HB 1695
In CommitteeHouse
Unincorporated villages/GMA
Concerning unincorporated villages in the growth management act.
This status may be delayed. See Action History below for the latest updates.
How does a bill become law?
- Introduced: The bill is filed and assigned a number.
- Committee: A subject-matter committee holds hearings, takes public testimony, and decides whether to advance the bill.
- Floor Vote: The full chamber (House or Senate) debates and votes on the bill.
- Opposite Chamber: The bill repeats the committee and floor vote process in the other chamber.
- Governor: The Governor reviews the bill and decides whether to sign or veto it.
- Signed: The bill has been signed into law.
AI Analysis
HB 1695 amends Washington’s Growth Management Act to strengthen requirements for rural planning, housing equity, climate resilience, and transportation concurrency. It explicitly allows limited, more intensive rural development (e.g., villages and hamlets) under strict controls, expands housing element mandates to address displacement and racial disparities, and adds a mandatory climate resiliency component to comprehensive plans. It also tightens rules for urban growth area revisions and tribal consultation.
- Requires counties to include a new rural element in their comprehensive plans, allowing limited, more intensive rural development (e.g., villages, hamlets, crossroads areas) under strict controls to preserve rural character and avoid sprawl.
- Expands the housing element to include specific requirements for preventing displacement, addressing racially disparate impacts, identifying areas at risk of displacement, and mandating antidisplacement policies like inclusionary zoning and tenant protections.
- Adds a mandatory climate change and resiliency element for all jurisdictions planning under the Growth Management Act (GMA), with two subcomponents: (1) greenhouse gas emissions reduction (mandatory for specified jurisdictions, encouraged for others), and (2) resiliency planning (mandatory for all), prioritizing overburdened communities.
- Strengthens the transportation element by requiring concurrency—development cannot be approved if it degrades transportation service levels unless mitigation (e.g., transit, active transportation, ride-sharing) is provided concurrently or within six years.
- Clarifies and tightens rules for updating urban growth area boundaries, including requirements for environmental justice, tribal consultation, and restrictions on expanding into floodplains west of the Cascades unless specific exceptions apply.
- Requires comprehensive plans to include a utilities element and capital facilities plan, with good-faith efforts to coordinate with special districts—and failure to obtain data from those districts cannot be used to find noncompliance.
Who is affected
- Local governments (counties and cities) — Counties and cities must update their comprehensive plans to include new or expanded elements, especially regarding rural development, housing, climate resilience, and transportation. They must also revise urban growth area boundaries if needed, following specific criteria and consultation requirements.
- Developers and property owners — Developers and property owners may see changes in where and how development can occur—especially in rural areas where limited, more intensive development (like villages or hamlets) is now explicitly allowed under stricter rules. New rules also affect how housing capacity and affordability are addressed.
- Low- and moderate-income households and vulnerable populations — Low- and moderate-income households benefit from stronger requirements for affordable housing planning, anti-displacement policies, and inclusionary zoning. Overburdened and vulnerable communities receive targeted protections in climate and environmental justice planning.
- Federally recognized Indian tribes — Tribes with reservations or ceded lands in affected counties must be consulted before urban growth area changes, and may influence planning decisions affecting cultural resources and treaty rights.
- Rural residents — Residents in rural areas may see changes in how rural villages, hamlets, and small-scale businesses are planned and regulated—including limits on retail size and requirements to preserve rural character.
Pro/Con Analysis
Potential Benefits (5)
Explicitly requires jurisdictions to identify areas at risk of displacement and implement antidisplacement policies—including inclusionary zoning, tenant protections, and land disposition strategies—targeting low- and moderate-income households and communities of color most vulnerable to market pressures.
HousingPeopleRef: RCW 36.70A.070(2)(f), (g), (h)Permits limited, more intensive rural development (e.g., villages, hamlets, crossroads) to serve existing rural populations—expanding housing and essential services in rural areas without sprawl, supporting rural affordability and reducing long commutes for low-income rural workers.
HousingPeopleRef: RCW 36.70A.070(5)(d)(i)(B)Mandates climate resiliency planning that prioritizes overburdened communities facing disproportionate climate impacts (e.g., heat, smoke, flooding), directly improving physical safety and access to emergency services for vulnerable populations during climate-related disasters.
Public SafetyPeopleRef: RCW 36.70A.070(9)(e)(i)(C)Requires meaningful consultation with federally recognized tribes before urban growth area revisions, strengthening tribal sovereignty and ensuring cultural resource and treaty rights are considered—benefiting tribal communities through increased influence over land-use decisions affecting their interests.
Local GovernmentPeopleRef: RCW 36.70A.110(9)(a)-(b)Requires housing element analysis of locations relative to employment—and by extension, schools—supporting better alignment of housing and school siting, potentially reducing student transportation costs and improving access to stable schools for low-income families.
EducationPeopleRef: RCW 36.70A.070(2)(d)(iv)
Potential Concerns (5)
Mandates inclusionary zoning and antidisplacement policies (e.g., tenant protections, land disposition policies) without specifying state funding, shifting compliance costs to local governments—many of which lack fiscal capacity—potentially leading to reduced housing supply or deferred infrastructure investment as jurisdictions prioritize compliance over new development.
HousingPeopleRef: RCW 36.70A.070(2)(h)Mandates climate resiliency planning with priority for overburdened communities, but requires jurisdictions to develop scientifically credible GHG reduction plans—resources and technical capacity for such modeling are unevenly distributed, disproportionately burdening smaller/rural jurisdictions that lack climate science staff or consulting budgets.
EnvironmentPeopleRef: RCW 36.70A.070(9)(c) and (e)(i)Imposes strict retail size limits (e.g., 2,500–10,000 sq ft depending on location and use) on new or expanded commercial development in rural villages/hamlets, constraining small business growth and potentially limiting rural job creation—especially for new ventures that may outgrow the cap quickly.
Business & EmploymentPeopleRef: RCW 36.70A.070(5)(d)(i)(C)Requires jurisdictions to identify and remediate racially disparate housing impacts, including zoning with discriminatory effects—this may lead to costly legal reviews, rezoning delays, and increased compliance burdens for local governments, potentially slowing housing approvals and raising costs for all homebuyers/renters.
HousingPeopleRef: RCW 36.70A.070(2)(h) and (f)Tightens transportation concurrency enforcement—development cannot be approved if it degrades service levels unless mitigation is provided concurrently or within six years—this increases developer costs and may delay projects, especially in fast-growing areas where infrastructure is already strained, indirectly raising housing prices.
TransportationLean peopleRef: RCW 36.70A.070(6)(b)
Who Is Most Affected
Low- and moderate-income households benefit from stronger antidisplacement tools, inclusionary zoning mandates, and rural housing expansion—reducing risk of displacement and expanding affordable housing options in rural and urban areas alike.
Local governments face new planning mandates (climate, housing, rural) without guaranteed state funding, increasing administrative and legal costs—especially burdensome for small/rural counties lacking technical capacity.
Developers face tighter controls on rural commercial expansion (retail size caps, concurrency requirements) and must integrate affordability and climate resilience into projects—increasing costs and complexity, especially for small developers.
Federally recognized tribes gain formal consultation rights and influence over urban growth area changes affecting cultural resources and treaty rights—enhancing tribal sovereignty and planning agency coordination.
Rural residents may benefit from more intensive village/hamlet development allowing local services and housing, but face limits on commercial scale and potential delays in infrastructure expansion due to concurrency rules.