State Commerce briefs Spokane Valley on new housing rules: ADUs, middle housing, co-living and conversion

Representatives from the Washington State Department of Commerce outlined state-mandated changes to housing planning and local regulations and spoke at length about what Spokane Valley will need to include in its periodic comprehensive-plan update.

Laura Hodgkin, housing and planning and data manager at the Department of Commerce, told the Planning Commission that the 2021 changes to the Growth Management Act require jurisdictions to "plan for and accommodate housing affordable to all economic segments," and that Commerce now projects housing need by income segment so counties and cities can divide responsibilities.

Hodgkin described the multi-step process Commerce recommends: use countywide projections from Commerce's HAP tool, agree with neighboring jurisdictions on how to allocate housing need by income level, inventory local land capacity for different housing typologies and, where capacity is insufficient, adopt zoning or regulatory changes to provide the needed capacity. She said jurisdictions must also document programs and actions that will remove barriers to housing and address racially…