Climate Action This Week: 
  • Increase middle housing and anti-displacement measures
  • Lot splitting to maintain homeownership and affordability
  • Modernize the Transfer Land Trust for conservation and improved access to public land
  • Provide greater and fair access to the benefits of community solar
  • Oppose the delay of implementing state energy performance standards
If you're viewing this on a smartphone, make sure you're in your browser, and when calling or emailing, be sure to mention if you are in the representative or senator’s district. And, unfortunately, SurveyMonkey does not support copy and paste on mobile devices.

Question Title

* Your information

Pick as many or as few actions as you’d like. Remember to scroll down and click Done when you finish.

Thank you for taking action with the 350 WA Civic Action Team!
We think these first two actions will take 10 to 15 minutes.

Question Title

* 📜 1. Increasing middle housing in areas traditionally dedicated to single-family detached housing - SB 5190

This bill would allow 4-plexes in every neighborhood currently zoned for single-family residential and would allow 6-plexes in areas near transit. It requires cities to add anti-displacement measures for areas within a half-mile of transit to their comprehensive plans. This includes identifying communities at risk of displacement from new developments, particularly low-income communities of color. These measures will kick-in before the zone changes. This is the companion bill to HB 1110, which we featured in a previous action alert.

We are following the lead of Homes4WA on this bill.

Scheduled for a public hearing in the Senate Committee on Housing TODAY on Wednesday, January 25, 1:30PM.

✏️ Please sign in here to support SB 5190 TODAY before Wednesday, January 25, 12:30 PM and select “Pro” in the position button. This time is not a typo - the sign-in must be sent at least one hour BEFORE the hearing.

✏️ Miss this deadline? You can still sign in “Pro” here and provide a written comment in support of SB 5190 before Thursday, January 25, 1:30 PM.

📑 The first sentence of the written comment should be: “I strongly support SB 5190.”

Then choose 1-2 additional sentences from the options below or feel free to write your own:
  • We need to be protecting communities at risk of displacement from new developments. This bill will particularly support low-income communities of color through its anti-displacement measures.
  • Increasing housing options that are more affordable to various income levels is critical to achieving the state's housing goals.
  • Review processes and critical areas regulations need to be the same for missing middle housing as detached single-family homes.
  • In addition to addressing the housing shortage, allowing more housing options in areas already served by urban infrastructure will support key strategies for climate change adaptation and food security, while also saving taxpayers and ratepayers money.

📜 2. Increasing housing options through lot splitting - HB 1245, SB 5364

Lot splitting can provide current owners the opportunity to maintain homeownership in changing life circumstances, while also providing new homebuyers with a more affordable ownership opportunity. These companion bills allow lots in residential areas to be split if they are at least 1500 square feet and each resulting lot is at least 40% the size of the original lot.

We are following the lead of Homes4WA on this bill.

The two companion bills will be heard in the House and Senate on the same day:
  • House Committee on Housing
    Hearing Date: Thursday, January 26, 8:00AM.
  • Senate Committee on Local Government, Land Use & Tribal Affairs
    Hearing Date: Thursday, January 25, 10:30 AM.
✏️ Please sign in here to support HB 1245 before Thursday, January 26, 7:00 AM and select “Pro” in the position button.
 
✏️ Please sign in here to support SB 5364 before Thursday, January 26, 9:30 AM and select “Pro” in the position button.

Question Title

* Signed in as Pro for HB 1245?

Question Title

* Signed in as Pro for SB 5364?

Got time for more? For these next three bills we just ask you to do some Committee Sign Ins. We think they will take 5 to 10 minutes.

Question Title

* 📜 3. Authorizing the department of natural resources to create and manage a trust land transfer program - SB 5372

Trust land transfer (TLT) is a tool that the state has used for 30 years to manage lands for conservation, wildlife habitat, and clean water or recreational opportunities; all while improving access to public land. Due to declining funding from the state legislature, we’ve been missing the opportunity to better manage our state’s greatest asset --our public land.

To set the TLT up for better success in the future and to improve public access to land across the state, legislators need to pass legislation to modernize the TLT and provide funding in the state’s capital budget.

SB 5372 will modernize the TLT and address some of its shortcomings, while also improving public oversight of this tool, giving the public a real say in the future of public lands. The TLT balances the needs of rural communities, recreationalists, and everyone who relies on our public lands for their survival.

We are following the lead of the WA State Lands Working Group on this bill.

Scheduled for a public hearing in the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Water, Natural Resources & Parks on Thursday, January 26, 1:30PM.

✏️ Please sign in here to support SB 5372 before Thursday, January 26, 12:30 PM and select “Pro” in the position button.

Question Title

* 📜 4. Concerning fair access to community solar - HB 1509

This bill will increase the community solar programs that are available in Washington and will enable low-income customers to receive the benefits of community solar. Community solar projects allow customers precluded from accessing the benefits of rooftop solar (such as renters, low-income, condos, homes with old roofs, etc) to participate in the clean energy transition. Community solar customers can purchase or subscribe to solar panels that are not located on their buildings and realize the energy benefits on their utility electric bill.

This bill extends Washington’s community solar programs so that more customers will receive financial benefits from a community solar subscription on their utility electric bill.  It requires that 50% of all community solar subscriptions reduce the energy burdens of low-income customers and low- income service providers. The bill will update the Washington State University Energy Extension's low-income Community Solar Incentive Program’s definitions to match the new program and removes limitations on tribal-owned community solar projects.

For more information check out this Community Solar 1-pager.

We are following the lead of Spark Northwest on this bill.

Scheduled for a public hearing in the House Committee on Environment & Energy on Thursday, January 26, 8:00AM.

✏️ Please sign in here to support HB 1509 before Thursday, January 26, 7:00 AM and select “Pro” in the position button.

Question Title

* 📜 5. Creating a work group to evaluate the costs of the state energy performance standard for covered commercial buildings - SB 5057

This bill would create a work group to evaluate the costs of the state energy performance standard and would delay implementation of these standards for covered commercial buildings by 2 years. Buildings over 220,000 sq. ft. would have to comply by June 2028; those between 90,000 and 220,000 sq. ft. would have to comply by June 2029, and the remaining buildings over 50,000 sq. ft. would have to comply by 2030. It would also delay the date for completing the rules, reporting dates, and other dates for implementing the standards by the same amount.

We recommend opposing SB 5057 as this bill would unnecessarily delay the compliance dates for meeting building performance standards at a time when we have an urgent need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and increase our energy efficiency.

We are following the lead of Shift Zero on this bill.

Scheduled for a public hearing in the Senate Committee on Environment, Energy & Technology on Friday, January 27, 8:00AM.

✏️ Please sign in here to oppose SB 5057 before Friday, January 27, 7:00 AM and select “Con” in the position button.

You made it! Thank you so much for making your voice heard & taking action!

-- The 350 WA Civic Action Team

PS  Not on the CAT email list? Sign up here!

T