) areas with a critical recharging effect on aquifers
7 used for potable water; (c) fish and wildlife habitat conservation
8 areas; (d) frequently flooded areas; and (e) geologically hazardous
9 areas. "Fish and wildlife habitat conservation areas" does not
10 include such artificial features or constructs as irrigation delivery
11 systems, irrigation infrastructure, irrigation canals, or drainage
12 ditches that lie within the boundaries of and are maintained by a
13 port district or an irrigation district or company.
14 (12) "Department" means the department of commerce.
15 (13) "Development regulations" or "regulation" means the controls
16 placed on development or land use activities by a county or city,
17 including, but not limited to, zoning ordinances, critical areas
18 ordinances, shoreline master programs, official controls, planned
19 unit development ordinances, subdivision ordinances, and binding site
20 plan ordinances together with any amendments thereto. A development
21 regulation does not include a decision to approve a project permit
22 application, as defined in RCW 36.70B.020, even though the decision
23 may be expressed in a resolution or ordinance of the legislative body
24 of the county or city.
25 (14) "Emergency housing" means temporary indoor accommodations
26 for individuals or families who are homeless or at imminent risk of
27 becoming homeless that is intended to address the basic health, food,
28 clothing, and personal hygiene needs of individuals or families.
29 Emergency housing may or may not require occupants to enter into a
30 lease or an occupancy agreement.
31 (15) "Emergency shelter" means a facility that provides a
32 temporary shelter for individuals or families who are currently
33 homeless. Emergency shelter may not require occupants to enter into a
34 lease or an occupancy agreement. Emergency shelter facilities may
35 include day and warming centers that do not provide overnight
36 accommodations.
37 (16) "Environmental justice" means the fair treatment and
38 meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color,
39 national origin, or income with respect to development,
40 implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations,
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 1 and policies. Environmental justice includes addressing
2 disproportionate environmental and health impacts in all laws, rules,
3 and policies with environmental impacts by prioritizing vulnerable
4 populations and overburdened communities and the equitable
5 distribution of resources and benefits.
6 (17) "Extremely low-income household" means a single person,
7 family, or unrelated persons living together whose adjusted income is
8 at or below ((thirty)) 30 percent of the median household income
9 adjusted for household size, for the county where the household is
10 located, as reported by the United States department of housing and
11 urban development.
12 (18) "Floor area ratio" means a measure of development intensity
13 equal to building square footage, excluding areas used for parking,
14 interior openings in floor plates, such as vent shafts, stairwells,
15 and elevator shafts, and mechanical floors or areas, divided by the
16 developable property square footage. Developable property excludes
17 lots or portions of lots with critical areas and critical area
18 buffers as designated in RCW 36.70A.060, as well as public
19 facilities.
20 (19) "Forestland" means land primarily devoted to growing trees
21 for long-term commercial timber production on land that can be
22 economically and practically managed for such production, including
23 Christmas trees subject to the excise tax imposed under RCW 84.33.100
24 through 84.33.140, and that has long-term commercial significance. In
25 determining whether forestland is primarily devoted to growing trees
26 for long-term commercial timber production on land that can be
27 economically and practically managed for such production, the
28 following factors shall be considered: (a) The proximity of the land
29 to urban, suburban, and rural settlements; (b) surrounding parcel
30 size and the compatibility and intensity of adjacent and nearby land
31 uses; (c) long-term local economic conditions that affect the ability
32 to manage for timber production; and (d) the availability of public
33 facilities and services conducive to conversion of forestland to
34 other uses.
35 (((19))) (20) "Freight rail dependent uses" means buildings and
36 other infrastructure that are used in the fabrication, processing,
37 storage, and transport of goods where the use is dependent on and
38 makes use of an adjacent short line railroad. Such facilities are
39 both urban and rural development for purposes of this chapter.
40 "Freight rail dependent uses" does not include buildings and other
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 1 infrastructure that are used in the fabrication, processing, storage,
2 and transport of coal, liquefied natural gas, or "crude oil" as
3 defined in RCW 90.56.010.
4 (((20))) (21) "Geologically hazardous areas" means areas that
5 because of their susceptibility to erosion, sliding, earthquake, or
6 other geological events, are not suited to the siting of commercial,
7 residential, or industrial development consistent with public health
8 or safety concerns.
