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    Local Government Division

    Draft housing guidance open for public comment

    Commerce is seeking public comment on several new planning guidance documents. These fact sheets and guidance are intended to assist local communities in developing their own middle housing ordinances, regulations and other official controls.

    Draft documents include:

    Please submit comments using this public comment form (SmartSheet) by 5 p.m. on Monday, December 23, 2024.

    Public participation webinar on December 5, 2024 at 10:30 a.m.

    Commerce will host a public webinar on the Unit Lot Subdivision and Residential Parking Fact Sheets as well as the Co-Living Guidance document on Thursday, December 5, 2024 from 10 – 11:30 a.m.

    A recording of the webinar along with drafts of the documents will be posted to the middle housing webpage until the end of the comment period. Attendance at the webinar is not required to provide comments.

    Public Comment Period Open – Middle Housing Model Ordinance

    The Washington State Department of Commerce is seeking your feedback on the draft updates to middle housing model ordinances and the middle housing model ordinance user guide. These two ordinances, and the accompanying user guide, will provide technical assistance and guidance to cities adopting their own middle housing ordinances, regulations, and other official controls.

    These updates reflect the 2024 amendments to the middle housing legislation made by HB 2321 and the experience of cities implementing it since the model ordinances and user guide were originally published in January 2024. Seventy-seven cities are subject to the original middle housing legislation HB 1110 (2023).

    Submit Comments

    Please submit comments using our online form (SmartSheet).

    Workshop

    Register for our online webinar coming up on July 11 from 1-2:30 p.m.

    Questions?

    Please see our Planning for Middle Housing webpage for additional information or reach out to Dave Osaki with questions.

    Listening sessions for new pilot grant for Community-Based Organizations

    The Washington State Department of Commerce is hosting three public listening sessions this month to help communities provide us with direct feedback on a new grant program intended to foster greater participation in local policy decision-making.

    We need input from local community-based organizations representing overburdened communities and vulnerable populations to design a pilot grant program that helps with community engagement. Please share this notice with community-based organizations in your network that may be interested in this opportunity.

    Commerce listening sessions:

    • 6:00 – 7:00 p.m., February 22 via Zoom
    • 8:30 – 9:30 a.m., February 26 via Zoom
    • 4:00 – 5:00 p.m., February 26 via Zoom

    Local governments are working right now to update comprehensive plans as a part of the periodic update process. Through the comprehensive planning process, communities discuss their vision for the future addressing important topics such as housing, transportation, and climate resilience. The decisions made during an update have long-term impacts often guiding growth and development over the next 20 years.

    The pilot program will start by focusing on community-based organizations in jurisdictions with a 2025 due date for their periodic update, including: Clallam, Clark, Island, Jefferson, Lewis, Mason, San Juan, Skagit, Thurston, and Whatcom Counties.

    For more information:

    Contact our staff at cbogrants@commerce.wa.gov.

    Want to Stay Involved?

    To sign up for updates, please enter your contact information on this subscription form.

    Climate Commitment Act Logo

    This program is supported with funding from Washington’s Climate Commitment Act. The CCA supports Washington’s climate action efforts by putting cap-and-invest dollars to work reducing climate pollution, creating jobs, and improving public health. Information about the CCA is available at www.climate.wa.gov.

    Commerce publishes model ordinances to support the development of middle housing

    The Department of Commerce has published final model ordinances and guidance for cities and counties required to include middle housing under HB 1110 (2023). To account for differing middle housing requirements based on population, one model ordinance has been prepared to assist cities 25,000 in population and greater; another for those cities less than 25,000 in population.

    Middle housing is defined as “buildings that are compatible in scale, form, and character with single-family houses and contain two or more attached, stacked, or clustered homes including duplexes, triplexes, fourplexes, fiveplexes, sixplexes, townhouses, stacked flats, courtyard apartments, and cottage housing.”

    The model ordinances include specific legislative requirements, and the accompanying user’s guide provides guidance on common development standards to facilitate middle housing development, which local jurisdictions may adjust based on local preferences. For more information please visit our Planning for Middle Housing webpage.

    Middle Housing Ordinances: 30-day Comment Period

    Public Comment is open now through Dec. 6, 2023. Commerce has prepared two draft middle housing model ordinances as required by RCW 36.70A.636(2). Commerce also has prepared an accompanying user guide. These two ordinances and the accompanying user guide will provide technical assistance and guidance to cities adopting their own middle housing ordinances, regulations, and other official controls.

