The Growth Management Act (GMA) is the comprehensive land use planning framework for counties and cities in Washington.? The GMA establishes land use designation and environmental protection requirements for all Washington counties and cities.? The GMA also establishes a significantly wider array of planning duties for 28 counties, and the cities within those counties, that are obligated to satisfy all planning requirements of the GMA.? These jurisdictions are sometimes said to be fully planning under the GMA.
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Counties that fully plan under the GMA must designate urban growth areas (UGAs), within which urban growth must be encouraged and outside of which growth may occur only if it is not urban in nature.? Each city in a county must be included in a UGA.? Fully planning jurisdictions must include within their UGAs sufficient areas and densities to accommodate projected urban growth for the succeeding 20-year period.
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The GMA also directs fully planning jurisdictions to adopt internally consistent comprehensive land use plans.? Comprehensive plans are implemented through locally adopted development regulations, and both the plans and the local regulations are subject to review and revision requirements prescribed in the GMA.? When developing their comprehensive plans, counties and cities must consider various goals set forth in statute.? Fully planning counties and cities must review and, if necessary, revise their comprehensive plans every 10 years to ensure they comply with the GMA.
A mobile dwelling is a tiny house on wheels or a type of vehicle primarily designed for recreational camping or travel use that either has its own motor or is mounted on or towed by another vehicle; this includes: ?travel trailers, fifth-wheel trailers, folding camping trailers, truck campers, and motor homes.
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A fully?planning city or county must allow at least one mobile dwelling on each lot zoned for residential use if the following conditions are met:
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The mobile dwelling must be connected to electrical service through a dedicated outlet.? If a mobile dwelling has internal plumbing, it must be connected to potable water and sanitary sewer services.? If a mobile dwelling does not have internal plumbing, the occupants must have access to potable water, toilets, and showers in an existing housing unit on the lot.
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Cities and counties must use standard permitting and inspection procedures for new utility hookups for mobile dwellings, including electric, water, and sewer cleanouts.? Cities and counties may not require inspection of the mobile dwelling itself.
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A common?interest community may not enact any new restrictions that would prohibit at least one mobile dwelling on each residential lot.
The substitute bill (SHB) changes the term "home on wheels" to "mobile dwelling" and clarifies that a mobile dwelling includes a tiny house on wheels.? The SHB removes language related to a city or county determining that a housing development cannot be adequately served by water, sewer, stormwater, and transportation systems.? The SHB requires cities and counties to use standard permitting and inspection procedures for new utility hookups for mobile dwellings, including electric, water, and sewer, and specifies that any water connections to the mobile dwelling must be certified for potable use.? The SHB allows a city or county to prohibit mobile dwellings in designated critical areas, natural resource lands, or shorelines of the state.?
(In support) The state has been working on building housing supply in areas where people already live.? Mobile dwellings create immediate and extremely affordable housing.? They do not change the neighborhood characteristics.? People are already living in mobile dwellings in neighborhoods, and this just ensures standards are in place.? It is legal to live in a recreational vehicle (RV) in an RV park.? It is also legal to live in your RV on your own lot.? This bill combines those two things.? The City of Portland has already enacted this policy.? There has been no negative news coverage.? There have been no major complaints.? It just has not created a lot of issues.? People who live in mobile dwellings sometimes have nowhere else to live.? This is a type of housing that may allow people with disabilities to live independently.? It can provide affordable and dignified housing for the homeless.? Mobile dwellings can give people privacy and pride of ownership.? The mobility of the units provides flexibility in choosing where a person ultimately wants to settle.? Water and sewer are not a problem with mobile dwellings.? A mobile dwelling can be good for people who have issues with mold because they can take care of any problems on their own.
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(Opposed) None.
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(Other) Mobile dwellings raise significant concerns about water and sewer issues.? They may not meet Department of Health guidelines.? Spigots need to be connected to potable water.? Cross-contamination can occur with RVs.? Mobile dwellings may create clogs and other issues if connected directly to sewers.? This can lead to bigger infrastructure problems.? There may be value in having the State Building Code Council establish standards.? Cities will still be able to charge connection fees, which may make mobile dwellings less affordable. ?This may result in de facto mobile home parks in neighborhoods.? There is concern about how mobile dwellings interact with other housing density requirements.
(In support) Representative Mia Gregerson, prime sponsor; Kol Peterson, Tiny Hookups LLC; Dan Bertolet, Sightline Institute; Tim McCormick; Joe Wykowski, Community Vision; Zachariah Giffin, Operation Tiny Home; Todd McKellips, Washington Tiny House Association; Gwyn Howat, Mt. Baker Ski Area; Lisa Tenney; and M. Natalie S.