HB2049 – Requiring local governments to accept building applications from certain professionals as complete; excluding some expansion and remodeling projects from local review; and streamlining processes.
Prime Sponsor – Representative Barkis (R; 2nd District; Southern Pierce and Eastern Thurston Counties) (Co-Sponsors Bateman, Shewmake, Walen, Wicks, Dufault, Macri, Peterson, and Simmons -Ds; Boehnke, Gilday, Hoff, Robertson, Rude, Sutherland, Eslick, and Young – Rs)
Current status – Referred to Local Government.
Next step would be – Scheduling a hearing.
Legislative tracking page for the bill.

Comments –
In spite of the title, there’s nothing in the bill saying the changes only apply to affordable housing.

Summary –
The bill would require local governments to accept any building permit application with plans, computations, or specifications prepared by a professional engineer or architect with at least $1 million in liability insurance as complete, and prohibit them from imposing “substantial modifications or conditions on submittals prepared, stamped, and signed by a licensed architect, landscape architect, soils engineer, civil engineer, structural engineer, or combination thereof.” The requirement would apply during project review, and would apply to approving construction drawings as well.

Unless a clear violation of substantive and procedural requirements was demonstrated by a local government, the bill would allow no more than three reviews or requests for additional information during project review before a project would be automatically deemed approved. It would shift the current reporting requirements to focus on permitting times for subdivisions and for housing from single-family residences through fourplexes, and it would have local governments report to the Department of Commerce, which would post it, rather than posting the information on their own websites. It would have Commerce freeze funding for public works and the implementing the Growth Management Act if a city missed the deadline for its annual report.

It would require local governments planning under the Growth Management Act to do a technical review of an application for conformity with the requirements by all departments, divisions, and sections of the local government with jurisdiction over the project before returning a permit to an applicant for corrections and changes.

It would prohibit local governments from requiring local project review for the expansion or remodeling of existing buildings, structures, or development if:
(i) Alterations would not modify the existing site layout for single-family dwellings or duplexes, except those located in critical areas, or when two or more duplexes would be built on the same lot;
(ii) The project involves no exterior work adding to the footprint;
(iii) The door or window adjustments or replacements are allowed with no site plan needed; and
(iv) Total additions and alterations and detached accessory structures are less than 2,000 square feet in area without new vehicular access.

The bill would also no longer allow local governments to exclude landmark designations, street vacations, or other approvals relating to the use of public areas or facilities, or other administrative or quasi-judicial project permits that they determined presented special circumstances from the requirements of RCW 36.70B.090. [I think that’s simply because that section is not in the code any more, but I don’t know what happened to it.]