Surviving Bills From Cutoff
April 12, 2019
Tuesday was the opposite house of origin fiscal committee cutoff, which means budget negotiations have started and legislators are moving from the committee rooms to the floors.
BIAW continues its work to protect and encourage housing of all types:
This bill includes a menu of pro-growth actions, that are SEPA appeal exempt, cities can take and get additional protections of those actions. This bill also includes a SEPA transportation appeal exemption for any projects that are consistent with underlying transportation plans.
In addition, this bill includes a data collection piece regarding local development regulations and affordability. This will be key in the future to determine what cities are doing it right and which ones need more help with housing development. This bill is still a work in progress.
This bill relates to the Department of Fish and Wildlife’s (DFW) hydraulic project approval (HPA) process. HB 1579 removes the requirement for DFW to issue an HPA with or without conditions on single-family residential bulkheads.
This bill will set up a system where residential bulkhead permit applicants will now have to go through two processes that may conflict with each other: the local shoreline management programs rigorous standards for shoreline construction and the DFW’s unwritten, non-specific requirements for HPAs. This sets up a cycle of conflicting and overlapping requirements that put shoreline development into regulatory uncertainty.
Unfortunately, this bill passed the Senate and has to go back to the House for concurrence.