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Senate committee hears bill to allow more housing in commercial and mixed‑use zones

Senate Ways and Means Committee · February 5, 2026
AI-Generated Content: All content on this page was generated by AI to highlight key points from the meeting. For complete details and context, we recommend watching the full video. so we can fix them.

Summary

A substitute bill would require many cities and counties to allow residential uses in commercial or mixed‑use zones, loosen ground‑floor retail requirements in most places and offer limited height incentives where cities keep commercial floors. Supporters say it will add housing capacity; opponents warn of local economic impacts.

Trevor Press, staff for the Senate Ways and Means Committee, told members the substitute to Senate Bill 6,026 would require cities and counties that plan under the Growth Management Act and have populations above 30,000 to allow residential uses in areas zoned for commercial or mixed use while laying out limited exceptions and conditions.

The staff briefing said the bill is a governor-request measure intended to increase housing capacity without forcing ground-floor retail in every commercial area. Press said cities that elect to keep mixed‑use or ground‑floor commercial…

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