Residential use/existing

AN ACT Relating to modifying regulations for existing buildings 1
used for residential purposes; and amending RCW 35A.21.440 and 2
35.21.990. 3
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:4
Sec. 1. RCW 35A.21.440 and 2023 c 285 s 1 are each amended to 5
read as follows: 6
(1)(a) Code cities must adopt or amend by ordinance, and 7
incorporate into their development regulations, zoning regulations, 8
and other official controls the requirements of subsection (2) of 9
this section for buildings ((that are zoned for commercial or mixed 10
use no later than six months after its next periodic comprehensive 11
plan update required under RCW 36.70A.130)) in commercial, mixed-use, 12
or residential zones no later than June 30, 2026. 13
(b) The requirements of subsection (2) of this section apply and 14
take effect in any code city that has not adopted or amended 15
ordinances, regulations, or other official controls as required under 16
this section by the timeline in (a) of this subsection and supersede, 17
preempt, and invalidate any conflicting local development 18
regulations. 19
H-0969.1
HOUSE BILL 1757
State of Washington 69th Legislature 2025 Regular Session
By Representatives Walen, Fitzgibbon, Parshley, Paul, Ramel, and Reed
Read first time 01/31/25. Referred to Committee on Housing.
p. 1 HB 1757
(2) Through ordinances, development regulations, zoning 1
regulations, or other official controls as required under subsection 2
(1) of this section, code cities may not: 3
(a) Impose a restriction on housing unit density that prevents 4
the addition of housing units at a density up to 50 percent more than 5
what is allowed in the underlying zone if constructed entirely within 6
an existing building envelope in a building located within a zone 7
that permits multifamily housing, provided that generally applicable 8
health and safety standards, including but not limited to building 9
code standards and fire and life safety standards, can be met within 10
the building; 11
(b) Impose parking requirements on the addition of dwelling units 12
or living units added within an existing building, however, cities 13
may require the retention of existing parking that is required to 14
satisfy existing residential parking requirements under local laws 15
and for nonresidential uses that remain after the new units are 16
added; 17
(c) With the exception of emergency housing and transitional 18
housing uses, impose permitting requirements on the use of an 19
existing building for residential purposes beyond those requirements 20
generally applicable to all residential development within the 21
building's zone, including requiring a change of use permit;22
(d) Impose design standard requirements, including setbacks, lot 23
coverage, and floor area ratio requirements, on the use of an 24
existing building for residential purposes beyond those requirements 25
generally applicable to all residential development within the 26
building's zone; 27
(e) Impose exterior design or architectural requirements on the 28
residential use of an existing building beyond those necessary for 29
health and safety of the use of the interior of the building or to 30
preserve character-defining streetscapes, unless the building is a 31
designated landmark or is within a historic district established 32
through a local preservation ordinance; 33
(f) Prohibit the addition of housing units in any specific part 34
of a building except ground floor commercial or retail that is along 35
a major pedestrian corridor as defined by the code city, unless the 36
addition of the units would violate applicable building codes or 37
health and safety standards; 38
(g) Require unchanged portions of an existing building used for 39
residential purposes to meet the current energy code solely because 40
p. 2 HB 1757
of the addition of new dwelling units within the building, however, 1
if any portion of an existing building is converted to new dwelling 2
units, each of those new units must meet the requirements of the 3
current energy code((;)), except if:4
(i) The square footage of new dwelling units does not exceed 5
2,500 square feet or 25 percent of the total building square footage, 6
whichever is greater;7
(ii) The building owner submits documentation to the local 8
jurisdiction showing the building's residential units' projected 9
energy use intensity is less than or equal to the energy use 10
intensity target in accordance with the clean buildings performance 11
standard in RCW 19.27A.210; or12
(iii) In all areas zoned for residential housing, an additional 13
housing unit is created within an existing home, or a single housing 14
unit is created within an existing home's accessory building;15
(h) Deny a building permit application for the addition of 16
housing units within an existing building due to nonconformity 17
regarding parking, height, setbacks, elevator size for gurney 18
transport, or modulation, unless the code city official with 19
decision-making authority makes written findings that the 20
nonconformity is causing a significant detriment to the surrounding 21
area; or 22
(i) Require a transportation concurrency study under RCW 23
36.70A.070 or an environmental study under chapter 43.21C RCW based 24
on the addition of residential units within an existing building.25
(3) Nothing in this section requires a code city to approve a 26
building permit application for the addition of housing units 27
constructed entirely within an existing building envelope in a 28
building located within a zone that permits multifamily housing in 29
cases in which the building cannot satisfy life safety standards.30
