Committee hears bill to allow detached ADUs outside urban growth areas with limits and reporting

House Housing Committee members on Jan. 27 heard testimony on House Bill 1345, which would allow counties that fully plan under the Growth Management Act (GMA) to permit detached accessory dwelling units (DADUs) outside urban growth areas if the counties adopt specified limits and oversight.

The bill, described to the panel by Audrey Vasek, staff to the committee, would let fully planning counties authorize DADUs outside urban growth areas subject to requirements in section 1 of the draft. "No parcel may have more than one ADU," Vasek said, and DADUs would be limited to siting within 150 feet of the principal unit and generally not exceed 1,296 square feet. Counties that adopt the authority must also require water- and septic-related conditions, provide an owner-initiated voluntary compliance pathway for unpermitted units and annually report completed permits to the Washington State Department of Commerce.

Representative Lois Lowe, the bill's prime sponsor in committee, told members the proposal is a negotiated compromise that “strikes…