HB 1160 Washington House · 2025-2026 Regular Session

Concerning local government design review.

HB 1160 clarifies how local governments in Washington handle design reviews for development projects. It defines key terms like "administrative design review," allowing planning directors to approve or deny permits based on objective standards without a public hearing, unless exceptions apply (e.g., historic districts or required public input). The bill specifically affects project permits for developments like subdivisions, site plans, and environmental permits, but excludes comprehensive plan updates. It streamlines the process by distinguishing administrative reviews from required public hearings, aiming to reduce delays in routine permit decisions.
Bill status in committee 1 of 4 stages cleared
Introduction
Jan 2026
Committee Review
Floor Vote
Governor
Introduced Jan 12, 2026 Last action Feb 19, 2026
Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Bill Substitute Bill · 4 edits
MODERATE
This bill significantly expands the list of standard definitions used in Washington State's land use laws to include modern concepts like active transportation, affordable housing income thresholds, and environmental justice. It also clarifies design review rules to limit the number of architectural drawings required for housing applications and ensures design reviews happen alongside other permit processes.
Scope change
The bill expands the scope of definitions to cover new housing types (middle housing) and specific income levels, while clarifying the procedural scope of design reviews to prevent delays in housing approvals.
DEFINITION

Added extensive new definitions for terms such as 'active transportation,' 'affordable housing,' 'environmental justice,' 'middle housing,' and various income levels (low, moderate, very low, extremely low).

Changed the referenced statute for design review definitions from RCW 36.70A.630 to RCW 36.70A.030, aligning it with other updated sections.

REQUIREMENT

Modified design review requirements to limit housing applications to the submission of only one architectural drawing set of one design concept.

Updated the definition of 'housing development' to explicitly include 'middle housing' alongside single-family and multifamily units.

Floor votes

How they voted

No floor votes recorded yet.
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
13
Key actions
3
Committee
4
Jan 12, 2026
Introduced
By resolution, reintroduced and retained in present status.
lower
Feb 7, 2025
Committee
Referred to Rules 2 Review.
lower
Feb 5, 2025
Lower · Passed
Minority; without recommendation.
lower
Feb 5, 2025
Lower · Passed
Executive action taken in the House Committee on Local Government at 8:00 AM.
lower
Jan 28, 2025
Lower · Passed
Public hearing in the House Committee on Local Government at 10:30 AM.
lower
1 primary · 3 co-sponsors

Sponsors