SB 6015

S-4678.1
  SUBSTITUTE SENATE BILL 6015
State of Washington  69th Legislature        2026 Regular Session
By Senate Housing (originally sponsored by Senators Bateman, Frame,
Gildon, Liias, Lovelett, Nobles, Salomon, and Shewmake)
READ FIRST TIME 02/04/26.
1     AN ACT Relating to permit-ready residential building plans;
2 amending RCW 43.22.460; adding a new section to chapter 43.22 RCW;
3 adding a new section to chapter 36.70A RCW; creating a new section;
4 and providing an effective date.
5 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
6     NEW SECTION.    Sec. 1.    The legislature finds that Washington
7 continues to face a housing shortage at all income levels. According
8 to the department of commerce, the state must add more than 1,000,000
9 homes by 2044 to meet projected population growth and housing needs.
10 Local permitting activity for both single-family and multifamily
11 housing has declined in recent years, and permitting timelines
12 frequently exceed state standards, adding cost and uncertainty for
13 builders and homebuyers alike.
14     The legislature further finds that complex and inconsistent local
15 design standards and permitting processes can add substantial cost
16 and delay to new housing development, particularly for small builders
17 and for missing middle housing types such as duplexes, triplexes,
18 stacked flats, and townhomes. The legislature finds that providing
19 preapproved permit-ready residential building plans and model
20 ordinances can shorten permitting timelines, increase predictability,
21 and support local implementation of state housing goals. Factory
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1  built housing can further reduce time and cost to build and should be
2  supported through a consistent statewide framework so that plans can
3  be more easily used across jurisdictions. It is therefore the intent
4  of the legislature to facilitate increased housing production and
5  predictability by creating a state-approved program for permit-ready
6  factory built housing and exempting qualifying projects from local
7  architectural and aesthetic design requirements unrelated to health
8  and safety.
9     NEW SECTION.   Sec. 2.   A new section is added to chapter 43.22
10 RCW to read as follows:
11     (1) The department shall establish a process to solicit and
12 publicize permit-ready plans that:
13     (a) Includes factory built housing for each of the following
14 housing types:
15     (i) Single-family detached;
16     (ii) Detached accessory dwelling units; and
17     (iii) Units with no less than two or more than eight attached,
18 stacked,   or   clustered   homes   including   duplexes,   triplexes,
19 fourplexes, fiveplexes, sixplexes, sevenplexes, and eightplexes;
20     (b) Allows for county and city building departments to review
21 proposed permit-ready plans for a period of no less than 30 days
22 prior to publication. Based on this feedback, the department may
23 designate specific geographic areas where a permit-ready plan is not
24 available;
25     (c) Creates and maintains a public-facing website for permit-
26 ready plans approved by the department;
27     (d) Develops a memorandum of agreement to be signed by the
28 department and the creator of each permit-ready plan, such that:
29     (i) The creator of the plan expressly allows use of the plan in
30 the permit-ready program;
31     (ii) The creator of the plan retains ownership and copyright of
32 the permit-ready plan;
33     (iii) The creator releases state and local governments from
34 claims relating to their participation in the permit-ready program
35 and any subsequent licensing of their permit-ready plans;
36     (iv) The department has the right and license to use and copy the
37 plan as necessary to carry out this program;
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1     (v) Other terms deemed necessary by the department, including
2 confidentiality,   copyright    protection,   licensing,    liability,
3 indemnification, and insurance;
4     (e) Determines maximum licensing fees that may be charged to
5 license a permit-ready plan, and update these maximums at each state
6 code cycle change; and
7     (f) Includes coordination with the department of commerce and the
8 state building code council as necessary.
9     (2) Each permit-ready plan published under this section must:
10     (a) Have received design plan approval from the department under
11 RCW 43.22.470 through 43.22.485 and associated rule making;
12     (b) Indicate the climate zones, as created in RCW 19.27A.020, for
13 which it meets all applicable requirements;
14     (c) Indicate the dated version of the applicable codes with which
15 the permit-ready plan is compliant;
16     (d) Indicate the wildfire hazard level, as established under RCW
17 43.30.580, for which it meets the wildlife urban interface code
18 requirements under RCW 19.27.560;
19     (e) Include a signed memorandum of agreement between the
20 department and the building plan's creator; and
21     (f) Allow county and city building departments to review proposed
22 permit-ready plans for a period of no less than 60 days prior to
23 publication. Based on this feedback, the department may designate
24 specific cities, counties, or other geographic areas in which the
25 specific permit-ready plan is not available.
