Legislative Victory: Climate Considerations in Statewide Planning
2023 was a YUUUGE year for housing and land use policy in the Washington State Legislative session. We want to break down these wins in a bit more detail, starting with a look at HB 1181, which added climate change considerations as a requirement under the Growth Management Act, making sure that Washington is building a climate-resilient future.
Climate change is here, we’re feeling it: wildfires, floods, and heatwaves are getting more frequent and more severe. We see once-in-a-century-climate-event headlines far too often. Our communities are already feeling the hardships of this – health impacts like respiratory and heart disease from wildfire smoke; economic destruction when floods and fires take homes and community buildings. Heat waves have become especially dangerous in Washington. Most of our buildings weren’t built with 100° summers in mind, and ‘cooling centers’ are becoming more and more important, especially for people in housing instability or without shelter who need places to get a reprieve and hydration. Lawmakers and planners need to be considering the changing realities of our climate when they do long-range planning – that’s why we fought to pass HB 1181.
What the bill does
Ensure that Washington’s 11 largest counties (King, Pierce, Snohomish, Spokane, Clark, Thurston, Kitsap, Yakima, Whatcom, Benton, and Skagit) are planning to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles miles traveled, which will be achieved, in part, through promoting new housing development in our communities served by transit.
Ensure that all Washington communities are planning for climate hazards (like wildfires, drought, and sea-level rise) and ensuring community resiliency, especially among our most vulnerable populations.
Embed a definition of environmental justice into the Growth Management Act. This is a big deal. For decades, systemic racism and injustice has pushed some of our most marginalized communities onto the frontlines of the climate crisis – they are often hit first, worst. Correcting for past injustice is going to take intentional effort, and this environmental justice provision makes sure that all cities and counties planning under the GMA are undertaking this effort.
- In addition to passing HB 1181, we crucially secured $44 million in the biennial budget to implement the bill.
What does this mean for my neighborhood?
Everywhere in the state will be thinking more about climate change. So if you’re out on the coast, say in Aberdeen, you’ll see over time that your community is planning proactively for sea level rise, by siting new development farther back from the coastline. Or if you live in wildfire country, like out in Wenatchee, your community will be better protected by fire by ensuring that new development is focused in town, not in wildfire zones. In fact, you’ll probably start to see that some of that new in-town development takes the form of duplexes and fourplexes!
Major gratitude to the thousands of you who wrote, called, and testified on this bill, and to our legislative champions who moved it through the process and onto the Governor’s desk!