Bill would let WSDOT consider public benefits when leasing unused highway land

Substitute House Bill 17-74 would allow the Washington State Department of Transportation to count “social, environmental, or economic benefits” provided by a lessee as part of the consideration for leasing unused highway land, according to a staff briefing and testimony before the Senate Transportation Committee on April 1, 2025.

The bill would let WSDOT lease highway land and air space that is not needed for highway purposes under a new methodology that factors community uses such as housing, housing assistance, shelter programs, parks, enhanced public spaces, public recreation and public transportation uses. Kelly Simpson, committee staff, told the panel that under current law DOT generally must receive economic rent or fair market value but federal law already provides an exception when property was acquired with federal funds and a lease provides public benefits.

Why it matters: proponents say the change could move underused parcels into productive public use — from parks to maintenance yards to housing-adjacent services — and reduce state…