HB1491 — Redmond said its TOD focus areas around light rail stations already anticipated the requirements of House Bill 1491.
Dave Anderson — The speaker says Dave Anderson may be appropriate to answer the question later in the session.
Dave Anderson — Called up to present on integrating special purpose districts into the Growth Management Act; affiliated with the Department of Commerce.
Dave Boucher — Dave Boucher, an architect in Spokane and a member of the American Institute of Architects Washington Council, was introduced as a virtual presenter on permitting practices. He explained that he was testifying about streamlining the permitting process, especially for residential construction, and noted that as a licensed architect his training and licensure require him to follow building codes and regulations to ensure life safety.
SB5729 — Referenced as the prior-session bill the speaker wants to build on.
Tim Woodard — Tim Woodard is introduced as the next witness and chair of the Washington Association of Building Officials. He then begins his remarks, noting the schedule is running behind and that he will keep his presentation brief, and identifies himself as a volunteer with WABO.
Tim Woodard — Tim Woodard explained how Washington’s phased approval process works and contrasted it with states like Idaho and Utah, where land use approvals must be completed before a building permit can even be submitted. He said permit delays often stem from land use or utility constraints, and phased approval allows portions of a project—such as foundations, infrastructure, or podiums in multifamily buildings—to be approved and built earlier while the rest of the design is still being completed. He noted that this can speed construction by overlapping review and building, but it also places the permit holder at risk if the remaining project is not approved, requires enough project detail for utility and design coordination, and increases administrative complexity for staff. He added that phased approval is most beneficial for large projects with long lead times, can leave partially built structures if projects stall, and works best when paired with pre-application processes and separate submittals rather than combining everything into one permit.
Dylan Sluder — Dylan Sluder, State Government Affairs Manager at the Master Builders Association, explains the permitting and subdivision process used by builders and how it varies widely by jurisdiction. He describes phased approvals, basic plan approvals, and how some cities can issue permits in about three weeks while others require full resubmittals and take eight to 12 months. He argues that the biggest opportunity to speed housing to market is improving subdivision processing and changing review culture through collaboration and learning from faster jurisdictions, including the idea of countywide basic approvals. He then shifts to the cost of delay, noting that permitting and construction delays can add substantial carrying costs, increase mortgage payments, and significantly extend the time from feasibility to completed home.
Markville Walk — Identified as a building member joining Dylan Sluder.
Mark — Mark thanked the committee for the opportunity to speak and then continued by emphasizing the importance of predictability in housing development, describing the scale of the division he works with and noting that they build around 700 homes a year.
Mark — Referenced as a person who would answer questions and likely present on the housing topic.
Unidentified committee member — Asks whether many of the listed items are already required earlier in the process and notes some jurisdictions do not require resubmittal.
Dylan — Referenced as a person who would answer questions and likely present on the housing topic.
Clay White — Called up to present; identified as director of planning with Kimmelie Horn.
Dave — Mentioned as someone sitting next to the speaker, apparently to address cost concerns.
Tim Trahimovich — Tim Trahimovich, director of planning and law at FutureWise, introduces himself and begins a slideshow presentation on subdivision reform. He explains that he will move quickly due to time constraints, defines a subdivision as the process of dividing and developing land into buildable lots, and then summarizes the main benefit of the proposed changes as administrative review and statutory streamlining that could improve subdivision timelines in urban growth areas. He concludes by saying that ends his presentation and invites questions.
Spencer Gardner — Introduced as Planning Director of the City of Spokane and one of the subdivision reform presenters.
Spencer Gardner — Introduced himself as Planning Director for the City of Spokane and said he would discuss recent changes that may help address platting requirements in the context of housing affordability.
Gardner — The chair indicated the committee would move on to Gardner next.
SB5559 — Gardner said SB 5559 would impose additional noticing requirements on unit lot subdivisions, which Spokane opposes.
Spencer — The chair thanked Spencer for his presentation and asked for more detailed feedback. Spencer responded that he would be happy to share additional thoughts offline and could send comments for distribution, indicating openness to tweaks while implying that larger policy changes would be harder to implement.
Tim — The chair thanked Tim along with Spencer for the presentation.
Davina Duerr — Opened the committee meeting and introduced herself as Chair from the 1st District.
Davina Duerr — Carol Helland addressed Chair Duerr in her opening remarks.
Davina Duerr — Addressed as Chair Duerr.
Davina Duerr — Not mentioned in this section.
Davina Duerr — Addressed as Chair Duerr by the witness.
Davina Duerr — Addressed as Chair Duerr.
Davina Duerr — Addressed as Madam Chair by the ranking member.
Davina Duerr — Chair Davina Duerr briefly acknowledges the exchange, notes the committee is running behind schedule, and introduces the next speaker, Dylan Sluder. The following witness then greets Chair Duerr and the committee, thanking them before beginning testimony.
Davina Duerr — Addressed as Madam Chair.
Janice Zahn — Janice Zahn was introduced as the new Vice Chair and then identified herself as representing the 41st Legislative District.
Janice Zahn — Representative Janice Zahn asked whether the proposed GIS effort would expand an existing Public Works Board system or website to make it more inclusive and cover additional project types.
Lisa Parshley — Introduced herself and joked that the committee was sitting in LD 22.
Zach Hall — Zach Hall was introduced as representing the 5th District and then spoke briefly to introduce himself, saying it was his second time meeting with the group and expressing that it was good to be there.
Zach Hall — Asked where collaboration on countywide planning policies would happen, specifically whether it would be at the growth management planning council or the local level.
Zach Hall — Asked about improving coordination between road projects and utility work in the same right-of-way, especially in fast-growing communities.
Mark Klicker — Was welcomed as Ranking Member and introduced with his district.
Mark Klicker — Identified as the ranking member asking a question.
Mark Klicker — Asked whether Washington’s permitting timeline is normal compared with surrounding states and expressed concern about constituents struggling to get building permits.
Mark Klicker — Continued expressing concern about long permitting delays for constituents.
Mark Klicker — A representative is referenced as having a quick question, likely the ranking member from prior context.
Mark Klicker — Representative Mark Klicker raised questions about the hearing examiner process, including how decisions are made, whether city council pressure affects outcomes, and how related lawsuits factor in. He then followed up with a question about public hearings and the perception that they function as decision points.
David Stuebe — Introduced himself as representing the 17th District.
Dan Griffey — Dan Griffey introduced himself as representing the 35th Legislative District and described the district’s geographic coverage, including areas from Silverdale to Rochester and parts of Kitsap, Mason, and Thurston Counties.
Dan Griffey — Rep. Griffey was addressed by name during the exchange about the four-year planning timeline.
Alan Basak — Introduced as the first speaker for the comprehensive plan update check-in.
Alan Bassach — Alan Bassach was introduced as the first speaker and then testified about the county's comprehensive plan, describing it as a major effort that took about three years and involved broad county support.
Carol Helland — Carol Helland, the Planning and Community Development Director for the City of Redmond, was introduced and then began her testimony, thanking the committee for the invitation and speaking about Redmond’s recent comprehensive plan update process and related improvements.