Jess Bateman

Meeting Dates: • March 19, 2026, 2 p.m. • April 6, 2026 - Public Hearing, 9:30 a.m. • May 29, 2026 - Public Hearing, 9:30 a.m. • June 4, 2026, 1 p.m. • June 18, 2026, 1 p.m.

Mean girls image meme for "GET IN LOSER" GET IN SEATTLE OPCD WE'RE BUILDING SOCIAL HOUSING IN ALL NEIGHBORHOODS

We need to start blowing up council inboxes & public comment, to fix the @seattleopcd.bsky.social plan that only allows social & affordable housing on loud, polluted, & dangerous roads. Mark your calendars, put in your PTO 😭, & bring your friends. ALL HANDS ON DECK for Alternative 5 Corridors.

By a 41-7 vote, the Washington Senate just directed the state's building code council to adopt updated regulations for elevators in buildings with up to six stories or 24 units, "minimally sized to meet federal accessibility requirements."

The final version:
lawfilesext.leg.wa.gov/biennium/202...

Housing research friends, are you excited to study how state pro-housing policies are working? The Infrastructure team @arnoldventures.bsky.social just launched an RFP for Measurement & Evaluation of State & Local Housing Supply Reforms. Details:
www.arnoldventures.org/infrastructu...

Bothell Housing Boom Brewing in Wake of Recent Zoning Reforms » The Urbanist # Pre-applications for new housing units in Bothell last year topped 1,000 for the first time in recent history, a big indicator of interest following major changes to Bothell's zoning code in 2024. S...

Bothell ascendant
www.theurbanist.org/2026/02/07/b...

Missoula, Montana has just:

- Eliminated single family zoning
- Eliminated parking requirements citywide
- Allows 100-125' of height in many of its mixed-use zones with no limits on density or FAR

Why is Missoula so much more progressive than Los Angeles?

Update: Today is the Policy Committee cutoff date. So bills that do not advance out of their policy committee by the time those committees end today are dead for the year. Also any hearings on bills today are really just "courtesy" hearings, meaning those bills will be heard but not moved #waleg

Bellevue is planning an “omnibus” series of zoning code amendments all in one package, including eight changes that move the city into compliance with state law.

Turns out, you don’t need to do a ton of process to enact state-required zoning changes!

Bothell ascendant.

After the Washington House's local government committee unanimously approved a bill legalizing scissor stairs last week, the Senate's housing committee just unanimously approved the companion bill.
app.leg.wa.gov/billsummary?...

They need to hear from folks in the next 24 hours.

Sharon.shewmake@leg.wa.gov

Victoria.hunt@leg.wa.gov

Matt.boehnke@leg.wa.gov

If you have concerns about how this bill would significantly impede progress on housing in WA please email the Chair, Vice Chair and Ranking member.

Bill Tracker — #Homes4WA

Short session comes at you fast!

#WAleg is once again cooking up a slew of housing bills and if you're struggling to keep up, @sightline.org's got you covered with our bill tracker:

www.homes4wa.org/bill-tracker

We are just now seeing an uptick in middle housing permits. This bill effectively guts the SEPA exemption and adds another layer of review without the resources or infrastructure to support it.

lawfilesext.leg.wa.gov/biennium/202...

Housing advocates! A bill that was heard in the Senate Environment Committee yesterday would require a project level cultural resources review for all infill housing built in WA.

If it’s a legislative issue pertinent to this session, an email/letter will suffice. If it’s after session a phone call or letter is good.

First iteration of the Housing Accountability Act. ✅

Kasey is amazing! I’m so glad you had a good visit.

My door is always open. I consult with my ranking member who is an R and we try to get a mix of perspectives. We can always improve.

Good news for neighborhood cafes!

That said, it has provisions allowing cities to regulate parking, signage, hours of operation, and square footage, which could be misused by oppositional-defiant jurisdictions.

I’d also like to see the bill include explicit reference to last year’s parking reform.

Tomorrow at 8:00, there will be a public hearing in #waleg Senate Law & Justice on #SB5855, a bill that would ban the use of face coverings by law enforcement officers.

You can sign in "pro" or sign up to testify here:
app.leg.wa.gov/csi/Senate?s...

#SB6015: Requiring the state to create permit-ready plan sets for factory-built middle housing and ADUs, and requiring cities to allow them to be built.

Read it: app.leg.wa.gov/BillSummary/...

#SB6028: Allowing the Washington State Housing Finance Commission to create a loan fund for mixed-income home development.

Read it: app.leg.wa.gov/BillSummary/...

People don't realize how important this is (the retail component). Everyone wants street level retail, but there's simply not enough people and businesses to fill in the spaces we already have and that leads to endless vacancies which are terrible for the built environment. It also adds costs 1/3

Some great new housing bills filed in the past few days in #waleg.

(Thread)

Millcreek has an open seat on its Planning Commission, offering an opportunity to help shape zoning, land use, and housing affordability through direct policy work. Applications are open until filled, and interested individuals are encouraged to apply.

www.millcreekut.gov/157/Planning...

We're baaaack! Back on Bsky, that is — we didn't stop working for more affordable, abundant homes in the legislative off-season.

This group is jazzed about the bills shaping up for 2026 (kicking off Jan. 12) with more to share very soon. Until then, subscribe to our newsletter: homes4wa.org/updates

It’s wild that we spend years, with significant community engagement, to draft comprehensive plans, and we don’t automatically update zoning codes to match those plans. Instead, American planners often need to restart years of new battles to change zoning. This system has so many veto points

This is why we can’t have nice things. I’m happy to see our largest city taking stock of its barriers to creating housing. Now, let’s see action to make it feasible to build the housing we so desperately need.

This meeting is tomorrow at 5pm and the East DRB only has 3 members, meaning there will likely be an outside sub. We need people to show up and bombard them with support so they don’t bike shed this into 2026