Zoning regulations

AN ACT Relating to zoning regulations in commercial, retail, and 1
mixed-use areas in cities and code cities; amending RCW 35.21.990 and 2
35A.21.440; and adding a new section to chapter 36.70A RCW.3
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:4
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. A new section is added to chapter 36.70A 5
RCW to read as follows: 6
(1) A city or code city planning under RCW 36.70A.040 must allow 7
for the following: 8
(a)(i) The addition of housing units in ground floor commercial 9
or retail in a station area that is not designated as a major 10
pedestrian corridor by the city or code city; 11
(ii) For the purposes of this section, a city or code city may 12
not designate more than 10 percent of its area zoned as mixed-use or 13
commercial as a major pedestrian corridor; and 14
(b) An expedited ability for a development to deviate from any 15
street level use standards based on a showing that the requirement 16
would result in the creation of fewer housing units in the 17
development. 18
(2) For the purposes of this section, "station area" means all 19
lots that are: 20
(a) Fully within an urban growth area; and 21
S-0718.1
SENATE BILL 5555
State of Washington 69th Legislature 2025 Regular Session
By Senators Salomon, Alvarado, Frame, and Nobles
Read first time 01/28/25. Referred to Committee on Housing.
p. 1 SB 5555
(b) Fully or partially within: 1
(i) One-half mile walking distance of an entrance to a train 2
station with a stop on a light rail system, a commuter rail stop, or 3
a stop on rail or fixed guideway systems; or 4
(ii) One-quarter mile walking distance of a stop on a fixed route 5
bus system that is designated as a bus rapid transit stop in the 6
transit development plan as required in RCW 35.58.2795, for which an 7
environmental determination has been issued as required under chapter 8
43.21C RCW, and that features fixed transit assets that indicate 9
permanent, high capacity service including, but not limited to, 10
elevated platforms or enhanced stations, off-board fare collection, 11
dedicated lanes, busways, or transit signal priority.12
Sec. 2. RCW 35.21.990 and 2023 c 285 s 2 are each amended to 13
read as follows: 14
(1)(a) Cities must adopt or amend by ordinance, and incorporate 15
into their development regulations, zoning regulations, and other 16
official controls the requirements of subsection (2) of this section 17
for buildings that are zoned for commercial or mixed use no later 18
than six months after its next periodic comprehensive plan update 19
required under RCW 36.70A.130. 20
(b) The requirements of subsection (2) of this section apply and 21
take effect in any city that has not adopted or amended ordinances, 22
regulations, or other official controls as required under this 23
section by the timeline in (a) of this subsection and supersede, 24
preempt, and invalidate any conflicting local development 25
regulations. 26
(2) Through ordinances, development regulations, zoning 27
regulations, or other official controls as required under subsection 28
(1) of this section, cities may not: 29
(a) Impose a restriction on housing unit density that prevents 30
the addition of housing units at a density up to 50 percent more than 31
what is allowed in the underlying zone if constructed entirely within 32
an existing building envelope in a building located within a zone 33
that permits multifamily housing, provided that generally applicable 34
health and safety standards, including but not limited to building 35
code standards and fire and life safety standards, can be met within 36
the building; 37
(b) Impose parking requirements on the addition of dwelling units 38
or living units added within an existing building, however, cities 39
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may require the retention of existing parking that is required to 1
satisfy existing residential parking requirements under local laws 2
and for nonresidential uses that remain after the new units are 3
added; 4
(c) With the exception of emergency housing and transitional 5
housing uses, impose permitting requirements on the use of an 6
existing building for residential purposes beyond those requirements 7
generally applicable to all residential development within the 8
building's zone; 9
(d) Impose design standard requirements, including setbacks, lot 10
coverage, and floor area ratio requirements, on the use of an 11
existing building for residential purposes beyond those requirements 12
generally applicable to all residential development within the 13
building's zone; 14
(e) Impose exterior design or architectural requirements on the 15
residential use of an existing building beyond those necessary for 16
health and safety of the use of the interior of the building or to 17
preserve character-defining streetscapes, unless the building is a 18
designated landmark or is within a historic district established 19
through a local preservation ordinance; 20
(f) Prohibit the addition of housing units in any specific part 21
of a building except ground floor commercial or retail that is along 22
a major pedestrian corridor as defined by each city, except as 23
provided in section 1 of this act, unless the addition of the units 24
would violate applicable building codes or health and safety 25
standards; 26
(g) Require unchanged portions of an existing building used for 27
residential purposes to meet the current energy code solely because 28
of the addition of new dwelling units within the building, however, 29
if any portion of an existing building is converted to new dwelling 30
units, each of those new units must meet the requirements of the 31
current energy code; 32
(h) Deny a building permit application for the addition of 33
housing units within an existing building due to nonconformity 34
regarding parking, height, setbacks, elevator size for gurney 35
transport, or modulation, unless the city official with decision-36
making authority makes written findings that the nonconformity is 37
causing a significant detriment to the surrounding area; or38
