S-1957.2

SUBSTITUTE SENATE BILL 5946

BySenate Housing Stability & Affordability (originally sponsored by Senators Nguyen, Saldaña, Hasegawa, Das, and Lovelett)

AN ACT Relating to the application of the state environmental policy act to temporary shelters and transitional encampments; and adding a new section to chapter 43.21C RCW.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1. A new section is added to chapter 43.21C RCW to read as follows:

(1) Permit actions to site a temporary shelter or transitional encampment are exempt from compliance with this chapter if the facility meets each of the following standards:

(a) The facility is used for people experiencing homelessness;

(b) The facility includes no more than two hundred beds and the number of occupants is based on one person for each bed;

(c) The facility is used on the site for no more than three years; and

(d) The transitional encampment does not involve the erection of a new permanent structure.

(2) The definitions in this subsection apply throughout this section unless the context clearly requires otherwise.

(a) "Temporary shelter" means a use sited in a new or existing structure or modular structure that provides temporary quarters for sleeping and shelter. The use may have common food preparation, shower, or other commonly used facilities that support temporary shelters.

(b) "Transitional encampment" means a use having tents, modular structures, or a similar shelter, including vehicles used for shelter, that provides temporary quarters for sleeping and shelter. The use may have common food preparation, shower, or other commonly used facilities that are separate from the sleeping shelters and that support transitional encampments.

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