Annual Performance Report Marks Key Milestone for Permit Reform Law

by MBAKS Government Affairs

Report reaffirms the need to improve housing permit timelines so housing can be available more quickly.

The Washington State Department of Commerce has published the first draft Annual Performance Report required by Senate Bill 5290.  The data reflects permits for which a decision was issued in 2024, before the current SB 5290 timelines went into effect. Performance is measured on the average duration it takes to process certain permits by category using calendar days.

The draft report shows where jurisdictions are falling short and reaffirms there is a long way to go to shorten review timelines, enabling housing to proceed more quickly.

Among the initial findings from the report are:

• Construction Permits on average took 81% longer to process than the statute.
• Preliminary Subdivision on average took 199% longer to process than the statute.
• Final Subdivision on average took 184% longer to process than the statute.

The report reinforces the need to reform and streamline the state’s outdated subdivision laws, a top legislative priority for MBAKS. This information is also important for our ongoing work with cities and counties to improve permit timelines. Having transparency in the permit processing data will help us to better identify roadblocks and work with jurisdictions to lower barriers to adding much needed housing.

Seven counties are subject to SB 5290’s annual reporting requirements, including Clark, King, Kitsap, Pierce, Snohomish, Thurston, and Whatcom.  

For more information on SB 5290 requirements, visit Commerce’s Local Project Review page

Administrative design review processes implemented due to COVID-19 are permitting housing faster. We should consider making them permanent.

Excerpt from design review document for Queen Anne mixed-use Safeway redevelopment

Washington state is experiencing an unprecedented shortfall of housing, coming short 225,000 homes between 2000–2015 to meet housing needs. The Puget Sound region is projected to add 1.8 million more people and 1.2 million more jobs by 2050, which means if we want to accommodate for growth, we cannot afford to stall building.

On April 27, 2020, Seattle City Council passed CB 119769. With COVID-19 rendering the usual community meetings unsafe and projects backing up in the pipeline, this emergency measure allowed projects subject to full design review to opt into administrative design review (ADR) instead.

Developers and builders could choose this expedited process or wait until the design review board resumed business. Under ADR, city staffers, rather than volunteer design review boards, had final approval. Public comments on projects continued through email in a 14-day window. Affordable housing projects were exempted altogether.

SDCI also implemented video or virtual inspections of approved projects, meaning that wait times for land use, permitting, and final inspections have also been streamlined as city staffers continue to work from home.

These streamlined methods meant to alleviate pressures during a health crisis show us that these same expedited processes can also help address our housing crisis.

We have the technology readily available for moving public comments and inspections onto virtual platforms, helping to mitigate costs and ultimately move affordable and missing middle housing through the pipeline faster.

What kind of benefits would a streamlined process produce?

More Affordable Housing

Unnecessary delays add up. The high cost of design review is passed down to renters and buyers alike and can have devastating consequences. Having proposals return for review and comment through multiple meetings, stalling construction for six months to two years, costs thousands of dollars for every month of delay. Multifamily projects that spend less time in design review ultimately end up being less expensive.

For an in-depth look: How Seattle’s Design Review Sabotages Housing Affordability, Dan Bertolet, Sightline Institute

More Housing Types

Exempting affordable housing projects frees up more time for city staff to look over other projects that sit in design review limbo for too long. On top of that, certain housing types, like townhouses and smaller multifamily buildings, could get faster approval processes or be exempted completely based on their size. More housing types means more housing choices means more housing for everyone.

Administrative design review shows us a glimpse of what could be an effective alternative, pending a more intensive design review overhaul in the city of Seattle. Cities looking to address rising housing costs and create efficient permitting processes could—and should—consider eliminating design review altogether.

We understand those concerned about not having a say in how their neighborhoods are designed. We know it’s important for neighbors to come together in shaping their communities. But it should not come at the expense of people having a safe and healthy place to call home.

Five Key Things to Know About Washington’s New Sick Leave Law

By Larry Dickinson, PrimePay

In 2006, the City of San Francisco passed the first mandatory sick leave law in the country. Since then, many other states and municipalities have adopted similar statutes. In fact, 47 states and the District of Columbia have considered establishing such ordinances to help protect the wages of employees affected by illness, injury, or domestic violence.

1. Washington law—the basics

   In November 2016, voters in Washington state voted to establish a mandatory sick leave law for workers in their state. Starting in January of 2018, all employees covered under the Washington State Minimum Wage law must accrue one hour of paid sick leave for every 40 hours worked.

   This law applies to all employers, even if they only have one employee. The problem is that many large cities in Washington such as Seattle and Tacoma have also adopted their own sick leave measures, and these measures are not always in sync with the state law.

   What is the employer to do? We will attempt to highlight some of the differences between state law and those of the municipalities. Note that we are using Washington state as the example here; the same scenarios are playing out in other states around the nation.

2. Allowable uses of sick leave

   According to the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries, employees will be allowed to use sick leave for themselves or a family member for these reasons:

• To care for themselves or family members.
• When the employees’ workplace or their child’s school (or place of care) has been closed by a public official for health-related reasons.
• Absences that qualify under the Domestic Violence Leave Act.

Note that employers may allow employees to use paid sick leave for additional purposes.

Unlike the laws adopted in Tacoma and Spokane, the Washington state regulation does not cover bereavement due to the death of family members.

3. Family member definition

Washington allows the usage of paid sick leave for personal illness or injury as well as for family members defined below:

• Child
• Parent
• Spouse
• Grandparent
• Grandchild
• Sibling
• Registered domestic partner

The big difference here is that Washington state allows that the child relationship is enforced regardless of the age of the child, while the city regulations only cover children up to the age of 18.

4. Accrual of sick time

   In general, employees must earn a minimum of one hour of paid sick leave for every 40 hours worked. This covers all non-exempt employees covered by the Washington State Minimum Wage Law. There is currently no coverage for exempt workers, including white collar workers, outside salespeople or other professionals.

   In many of the local regulations, white collar workers are covered with the assumption of a flat 40-hour work week. Seattle law, as an example, covers all workers who work in the City of Seattle. While the new state law applies to all employers with even one employee, local laws can be applied differently depending on the size of the company. There is currently no cap on the number of hours earned each year by an employee. There is a cap on the number of hours that can carry over into the next year.

   Read a full list of FAQs.

5. What should your business do?

   In today’s business climate, employers are often confronted with conflicting city and state ordinances regarding sick leave accrual and usage. These laws and their differences can provide today’s small business owner with a nightmare.

   How do you apply different laws to different groups of employees with different job descriptions, working in different jurisdictions? An automated time and attendance system is a great option.

   PrimePay offers a variety of systems to meet any employer’s needs. These programs can define almost any type of accrual policy imaginable and apply those policies to different groups of employees based on geography, employee type, or job description. Let the professionals at PrimePay build a system that will keep you in compliance for years to come.

Learn more at primepay.com.

This article originally appeared on primepay.com.