Duplex influx? Middle housing passes hurdle in Washington Senate

OLYMPIA – A slimmed version of a bill to allow more duplexes or fourplexes in cities across Washington is on its way to becoming law.

The “middle housing” proposal passed the state Senate 35-14 on Tuesday. It previously passed 75-21 in the state House of Representatives, where it must receive one more approval before heading to Gov. Jay Inslee’s desk.

Most cities across the state would be required to allow denser types of housing on lots – an attempt to shift zoning laws away from decades of only allowing single-family homes.

It’s one of a number of proposals making its way through the Legislature this year as lawmakers attempt to address the state’s growing housing and homelessness crisis.

“This bill is a direct response to a problem we have all recognized over and over again,” Sen. Yasmin Trudeau, D-Tacoma, said on the floor. “We simply don’t have enough housing.”

Cities with a population between 25,000 and 75,000 would be required to allow at least duplexes on all lots, and at least fourplexes on all lots within a quarter mile of a major transit stop and all lots if at least one unit is considered affordable.

Cities with more than 75,000 people, such as Spokane or Spokane Valley, would be required to allow fourplexes on all lots.

They would be required to allow sixplexes on all lots within a quarter mile of a major transit stop, or if at least two of the units are affordable housing.

Cities that have fewer than 25,000 people but are in an urban growth area of more than 275,000, such as Spokane, would be required to allow duplexes on all lots.

Under the proposal, such middle housing would only have to follow an administrative design review, and cities could not set more restrictive standards than for single-family residences.

Republicans pushed back on the proposal in the Senate, saying it took away local zoning decisions.

Sen. Mike Padden, R-Spokane Valley, said his constituents do not support the bill, adding that Spokane Valley has taken steps to increase density within the city without state mandates.

“Government that governs best governs least,” he said.

Eight Republicans voted in favor of the bill, including Minority Leader John Braun, R-Centralia. Braun called the bill an important and challenging one.

There aren’t enough houses in the state to meet the needs, he said, adding that one fix is increasing where housing can be built.

Increasing the types of homes you can put on a lot protects private property rights, which he says are limited by single-family zoning.

“It’s not going to radically change our state, but it’s going to give us one more tool to help solve our housing crisis,” Braun said.

Attempts to reform zoning laws in Washington aren’t new, but they typically face resistance from cities and counties.

Despite early pushback, the proposal as passed on Tuesday has the support of the Association of Washington Cities.

Carl Schroeder, deputy director of government relations at the association, said last week that cities are beginning to support more creative policy changes to address the state’s growing housing needs.

“Local governments are ready and willing to build on our longstanding partnership with the state to work together and create a variety of solutions that will benefit all our shared residents, including our most vulnerable,” Schroeder said in a statement.

An earlier version of this year’s bill would have required all cities of at least 6,000 or more to allow up to fourplexes on all residential lots. The proposal had bipartisan support when it was first announced.

Democratic leadership said the proposal as it stands will still help increase housing supply across Washington. They acknowledged it did not go as far as some had hoped.

“Even in the form it’s in now, it is a significant, dramatic, positive step forward for our state in terms of housing and housing density,” Senate Majority Leader Andy Billig, D-Spokane, told reporters last week.

Rep. Andrew Barkis, R-Olympia, who co-sponsored the bill, told reporters last week the bill still has a good base and will produce more housing.

The Legislature has until April 23 to give the final approval before sending the bill to Inslee’s desk.