Senate Bill 5729 (SB 5729) introduced by Senator Gildon (R) would limit the amount cities and counties can make substantive changes to a building permit application, as long as the permit application was produced and stamped by a professional engineer or architect licensed in the state of Washington.

The current permitting process for building a new home is expensive and cumbersome. The home builder has to navigate the complex permitting process and government regulations which cost time and money, all of which drives up the cost of the final home price. Seattle’s permitting process price list alone, is 60 pages long.

The building permitting process can take years to finish, driving up the cost of the construction as a developer has to cover the cost of the land, planning and permitting before even starting to build. This complex and slow process is one of the main reasons we have a housing shortage today. According to the Building Industry Association of Washington, the state zoning process alone adds an average of $71,739 to the cost of a home. The National Association of Home Builders states that government regulations for construction of a new home now make up approximately 24% of the cost passed onto the home buyer. For a $600,000 home (hardly affordable or even available in Washington), that’s $144,000 in just the fees.

Senate Bill 5290 (SB 5290), passed in the 2023 legislative session, is a first step to help simplify the permitting process. While the scope of SB 5290 covers more than just building permit applications, SB 5290 does require municipalities to process permit applications in a timely fashion and prescribes the timing for a permit application approval and denial.

SB 5729 would build on the changes SB 5290 introduced and refine permit requirements for low impact changes, including remodeling existing buildings, assuming the site layout doesn’t change, windows and doors are not moved, and additions or alterations are made to structures that are less than 2000 square feet in size.

State and local municipalities can do a lot to help reduce the cost of housing by repealing restrictive laws and stop passing ‘feel good’ legislation that does little to help the long-term market conditions. That’s not to say there should be any regulations on home construction, but common-sense policy, like SB 5729, will go a long way to help reduce the cost of housing.

Senate Bill 5729 is good policy and should be passed into law.

If you want to let the legislature know your opinion on SB 5729, it is up for review at 10:30am on February 19. You can sign up to testify here.