SB 6015 Washington Senate · 2025-2026 Regular Session

Concerning permit-ready residential building plans.

SB 6015 creates a state-approved program for "permit-ready" residential building plans to accelerate housing construction in Washington. It directly affects builders (especially small developers), homebuyers, and local governments by allowing projects using these pre-approved plans to bypass local aesthetic and architectural review requirements - such as window placement, rooflines, or facade materials - unless tied to health/safety or wildfire safety standards. The bill requires the state department to establish a public website for approved plans covering single-family homes, accessory units, and multi-unit housing (duplexes through eightplexes), with local jurisdictions getting 30-60 days to review plans before publication. This aims to shorten permitting timelines, reduce costs, and support statewide housing goals by standardizing design approvals across cities and counties.

Issues: ✓ Housing

Bill status in committee 1 of 4 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2026

Committee Review

Floor Vote

Governor

Introduced Jan 7, 2026 Last action Feb 9, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Bill → Substitute Bill · 6 edits

MODERATE

The bill was renumbered and expanded to specifically support factory-built housing by exempting these projects from local architectural and aesthetic design rules. It shifts the program from a general permit-ready initiative to one focused on factory-built homes, requiring stricter review periods and new legal agreements between the state and plan creators. The changes aim to reduce costs and delays for builders while clarifying that local governments cannot deny factory-built homes based on appearance standards.

Scope change

The bill's scope narrowed from general residential building plans to specifically target factory-built housing, while simultaneously expanding the exemptions to cover local aesthetic and architectural design standards.

SCOPE

The program focus shifted from general 'permit-ready residential building plans' to specifically 'permit-ready factory built housing' to streamline production of modular and factory-built units.

REQUIREMENT

A new requirement mandates a 60-day review period for proposed plans (increased from 30 days) to allow more time for public feedback before publication.

The bill now requires a signed Memorandum of Agreement between the state department and plan creators, replacing the previous waiver, to clarify copyright ownership, liability, and licensing fees.

EXEMPTIONS

Local jurisdictions are now explicitly exempted from enforcing local architectural and aesthetic design standards (e.g., rooflines, materials, colors) for factory-built homes, unless those standards relate to health, safety, or wildfire risks.

TIMELINE

The effective date for the new provisions was changed from January 1, 2027, to July 1, 2028.

DEFINITION

New definitions were added to clarify that 'local architectural design and aesthetic standards' cover building appearance features, distinguishing them from safety-related codes.

Floor votes

How they voted

No floor votes recorded yet.

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Feb 9, 2026

Upper · Passed

Executive session scheduled, but no action was taken in the Senate Committee on Ways & Means at 10:30 AM.

upper

Feb 6, 2026

Upper · Passed

Public hearing in the Senate Committee on Ways & Means at 1:30 PM.

upper

Feb 4, 2026

Committee

Referred to Ways & Means.

upper

Feb 4, 2026

Committee

And refer to Ways & Means.

upper

Feb 4, 2026

Upper · Passed

Executive action taken in the Senate Committee on Housing at 10:30 AM.

upper

Jan 21, 2026

Upper · Passed

Public hearing in the Senate Committee on Housing at 10:30 AM.

upper

1 primary · 7 co-sponsors