9 (((21))) (22) "Green infrastructure" means a wide array of
10 natural assets and built structures within an urban growth area
11 boundary, including parks and other areas with protected tree canopy,
12 and management practices at multiple scales that manage wet weather
13 and that maintain and restore natural hydrology by storing,
14 infiltrating, evapotranspiring, and harvesting and using stormwater.
15 (((22))) (23) "Green space" means an area of land, vegetated by
16 natural features such as grass, trees, or shrubs, within an urban
17 context and less than one acre in size that creates public value
18 through one or more of the following attributes:
19 (a) Is accessible to the public;
20 (b) Promotes physical and mental health of residents;
21 (c) Provides relief from the urban heat island effects;
22 (d) Promotes recreational and aesthetic values;
23 (e) Protects streams or water supply; or
24 (f) Preserves visual quality along highway, road, or street
25 corridors.
26 (((23))) (24) "Long-term commercial significance" includes the
27 growing capacity, productivity, and soil composition of the land for
28 long-term commercial production, in consideration with the land's
29 proximity to population areas, and the possibility of more intense
30 uses of the land.
31 (((24))) (25) "Low-income household" means a single person,
32 family, or unrelated persons living together whose adjusted income is
33 at or below ((eighty)) 80 percent of the median household income
34 adjusted for household size, for the county where the household is
35 located, as reported by the United States department of housing and
36 urban development.
37 (((25))) (26) "Major transit stop" means:
38 (a) A stop on a high capacity transportation system funded or
39 expanded under the provisions of chapter 81.104 RCW;
40 (b) Commuter rail stops;
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 1 (c) Stops on rail or fixed guideway systems; or
2 (d) Stops on bus rapid transit routes.
3 (((26))) (27) "Middle housing" means buildings that are
4 compatible in scale, form, and character with single-family houses
5 and contain two or more attached, stacked, or clustered homes
6 including duplexes, triplexes, fourplexes, fiveplexes, sixplexes,
7 townhouses, stacked flats, courtyard apartments, and cottage housing.
8 (((27))) (28) "Minerals" include gravel, sand, and valuable
9 metallic substances.
10 (((28))) (29) "Moderate-income household" means a single person,
11 family, or unrelated persons living together whose adjusted income is
12 at or below 120 percent of the median household income adjusted for
13 household size, for the county where the household is located, as
14 reported by the United States department of housing and urban
15 development.
16 (((29))) (30) "Overburdened community" means a geographic area
17 where vulnerable populations face combined, multiple environmental
18 harms and health impacts, and includes, but is not limited to, highly
19 impacted communities as defined in RCW 19.405.020.
20 (((30))) (31) "Per capita vehicle miles traveled" means the
21 number of miles traveled using cars and light trucks in a calendar
22 year divided by the number of residents in Washington. The
23 calculation of this value excludes vehicle miles driven conveying
24 freight.
25 (((31))) (32) "Permanent supportive housing" is subsidized,
26 leased housing with no limit on length of stay that prioritizes
27 people who need comprehensive support services to retain tenancy and
28 utilizes admissions practices designed to use lower barriers to entry
29 than would be typical for other subsidized or unsubsidized rental
30 housing, especially related to rental history, criminal history, and
31 personal behaviors. Permanent supportive housing is paired with on-
32 site or off-site voluntary services designed to support a person
33 living with a complex and disabling behavioral health or physical
34 health condition who was experiencing homelessness or was at imminent
35 risk of homelessness prior to moving into housing to retain their
36 housing and be a successful tenant in a housing arrangement, improve
37 the resident's health status, and connect the resident of the housing
38 with community-based health care, treatment, or employment services.
39 Permanent supportive housing is subject to all of the rights and
40 responsibilities defined in chapter 59.18 RCW.
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 1 (((32))) (33) "Public facilities" include streets, roads,
2 highways, sidewalks, street and road lighting systems, traffic
3 signals, domestic water systems, storm and sanitary sewer systems,
4 parks and recreational facilities, and schools.
5 (((33))) (34) "Public services" include fire protection and
6 suppression, law enforcement, public health, education, recreation,
7 environmental protection, and other governmental services.
8 (((34))) (35) "Recreational l