House Considers Tiny Homes As Part of Affordable Housing Solution

The House Local Government Committee heard public testimony on HB 2001, which would expand the ability to build tiny homes.

HB 2001 – 2021-22

Bill Information: Expanding the ability to build tiny houses. Bill Information Page (link)

Sponsors: McCaslin, Graham, Jacobsen, Chase, Sutherland
Status: Scheduled for executive session in the House Committee on Local Government February 2nd at 10:00 AM (Subject to change).

Brief Summary of Bill

Full House Bill Report

Allows tiny house communities to be part of an affordable housing incentive program under the Growth Management Act and authorizes tiny house communities to be built inside and outside of Urban Growth Areas.

Tiny Homes

According to the Washington State Labor and Industry website, a tiny home is “a dwelling that may be built on wheels and is no larger than 400 square feet, including a kitchen, bathroom, and sleeping/living area.” and must be built to the Washington State Building Code. The approval process for a tiny house depends on where it’s built.

Blokable at Phoenix Rising

The City of Auburn currently has a Vertically Integrated Modular housing development. Blokable at Phoenix Rising is a community of five studio and seven 1-bedroom apartments, which are reserved for individuals earning 30% of the Area Median Income.

The Blokable Building System produces modular structures called “Bloks” that are 95% assembled under a factory roof and delivered to a site by crane. They can be combined into studio and 1-3 bedroom living environments, for buildings that are 1-5 stories tall from the ground up, or up to 8 stories with a podium. Because the Bloks are standardized, they are pre-approved for development in a wide range of environmental and seismic conditions in the U.S.