(4) For the purpose of this section, "existing building" means a 31
building that received a certificate of occupancy at least three 32
years prior to the permit application to add housing units.33
Sec. 2. RCW 35.21.990 and 2023 c 285 s 2 are each amended to 34
read as follows: 35
(1)(a) Cities must adopt or amend by ordinance, and incorporate 36
into their development regulations, zoning regulations, and other 37
official controls the requirements of subsection (2) of this section 38
for buildings ((that are zoned for commercial or mixed use no later 39
p. 3 HB 1757
than six months after its next periodic comprehensive plan update 1
required under RCW 36.70A.130)) in commercial, mixed-use, or 2
residential zones no later than June 30, 2026. 3
(b) The requirements of subsection (2) of this section apply and 4
take effect in any city that has not adopted or amended ordinances, 5
regulations, or other official controls as required under this 6
section by the timeline in (a) of this subsection and supersede, 7
preempt, and invalidate any conflicting local development 8
regulations. 9
(2) Through ordinances, development regulations, zoning 10
regulations, or other official controls as required under subsection 11
(1) of this section, cities may not: 12
(a) Impose a restriction on housing unit density that prevents 13
the addition of housing units at a density up to 50 percent more than 14
what is allowed in the underlying zone if constructed entirely within 15
an existing building envelope in a building located within a zone 16
that permits multifamily housing, provided that generally applicable 17
health and safety standards, including but not limited to building 18
code standards and fire and life safety standards, can be met within 19
the building; 20
(b) Impose parking requirements on the addition of dwelling units 21
or living units added within an existing building, however, cities 22
may require the retention of existing parking that is required to 23
satisfy existing residential parking requirements under local laws 24
and for nonresidential uses that remain after the new units are 25
added; 26
(c) With the exception of emergency housing and transitional 27
housing uses, impose permitting requirements on the use of an 28
existing building for residential purposes beyond those requirements 29
generally applicable to all residential development within the 30
building's zone, including requiring a change of use permit;31
(d) Impose design standard requirements, including setbacks, lot 32
coverage, and floor area ratio requirements, on the use of an 33
existing building for residential purposes beyond those requirements 34
generally applicable to all residential development within the 35
building's zone; 36
(e) Impose exterior design or architectural requirements on the 37
residential use of an existing building beyond those necessary for 38
health and safety of the use of the interior of the building or to 39
preserve character-defining streetscapes, unless the building is a 40
p. 4 HB 1757
designated landmark or is within a historic district established 1
through a local preservation ordinance; 2
(f) Prohibit the addition of housing units in any specific part 3
of a building except ground floor commercial or retail that is along 4
a major pedestrian corridor as defined by each city, unless the 5
addition of the units would violate applicable building codes or 6
health and safety standards; 7
(g) Require unchanged portions of an existing building used for 8
residential purposes to meet the current energy code solely because 9
of the addition of new dwelling units within the building, however, 10
if any portion of an existing building is converted to new dwelling 11
units, each of those new units must meet the requirements of the 12
current energy code((;)), except if:13
(i) The square footage of new dwelling units does not exceed 14
2,500 square feet or 25 percent of the total building square footage, 15
whichever is greater;16
(ii) The building owner submits documentation to the local 17
jurisdiction showing the building's residential units' projected 18
energy use intensity is less than or equal to the energy use 19
intensity target in accordance with the clean buildings performance 20
standard in RCW 19.27A.210; or21
(iii) In all areas zoned for residential housing, an additional 22
housing unit is created within an existing home, or a single housing 23
unit is created within an existing home's accessory building;24
(h) Deny a building permit application for the addition of 25
housing units within an existing building due to nonconformity 26
regarding parking, height, setbacks, elevator size for gurney 27
transport, or modulation, unless the city official with decision-28
making authority makes written findings that the nonconformity is 29
causing a significant detriment to the surrounding area; or30
(i) Require a transportation concurrency study under RCW 31
36.70A.070 or an environmental study under chapter 43.21C RCW based 32
on the addition of residential units within an existing building.33
(3) Nothing in this section requires a city to approve a building 34
permit application for the addition of housing units constructed 35
entirely within an existing building envelope in a building located 36
within a zone that permits multifamily housing in cases in which the 37
building cannot satisfy life safety standards. 38
p. 5 HB 1757
(4) For the purpose of this section, "existing building" means a 1
building that received a certificate of occupancy at least three 2
years prior to the permit application to add housing units.3
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p. 6 HB 1757