26     (3) No civil liability may be imposed by any court on the state
27 or its officers and employees, or on any creator of a residential
28 building plan for the purposes of this section and RCW 43.22.460,
29 except upon proof of bad faith or willful misconduct.
30     (4) Permit-ready plans must be approved for a specific edition of
31 the state building code and expire upon the beginning of a new state
32 building code cycle change.
33     (5) The department may adopt rules necessary to implement this
34 section.
35     (6) For the purposes of this section, "permit-ready plan" means a
36 set of drawings and specifications for factory built housing that are
37 available to license and have been determined by the department to
38 meet the requirements for factory built housing or factory built
39 commercial structures adopted by the department under RCW 43.22.480.
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1     Sec. 3. RCW 43.22.460 and 1970 ex.s. c 44 s 3 are each amended
2 to read as follows:
3     (1) Local land use requirements, building setbacks, side and rear
4 yard requirements, site development and property line requirements,
5 and review and regulation of zoning requirements are specifically
6 reserved to local jurisdictions notwithstanding anything contained in
7 RCW 43.22.450 through 43.22.490.
8     (2) Factory built housing using permit-ready plans shall be
9 exempted from local zoning design standards and review related to
10 aesthetics and architectural features, including, but not limited to,
11 fenestration, entrances, rooflines, materials, articulation, and
12 façades, unless those standards are part of a wildlife urban
13 interface code or are expressly related to health and safety.
14     NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. A new section is added to chapter 36.70A
15 RCW to read as follows:
16     (1) Beginning January 1, 2027, each county and city that is
17 required or chooses to plan under this chapter may not deny land use
18 applications for factory built housing using permit-ready plans
19 solely on the basis of noncompliance with local architectural design
20 and aesthetic standards.
21     (2) Subsection (1) of this section does not apply within locally
22 designated historic districts.
23     (3) Cities and counties may review applications for permit-ready
24 plans for factory built housing to verify that:
25     (a) The permit-ready plan is a state-approved plan approved by
26 the department of labor and industries for the current state building
27 code cycle;
28     (b) As determined by the department of labor and industries, the
29 permit-ready plan is valid in the city or county, rated for the
30 applicable climate zone, and rated for the applicable wildfire hazard
31 zone; and
32     (c) The site plan complies with all relevant requirements related
33 to   site   conditions,   density,   dimensional   standards,   building
34 setbacks,   fire   separation   distances,   right-of-way   dedications,
35 stormwater, access and circulation, tree retention, landscaping,
36 steep slopes, hazard areas, and any other local land use or zoning
37 requirements not specified in subsection (1) of this section.
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1     (4) Cities and counties may assess plan review fees on
2 applications for factory built homes using permit-ready plans
3 provided that:
4     (a) The fees are calculated based on actual staff time and a
5 reasonable estimate of direct and indirect resources expended; and
6     (b) The fees do not exceed standard plan review fees for a
7 comparable application not using a permit-ready plan.
8     (5) The department must develop and publish model ordinances that
9 may be readily adopted by a local government in order to streamline
10 local implementation of the plans published under this section
11 including, but not limited to, ordinances that create a process for
12 approving permit-ready plans for factory built homes.
13     (6) Each county and city that is required or chooses to plan
14 under this chapter must adopt the model ordinances developed and
15 published by the department under subsection (5) of this section. A
16 county or city may adopt an ordinance that is substantially similar
17 to one published by the department under subsection (5) of this
18 section upon written approval from the department.
19     (7) For the purposes of this section:
20     (a) "Local architectural design and aesthetic standards" means
21 any standards, requirements, or regulations that govern building
22 appearance, including façade composition, exterior architectural
23 features, roof forms, openings, materials, colors, articulation,
24 visual character, or architectural compatibility, but does not
25 include design standards that are part of a wildlife urban interface
26 code or are expressly related to health and safety.
27     (b)   "Permit-ready   plan"   means   a  set    of drawings   and
28 specifications for factory built housing that have been approved by
29 the department of labor and industries to meet the requirements for
30 factory built housing or factory built commercial structures adopted
31 by the department of labor and industries under chapter 43.22 RCW and
32 for the current state building code cycle.
33     NEW SECTION.   Sec. 5.   Sections 2 through 4 of this act take
34 effect July 1, 2028.
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