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Staff: bill reenacts interim controls while city reconciles design-review program with state law
Summary
Council central staff told the committee that CB 121243 reenacts interim controls that suspend mandatory design review and reinstate certain exemptions while the city works to develop a program that complies with state HB 1293; staff noted board vacancies and outreach needs.
Keto Freeman of council central staff summarized the content and legislative history of Council Bill 121243 and explained why the committee was considering reenacting interim controls.
Freeman said the bill "would suspend mandatory design review" and would allow some affordable-housing and MHA on-site performance projects to be exempt from full design review while giving all residential projects the option to pursue administrative design review. He cautioned that the city's current design-review program likely does not meet standards in HB 1293 (as described in the hearing), which requires objective design guidelines and meeting limits.
Freeman walked the committee through prior changes dating to the pandemic, the rationale for exemptions aimed at speeding affordable housing delivery, and a practical concern: many of the volunteer design-review boards have expired terms and vacancies. He flagged that funding for outreach to design a new program is available from the construction-inspections fund, so the council will need to decide program parameters and guidance for staff to execute contracts and outreach.
Staff presented the reenactment as a pragmatic, temporary measure and advised the committee that additional council direction will be needed to address longer-term compliance and the interaction between exemptions and MHA performance/payment choices.
