Bill > SB5732

This bill aims to address Washington's housing availability crisis by enhancing the Growth Management Act (GMA) to create greater accountability for increasing housing supply. The legislature acknowledges that Washington needs over a million new homes in the next 20 years and seeks to improve housing coordination across various sectors. The bill introduces several key provisions: it directs counties to foster land use patterns that provide abundant housing in rural areas, requires counties and cities to ensure their comprehensive plans provide sufficient land for new housing developments, mandates tracking and monitoring of permit applications to measure housing goal progress, and establishes sanctions for jurisdictions that fail to make meaningful progress on increasing housing supply. Specifically, the bill modifies existing laws to emphasize housing supply as a critical goal, clarifies that housing and permit goals include closing the housing availability gap, and requires countywide planning policies to monitor and track new housing permits at a regional level. By adapting existing accountability mechanisms in the Growth Management Act, the legislature aims to create a more effective tool for encouraging housing development across different economic segments and regions of Washington.

Housing and Urban Affairs

https://app.leg.wa.gov/billsummary?BillNumber=5732&Year=2025&Initiative=false