HB 1491, Transit-Oriented Development
In 2025, the Washington state legislature passed HB 1491, the most ambitious statewide transit-oriented development policy in the country.
The bill sets new statewide minimum standards for increased density near transit stops, increasing Washington’s housing supply and reducing carbon emissions from transportation. The legislation requires a minimum percentage of affordable housing units in new buildings and allows a new 20 year property tax exemption for buildings subject to the affordability requirements.
How does HB 1491 change minimum heights and building sizes in station areas?
Under HB 1491, cities must allow:
- an average floor area ratio (FAR) of at least 3.5 (approximately 6 stories) within 0.5 miles of rail transit stops.
- An average FAR of at least 2.5 (approximately 4 stories) within 0.25 miles of bus rapid transit stops.
Floor area ratio (FAR) is the square footage of a structure divided by the square footage of the lot it’s built on. A building of 1 story that covers the entire lot has an FAR of 1; a building of 2 stories that covers half the lot also has an FAR of 1.
How are station areas defined?
A rail station area includes all lots within an Urban Growth Area (UGA) that are:
- Fully or partly within a half mile walking distance of an entrance to a light rail station in a city with a population greater than 15,000
- Fully or partly within a half mile walking distance of a commuter rail station in city greater than 15,000 people
- Fully or partly within a quarter mile walking distance of a commuter rail station in city less than 15,000 people
- Fully or partly within a half mile walking distance of a stop on a rail trolley west of the Cascade mountains, such as stops on the Seattle streetcar.
Examples of qualifying rail service include: Sound Transit Link Light Rail and Sounder Commuter Rail, the Seattle Streetcar.
A bus station area is defined as all lots within a UGA that are fully or partly within a quarter mile walking distance of a stop on a fixed route bus system that:
- Is served by bus rapid transit or is designated as a bus rapid transit stop in a transit development plan and has completed environmental review under the State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA); and
- features fixed transit assets that indicate permanent, high-capacity service, including elevated platforms or enhanced stations, off-board fare collection, dedicated lanes, busways, or traffic signal priority.
Examples of qualifying bus rapid transit service include: King County Metro Rapid Ride, Snohomish County’s Community Transit Swift Lines, Sound Transit Stride Service, Clark County’s C-TRAN’s Vine Service, and Spokane Transit’s City Line .
What are the affordability requirements for the increased density?
HB 1491 requires affordable housing units in new development. All of the affordability requirements must be maintained for at least fifty years. The new developments must meet one of the following housing affordability requirements:
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At least 10% of the housing units must be rental housing units affordable to families making 60% or less of the Area Median Income (AMI), or owner-occupied housing units affordable to families making 80% or less AMI;
- At least 10% of the housing units must be rental occupied units affordable to families making 80% or less AMI if at least 10% of the total units in the building have more than 2 bedrooms; or
- At least 20% of the units must be rental housing units affordable to families making 80% or less AMI.
Are cities allowed to keep their existing or proposed housing affordability requirements?
Cities that have already adopted a mandatory affordable housing inclusionary zoning program (or do so before the end of 2025) can keep their existing requirements instead of adopting the new state requirements.
Buildings are also exempt from the affordability requirements if located on a lot already zoned for density that meets or exceeds the TOD requirement prior to January 1, 2025.
How does this legislation impact minimum parking requirements?
HB 1491 eliminates off-street parking requirements on new buildings in station areas except for 3 small exceptions:
- Parking for people with disabilities;
- Loading zones;
- If a study shows and the State Department of Commerce agrees that a lack of parking requirements in the station area will make the surrounding streets significantly less safe.
What other density bonuses are included?
- Affordable and workforce housing: Within station areas, an additional 1.5 FAR in excess of the minimum FAR must be allowed for affordable housing development (buildings in which all units are affordable or workforce housing for at least 50 years, or are permanent supportive housing).
- Multifamily housing: Multifamily housing units with at least three bedrooms may not be counted toward FAR limits. The purpose of this provision is to encourage family sized homes near transit.
- Mass timber: Cities must adopt regulations that allow increased building height and densities in bus rapid transit station areas for developments built with all mass timber products.
How does the FAR averaging work?
Cities may designate parts of a station area to be FARs that are more or less than the density requirement, as long as the maximum FAR for all residential and mixed-use areas in the station area is no less than the required densities. This FAR average occurs only within each station area.
Are there any exemptions to the increased FAR requirements?
Cities are allowed to exclude a small set of protected areas including:
- Protected shoreline habitat areas;
- Environmentally critical areas, such as wetlands and landslide risk areas;
- Historic landmarks and historic districts;
- Industrial, manufacturing, or agricultural areas;
How does the property tax exemption program work?
Cities adopting the state affordability requirements must include a 20 year property tax exemption for multifamily housing within station areas that meet the TOD affordability requirements. The exemption applies to the value of new, rehabilitated, or converted residential buildings, not the value of the land which will continue to be taxed. This exemption will not reduce the total property tax revenues raised by each city, county, or taxing district as the other property owners pay a little bit more to raise the needed revenues.
While the TOD requirements do not apply to counties, counties may approve a 20-year property tax exemption for multifamily housing within station areas that meet the TOD affordability requirements.
Impact fees: Cities that have an impact fee program must provide a 50% reduction in impact fees for projects that are located within a station area that qualify for the property tax exemption.
How are Homeowners Associations impacted?
New governing documents for condominium or homeowners associations located within the station area may not prohibit new construction that meets the TOD density standards outlined above and may not require off-street parking. Existing condominium or homeowners association restrictions are not affected.
Is this bill funded?
The legislation creates and funds a Washington State Department of Commerce grant program to assist cities in implementing the law. The grant program will assist cities by providing:
- Infrastructure to support increased densities in station areas, including water, sewer, stormwater, etc.
- Station area planning costs
When does this bill take effect?
The deadline for cities to comply with the TOD requirements is based on the date of the city’s next comprehensive plan update. Cities in the Central Puget Sound region (King, Pierce, Snohomish and Kitsap counties) must comply by December 31, 2029.
Affected cities outside of Central Puget Sound must comply no later than six months after their next comprehensive plan update deadline, June 30 2026 for Whatcom and Clark Counties, and June 30, 2027 for Spokane County.
After the initial deadlines, cities must comply at the next comprehensive plan update or 5 year check-in following the completion or funding of a new transit stop that creates a new station area. We expect cities to start the planning process for TOD requirements once new stations are within 5 years of completion.
