The Washington State Legislature passed over 40 housing related bills between 2022 and 2025 that require local action to revise plans and development regulations. The latest edition of PSRC’s Housing Incentives and Tools Survey documents how local jurisdictions are responding to these requirements. Changes range from allowing new housing types and streamlining approval processes, to providing space for multifamily housing and addressing displacement impacts.
Expanding housing diversity to fill in the “missing middle”
Several state legislative actions required jurisdictions to update their development regulations to allow a wider range of housing types, including middle housing, accessory dwelling units and co-living housing.
- 84% of responding jurisdictions have implemented new middle housing regulations.
- Among jurisdictions required by state law, 39% opted to allow higher densities, and 24% opted to allow more housing types than required by statute.
Streamlining regulations to reduce costs and encourage infill housing
Jurisdictions adopted a variety of strategies to encourage smaller, lower-cost types of housing development. State legislation directed several specific changes to development regulations, and jurisdictions made additional changes to support housing affordability.
- 73% of survey respondents reported updating regulations to allow unit lot subdivision, a tool intended to encourage affordable condo and townhome ownership options.
- 67% of survey respondents reported streamlining approval processes, including reducing or eliminating discretionary permit processes, which can improve development timelines and predictability.
SB 5184 (passed in 2025) established minimum parking requirements for cities with populations larger than 30,000 people. Of the 25 cities affected, 20 reported having taken recent action to reduce parking requirements. In 2025 alone, the cities of Bothell, Bremerton and Shoreline eliminated parking minimums citywide to help spur housing development.
Addressing Racially Disparate Impacts, Displacement, and Exclusion
Following the passage of House Bill 1220 in 2021, Washington became the first state to require jurisdictions to identify and address local policies and regulations that create racially disparate impacts, displacement and exclusion in housing. PSRC and the Department of Commerce through webinars and guidance documents to assist jurisdictions in incorporating these critical factors into their comprehensive plans.
- 95% of responding jurisdictions reported completing an analysis of racially disparate impacts through their comprehensive plan update
- 89% of responding made changes to policies, programs or development regulations because of their findings.
The full report of survey findings is available on PSRC’s website.