Washington State
House of Representatives
Office of Program Research
BILL
ANALYSIS
Housing Committee
HB 1443
Brief Description: Concerning mobile dwellings.
Sponsors: Representatives Gregerson, Barkis, Peterson, Low, Duerr, Reed, Parshley, Nance, Bernbaum, Ormsby, Hill and Simmons.
Brief Summary of Bill
  • Requires a city or county fully planning under the Growth Management Act to allow one home on wheels per residential lot if certain requirements are met.
Hearing Date: 1/27/25
Staff: Serena Dolly (786-7150).
Background:

The Growth Management Act (GMA) is the comprehensive land use planning framework for counties and cities in Washington.  The GMA establishes land use designation and environmental protection requirements for all Washington counties and cities.  The GMA also establishes a significantly wider array of planning duties for 28 counties, and the cities within those counties, that are obligated to satisfy all planning requirements of the GMA.  These jurisdictions are sometimes said to be fully planning under the GMA.

 

Counties that fully plan under the GMA must designate urban growth areas (UGAs), within which urban growth must be encouraged and outside of which growth may occur only if it is not urban in nature.  Each city in a county must be included in a UGA.  Fully planning jurisdictions must include within their UGAs sufficient areas and densities to accommodate projected urban growth for the succeeding 20-year period.

 

The GMA also directs fully planning jurisdictions to adopt internally consistent comprehensive land use plans.  Comprehensive plans are implemented through locally adopted development regulations, and both the plans and the local regulations are subject to review and revision requirements prescribed in the GMA.  When developing their comprehensive plans, counties and cities must consider various goals set forth in statute.  Fully planning counties and cities must review and, if necessary, revise their comprehensive plans every 10 years to ensure they comply with the GMA.
Summary of Bill:

A home on wheels is a type of vehicle primarily designed for recreational camping or travel use that either has its own motor or is mounted on or towed by another vehicle; this includes:  travel trailers, fifth-wheel trailers, folding camping trailers, truck campers, and motor homes.

 

A fully-planning city or county must allow at least one home on wheels on each lot zoned for residential use if the following conditions are met:

  • the lot has at least one existing housing unit;
  • the lot is located within an urban growth area; and
  • the lot is not a property on which the city or county has determined that housing development cannot be adequately served by water, sewer, stormwater, or transportation systems.

 

The home on wheels must be connected to electrical service through a dedicated outlet.  If a home on wheels has internal plumbing, it must be connected to potable water and sanitary sewer services.  If a home on wheels does not have internal plumbing, the occupants must have access to potable water, toilets, and showers in an existing housing unit on the lot.

 

A common-interest community may not enact any new restrictions that would prohibit at least one home on wheels on each residential lot.
Appropriation: None.
Fiscal Note: Available.
Effective Date: The bill takes effect 90 days after adjournment of the session in which the bill is passed.