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(i) Require a transportation concurrency study under RCW 1
36.70A.070 or an environmental study under chapter 43.21C RCW based 2
on the addition of residential units within an existing building.3
(3)(a) Cities must adopt zoning regulations that allow for 4
greater building height and increased density in all commercial and 5
mixed-use zones for developments built with all mass timber products.6
(b) For the purposes of this subsection, "mass timber products" 7
has the same meaning as in RCW 19.27.570.8
(4) Nothing in this section requires a city to approve a building 9
permit application for the addition of housing units constructed 10
entirely within an existing building envelope in a building located 11
within a zone that permits multifamily housing in cases in which the 12
building cannot satisfy life safety standards. 13
(((4))) (5) For the purpose of this section, "existing building" 14
means a building that received a certificate of occupancy at least 15
three years prior to the permit application to add housing units.16
Sec. 3. RCW 35A.21.440 and 2023 c 285 s 1 are each amended to 17
read as follows: 18
(1)(a) Code cities must adopt or amend by ordinance, and 19
incorporate into their development regulations, zoning regulations, 20
and other official controls the requirements of subsection (2) of 21
this section for buildings that are zoned for commercial or mixed use 22
no later than six months after its next periodic comprehensive plan 23
update required under RCW 36.70A.130. 24
(b) The requirements of subsection (2) of this section apply and 25
take effect in any code city that has not adopted or amended 26
ordinances, regulations, or other official controls as required under 27
this section by the timeline in (a) of this subsection and supersede, 28
preempt, and invalidate any conflicting local development 29
regulations. 30
(2) Through ordinances, development regulations, zoning 31
regulations, or other official controls as required under subsection 32
(1) of this section, code cities may not: 33
(a) Impose a restriction on housing unit density that prevents 34
the addition of housing units at a density up to 50 percent more than 35
what is allowed in the underlying zone if constructed entirely within 36
an existing building envelope in a building located within a zone 37
that permits multifamily housing, provided that generally applicable 38
health and safety standards, including but not limited to building 39
p. 4 SB 5555
code standards and fire and life safety standards, can be met within 1
the building; 2
(b) Impose parking requirements on the addition of dwelling units 3
or living units added within an existing building, however, code 4
cities may require the retention of existing parking that is required 5
to satisfy existing residential parking requirements under local laws 6
and for nonresidential uses that remain after the new units are 7
added; 8
(c) With the exception of emergency housing and transitional 9
housing uses, impose permitting requirements on the use of an 10
existing building for residential purposes beyond those requirements 11
generally applicable to all residential development within the 12
building's zone; 13
(d) Impose design standard requirements, including setbacks, lot 14
coverage, and floor area ratio requirements, on the use of an 15
existing building for residential purposes beyond those requirements 16
generally applicable to all residential development within the 17
building's zone; 18
(e) Impose exterior design or architectural requirements on the 19
residential use of an existing building beyond those necessary for 20
health and safety of the use of the interior of the building or to 21
preserve character-defining streetscapes, unless the building is a 22
designated landmark or is within a historic district established 23
through a local preservation ordinance; 24
(f) Prohibit the addition of housing units in any specific part 25
of a building except ground floor commercial or retail that is along 26
a major pedestrian corridor as defined by the code city, except as 27
provided in section 1 of this act, unless the addition of the units 28
would violate applicable building codes or health and safety 29
standards; 30
(g) Require unchanged portions of an existing building used for 31
residential purposes to meet the current energy code solely because 32
of the addition of new dwelling units within the building, however, 33
if any portion of an existing building is converted to new dwelling 34
units, each of those new units must meet the requirements of the 35
current energy code; 36
(h) Deny a building permit application for the addition of 37
housing units within an existing building due to nonconformity 38
regarding parking, height, setbacks, elevator size for gurney 39
transport, or modulation, unless the code city official with 40
p. 5 SB 5555
decision-making authority makes written findings that the 1
nonconformity is causing a significant detriment to the surrounding 2
area; or 3
(i) Require a transportation concurrency study under RCW 4
36.70A.070 or an environmental study under chapter 43.21C RCW based 5
on the addition of residential units within an existing building.6
(3)(a) Code cities must adopt zoning regulations that allow for 7
greater building height and increased density in all commercial and 8
mixed-use zones for developments built with all mass timber products.9
(b) For the purposes of this subsection, "mass timber products" 10
has the same meaning as in RCW 19.27.570.11
(4) Nothing in this section requires a code city to approve a 12
building permit application for the addition of housing units 13
constructed entirely within an existing building envelope in a 14
building located within a zone that permits multifamily housing in 15
cases in which the building cannot satisfy life safety standards.16
(((4))) (5) For the purpose of this section, "existing building" 17
means a building that received a certificate of occupancy at least 18
three years prior to the permit application to add housing units.19
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p. 6 SB 5555