AN ACT Relating to authorizing middle housing in unincorporated urban growth areas, certain limited areas of more intensive rural development, and fully contained communities;
Summary
HB1840 authorizes counties that plan under Washington’s Growth Management Act to allow “middle housing” through local ordinance in certain unincorporated areas. The bill applies to unincorporated urban growth areas, limited areas of more intensive rural development, and fully contained communities. It requires counties to incorporate into their development and zoning regulations authorization for at least one middle housing unit on each parcel that allows single-family residences in designated urban growth areas and, in limited areas of more intensive rural development, to allow no more than four residential units per lot when counties choose to act under the bill.
The bill also limits how restrictive local standards may be for middle housing. Counties may not impose standards more restrictive than those applied to detached single-family homes, though they may apply objective development regulations such as setbacks, lot coverage, stormwater, clearing, tree canopy, and retention requirements. It further requires middle housing in limited areas of more intensive rural development to be served by sewer service, and it makes related permitting and environmental review processes generally the same as those for detached single-family residences, subject to other state law requirements.
Impact
HB1840 would amend Washington’s Growth Management Act framework and related planning statutes to require or permit local governments to expand housing options in specified unincorporated areas. It changes county development regulations, zoning authority, and review procedures by directing counties to allow middle housing on qualifying parcels and by restricting local governments’ ability to impose more burdensome standards than those used for detached single-family homes. It also affects appeal procedures and growth-management review provisions by limiting administrative or judicial appeals for certain local actions implementing the bill.
Sentiment
The bill appears generally pro-housing and aligned with efforts to increase residential capacity and diversify housing types in growth areas. The text and caption indicate a policy focus on middle housing, and the bill’s structure suggests support for streamlined local implementation and reduced regulatory barriers. No committee transcript or vote record was provided, so there is no direct evidence of recorded support or opposition beyond the bill’s policy design.
Contention
The main points of contention are likely to be local control, rural development intensity, and environmental review. Counties and local governments may object to the bill’s limits on how restrictive their zoning and development standards can be, as well as the reduced availability of appeals for certain implementation actions. Environmental and shoreline-related interests may also focus on the bill’s interaction with state environmental review, shoreline regulations, and the requirement that middle housing in limited areas of more intensive rural development be served by sewer service. Housing advocates, by contrast, would likely support the bill’s expansion of middle housing and its effort to standardize approval processes.
Crossfiled
AN ACT Relating to authorizing middle housing in unincorporated urban growth areas, certain limited areas of more intensive rural development, and fully contained communities;
AN ACT Relating to authorizing middle housing in unincorporated urban growth areas, certain limited areas of more intensive rural development, and fully contained communities;
Creating a categorical exemption for multiunit housing development within the incorporated areas in an urban growth area under the state environmental policy act.