House committee hears Senate Bill 974A to impose 90‑day engineering review clock and narrow some design reviews

The House Committee on Housing and Homelessness on May 5 heard testimony on Senate Bill 974A, a measure that would create deadlines for local review of residential engineering plans, define an "urban housing application" and narrow certain design‑review requirements for larger projects inside urban growth boundaries.

Supporters told the committee the bill would reduce delays in moving greenfield and subdivision projects through land use and engineering review, while local governments and municipal advocates warned the changes could prompt denials, higher local fees and costly litigation if the proposed remedies include one‑way recovery of engineering costs.

The bill’s authors and proponents described three central changes. First, SB 974A would expand the limited land use decision process for residential entitlements described in the bill as "urban housing applications," applying an expedited procedural track to projects within urban growth boundaries that are planned or zoned for residential use. Second, it would establish a 90‑day "shot clock" for final engineering review — the detailed plans for roads, utilities, stormwater and related infrastructure — modeled on the existing 120‑day timeframe for land use entitlements. Third, it would limit some local design‑review requirements for certain larger new developments (the draft referenced a 20‑dwelling threshold), while explicitly excluding public‑health, safety and statewide planning goal…