    The models are intended to serve as the middle housing ordinance in cities that are unable to adopt regulations within six-months of their next periodic update required under RCW 36.70A.130 and RCW 36.70A.635(11). Please see our Planning for Middle Housing webpage for additional support and information.

    We will host a public webinar on the draft ordinances Thursday, November 9, 2023 at 1:30 PM. REGISTER for the workshop (Zoom).

    Please submit comments using our online form (Smartsheet) by Wednesday, December 6, 2023. Following a review of all public comments, final versions of the model ordinances will be published by January 23, 2024.

    Draft Intermediate Climate Element Planning Guidance – Comment Period

    Commerce seeks public comments on its climate element planning guidance.

    The Washington Department of Commerce is seeking public comments on its draft intermediate climate planning guidance (PDF) for developing a comprehensive plan climate element.

    Commerce will provide an open comment period starting Oct. 23 through Nov. 20 for the public to review and comment on the draft intermediate guidance. Per HB 1181 (2023), Commerce must publish “intermediate” guidance by the end of 2023. Please submit written comments to gmsclimate@commerce.wa.gov by Monday, Nov. 20, 2023 at 5 PM. You can learn more about our draft climate guidance and access additional resources on our climate program webpage.

    In the last two months, Commerce has held two workshops on climate requirements for periodic updates under the Growth Management Act (GMA). You can review the information shared at those workshops here on our periodic update webpage.

    PRO Housing: Comment period on Commerce application to HUD

    Commerce seeks public input on PRO Housing application.

    Ver información en español // 以中文查看内容

    Public comment period through October 19, 2023

    The Washington State Department of Commerce seeks public input on its grant application to the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Commerce is applying to HUD’s PRO Housing grant program, requesting $10 million over a six-year period to support cities and counties in Washington state as they build upon their updated comprehensive plans and remove barriers to affordable housing. The funding is expected to help communities advance local development of housing for all income levels.

    Public comment is open from Oct. 3 through Oct. 19, 2023. During this period, Commerce will host a public hearing on Oct. 16 to present information and take additional public input.

    Public input timeline

    • Public hearing: Monday, October 16, 2023 at 4 p.m. (Zoom registration)
    • Public comment: Use our online form to submit written comments by October 19, 2023 at 5 p.m. (PST)

    Documents for review

    Draft Displacement Risk Map – Public Comment through September 29

    Commerce has developed a Draft Displacement Risk Map to support jurisdictions with the new housing element requirements. This map will help jurisdictions meet GMA requirements to “identify areas that may be at higher risk of displacement from market forces.”

    A webinar was held on September 7 to share our methodology and answer questions about the new map. Check out the Draft Statewide Displacement Risk Map webinar recording (Vimeo) or visit our Updating GMA Housing Elements webpage for more information.

    Please send any comments or questions to Laura Hodgson at laura.hodgson@commerce.wa.gov by Sept. 29, 2023.

    Nomination window for the 2023 Governor’s Smart Community Awards is now closed

    The nomination window for the 2023 Governor’s Smart Community Awards is now closed. We want to thank everyone for their amazing submissions. Our judges will work furiously over the coming weeks to review the applications and select winners for the Smart Awards categories. You should expect to hear more about winners later this summer.

    These awards highlight the actions of local governments and their partners across our great state, providing consistent examples of excellence in planning and forward-thinking leadership. Whether you’ve submitted an application or not, we encourage you to check back and learn more about the projects that are selected. Each year this awards program serves as a consistent resource on local planning, often providing examples of problem solving on shared issues.

    Washington State Legislature completes historic year of Growth Management Act reforms

    As we recently shared in a Special Edition of the Planners’ Newsletter, this past legislative session resulted in the most significant reforms to the Growth Management Act (GMA) in over two decades. The Legislature and the governor went big on issues like housing and climate change and continued the process of updating the state’s growth policy framework. These successes took strong leadership, a broad coalition and bipartisan cooperation. Adding important requirements to larger urban areas, there was a noticeable decrease in the workload for smaller rural cities. This continues a trend over the past few sessions that apply GMA requirements differently across large and small jurisdictions.

    We invite you to read more about these changes in the latest newsletter and to watch carefully over the coming months for new grant cycles, updates to administrative rulemaking, and more on Commerce led guidance in a variety of planning areas. Starting in July, it’s going to be an exciting biennium.